00:00:01 · Michal Sestak, Shawn Silverstone, S2
[00:00:01] S0: Immigration is a topic for most governments around the world, or Western governments. Self regulated industry with mandatory training and recognition would probably be one of the way forward. That's what ICEF is trying to push, really. [00:00:17] S1: Some of the recommendations I'd give for policy improvement is really a greater transparency and consistency in these decisions to really restore confidence. It's really about a relationship between us, the agent, the family. And when you're dealing with minors in the k to 12 secondtor, the agent is the key component to it and that they have to be able to work with the families in their home countries. [00:00:41] S2: This and more in this new episode of the ICEF Podcast, the leading global podcast series for professionals in international education and student recruitment in all corners of the world. Don't forget to subscribe by your favorite podcast player and join us for a new episode available every month.
00:00:41 · S2, Martijn van de Veen, Craig Riggs
[00:00:41] S2: This and more in this new episode of the ICEF Podcast, the leading global podcast series for professionals in international education and student recruitment in all corners of the world. Don't forget to subscribe by your favorite podcast player and join us for a new episode available every month. [00:01:00] S3: Welcome back everyone to the ICEF Podcast, your monthly update on key topics and trends in the rapidly evolving international education sector. My name is Martijn van de Veen, Chief Business Development Officer here at ICEF and this month's main topic is a discussion on the increasing student visa rejection rates and its impact on schools and agents. But before we go there, we'll take a look at some recent news and developments as always together with Craig Riggs, editor in chief of ICEF Monitor. And do stay tuned because after the main topic, we'll also take a look at student recruitment from East Africa, specifically Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. [00:01:36] S2: Coming up, the main topic of discussion for this episode. But first, as in each month, we kick off with a look at some recent news and developments in international education. [00:01:46] S3: Craig, good to see you again, especially considering the rapid pace of change that our sector is going through. [00:01:54] S4: Yes, indeed. Wonderful to be back, and never a dull moment as we try to keep pace with developments this year.
00:01:54 · Craig Riggs, Martijn van de Veen
[00:01:54] S4: Yes, indeed. Wonderful to be back, and never a dull moment as we try to keep pace with developments this year. [00:02:02] S3: Yeah. It's difficult to keep pace sometimes and never a dull moment, as you say. One example of that change in our sector is a new phase of internationalization, a shift from a market era to a managed era according to a survey conducted by the Nous Group and Navitas. Craig, I believe market era kinda relates to a more open market with fewer restrictions, little government involvement, whereas managed era, kind of the opposite.
00:02:28 · Craig Riggs, Martijn van de Veen
[00:02:28] S4: Yeah, I think so. And I think it also is really pointing us to a broad pattern, a kind of a shift in the approach to recruitment for many institutions that we've been observing over this past year. I think it's pointing us to a more targeted and strategic approach to recruitment that is much more deliberate in terms of strategy, but also much more targeted in terms of the types of students that the institution is recruiting. So, lot much more emphasis on recruiting the best qualified students to the institution that will have the best chance of success in obtaining a visa, in completing their studies, in graduating successfully, and that really having a very clear focus on those student outcomes as well. I think this is what this survey that you're pointing to is telling us. It's interesting because it's a broad survey with a couple of 100 respondents, executive staff from universities in different countries around the world, but they're really describing a shift in recruitment in that way. They're describing a current context where international student recruitment remains an important institutional priority, but where they're anticipating a much more competitive environment and a lot of challenges in terms of those recruitment efforts in the year ahead. [00:03:55] S3: And is that very much from a big four perspective or does this apply to the sector as a whole? I mean, it seems that the emerging destinations still exhibit characteristics of more of a market era.
00:03:55 · Martijn van de Veen, Craig Riggs
[00:03:55] S3: And is that very much from a big four perspective or does this apply to the sector as a whole? I mean, it seems that the emerging destinations still exhibit characteristics of more of a market era. [00:04:08] S4: Yeah. It's very much... I mean, this survey is drawing on respondents from the big four, specifically from Australia, The UK, and Canada. So three of the big four, let's say. But I think you can take that as an indicator of where industry practice is going. The big four is not the entire marketplace, but they have a very significant shaping effect on student movement around the world and on... And indeed on practice in the sector. [00:04:37] S3: Yeah. Now, Craig, another area of change, and I guess a more constant one, is the changes in student demographics. Right? And for any institution that wants to mitigate recruitment risks, it remains important to diversify, which is also highlighted in the British Council's five trends to watch report for 2025. Are you able to share with us some of those trends to watch according to the British Council?
00:05:00 · Craig Riggs
[00:05:00] S4: Yeah. This comes specifically from the British Council Office in East Asia, and it's a it's a report that I I find myself paying attention to. It always offers some interesting insights. It's something they do every year. And it's a... This year's insights largely revolve around some of the longer term shifts that we're observing in the two major sending markets in our sector, and that, of course, is China and India. Really, they're describing some important changes in both markets. In the case of China, a shift towards postgraduate studies. Historically, we had seen larger numbers coming out of China for undergraduate studies. Now that shift, as of, let's say, about ten years ago, nine, ten years ago, there was a pronounced shift that has continued through to the present day with a greater proportion of students coming out of China for postgraduate studies. That reflects in part the growing strength and capacity of the higher education system in China. It also reflects in more recent years some really important challenges around the employment prospects for university graduates in China. Youth unemployment in China is a historically high level, continues to be so. Many students, as a result, are choosing to continue their studies rather than enter the workforce. That means they're continuing their studies in advanced degrees, both in China and abroad. That's an important shift. The overall pattern for China is that the outbound mobility is slowing and shifting to postgraduate studies. India, of course, has been surging, in recent years between 2020 and 2024. In particular, there's been a massive surge in Indian outbound numbers, but, the British Council report suggests that those numbers are going to cool this year, kind of an adjustment after a period of rapid growth. And therefore, when you see in this year a slowing of outbound numbers from India and a continuing, you know, flat or slightly declining trend in outbound from China, it means that if you are chasing growth in international involvement at any one institution or school, you're increasingly going to need to look at other sending markets as well outside of those two major source countries. That's really the point.