“At the time of writing China was jostling for top spot with the USA in the Olympics medal table. It seems this country is proving a veritable force in international education also.

Various news stories this week have had a somewhat Chinese slant. From the global language provider that has partnered a major Chinese education agency to help source and train agencies in the country to recruit on its behalf (LAL story hyperlink), to an education association strengthening ties with its Asian neighbour, setting up camp to better serve its members and to foster growth in the outbound Chinese student market (Acpet story hyperlink).

Outbound developments are not merely limited to the English language teaching or vocational sectors either. In Germany, Chinese students represented nine per cent of all international students enrolled at a German university in 2011, according to a recent report released by information portal, DAAD (German story hyperlink). While a growing number of university cooperation agreements between China and Germany are said to have been instrumental in the increase in Chinese student numbers, a professor at a Chinese university observed that the German approach to education had struck a particular chord with Chinese students. The importance of undertaking higher education abroad is further evidenced in the number of Chinese students choosing to enrol in tertiary education in Japan, representing 63 per cent (87,533) of the total international student intake in Japan last year.

Inbound business to China also looks healthy with several language schools opening additional centres this year, one in the prosperous city of Guangzhou. Another school has been busy developing its working relations with European universities giving students there a chance to study and work in China. If contributions to both inbound and outbound student business were an Olympic event, China would surely be in the mix for gold.”