News 2009
Spain and Estonia join our global research partnership
May 2009
i-graduate are pleased to announce two new country-wide partnerships with institutions in Spain and Estonia, which have both adopted the International Student Barometer (ISB) research process. The ISB is now the largest annual study of international students in the world, tracking perceptions and motivations of students in 13 countries across 5 continents.
Spain
i-graduate will monitor the motivations, aspirations, expectations and experiences of international students in Spain through a new partnership with FundaciónUniversidad.es. The organisation was set up in 2008 by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation to increase the visibility of the Spanish Higher Education system. The FundaciónUniversidad.es initiative is central to the University Strategy 2015, for the modernisation of the Spanish universities and aims to promote the teaching and scientific excellence, the internationalisation of the university system and its involvement in economic change based on knowledge and improving innovation.
The ISB will run as a nationwide initiative across up to 77 HE institutions in Spain. Find out more about the FundaciónUniversidad.es here.
Estonia
In Estonia, i-graduate has formed a partnership with the Archimedes Foundation to analyse the international student experience at 7 Estonian institutions.
The Archimedes Foundation is an independent body established by the Estonian government in 1997 with the objective to coordinate and implement different international and national programmes and projects in the field of training, education, research, technological development and innovation. The Foundation actively participates in building a knowledge-based Europe by helping to open up the education and training systems in Estonia through European cooperation programmes and by creating conditions for participation through accreditation and evaluation of higher education. Find out more about the Archimedes Foundation here.
For more information about the International Student Barometer, please contact info@i-graduate.org.
i-graduate are now hiring
May 2009
i-graduate runs the world’s largest study of international students and a suite of comparative stakeholder studies for higher education providers and government agencies in 13 countries. We’re a young, fast-growing and independent organisation, committed to improving the education experience for students and educators worldwide. If you’re one of the smartest people you know, we’d like you to consider joining us.
Click here to find out about our latest opportunities for consultants, analysts and project managers.
NAFSA 2009 Conference and Expo
24th - 29th May 2009
Los Angeles Convention Center
One of the key events on the calendar of many international educators, the NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo, took place in Los Angeles from May 24th-29th. If you requested any information from us, this will be with you soon.
The i-graduate team were represented at NAFSA by:
- Will Archer (Director)
- Jenni Parsons (Head of Client Services, UK)
- Nannette Ripmeester (Head of Client Services, Europe)
Will Archer facilitated an interactive seminar session entitled ‘Enhancing the International Student Experience: Case Studies in Excellence’. The session featured as part of the International Student and Scholar Services Knowledge Community on Friday 29th May at 11am.
Featuring representatives from some of the world’s top institutions, the session used feedback from the International Student Barometer process to reveal how the international student experience compares globally. The session examined how individual universities are using feedback from international students and comparative benchmarking to improve service provision for international students within their institution. Session attendees were invited to participate in an interactive discussion to exchange best practice in service provision for international students, and how to effectively use research outcomes as a tool to identify priority areas for investment and support.
The objectives of the session:
- Share the latest data from the largest annual study of international students, the International Student Barometer
- Present examples of excellence in international student service provision through case studies from leading institutions
- Discuss how benchmarking data can be used to facilitate improvement
- Exchange best practice for improving the international student experience
Chair: William Archer, Director, i-graduate
Speakers:
Chris Madden, Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), Griffith University, Australia
Ronald Cushing, Director of UC International Services, University of Cincinnati, USA
Gill Nicholls, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic), University of Salford, UK
For more information click here
Will Archer speaks at International Student Experience Conference
Will Archer recently spoke at the annual International Student Experience in Higher Education Conference, which took place on Tuesday 28 April 2009 in Central London. Will Archer, Director of i-graduate, gave a plenary address examining what international students get out of the UK student experience – and what institutions can do to improve it.
Chaired by John O’Leary, former Editor, Times Higher Education Supplement, the conference brought together Vice-Chancellors, Pro-Vice-Chancellors, Directors of international strategy and student services along with other senior representatives concerned with international strategic developments in higher education, to discuss the importance of the student experience for international students. It looked at the rise of the ‘global citizen’, their experience in the UK and the importance of encouraging the already world-class higher education system to develop as a truly global leader.
Recruitment and retention of international students play an important role in the multiculturalism of UK universities. However, for UK institutions to become truly international and engaged in a globalised higher education sector, considerations have to go beyond attracting international students and take into account more complex challenges that will shape their experience in the UK.
In light of a probable world-wide recession, the student experience is key to attracting international students. Issues of value for money, integration, ease of visa application, post-university employment, accommodation, academic support and common questions such as the ease of obtaining a bank account all play into whether international students will apply to a particular university. With PMI2 working to establish UK higher education institutions as the number one destination for international students it is important that the sector work together to improve that all important student experience.
Click here for agenda and speaker updates.
Rethinking HE: Attracting International Research Students, Strategy and Practice
i-graduate's recent conference "Rethinking HE: Attracting International Research Students, Strategy and Practice" attracted over 120 senior officers from HE sectors in 11 countries, who gathered to consider how nations and institutions can maintain their competitive edge in attracting international research students. The themes addressed are of key strategic importance to both UK and international universities given the economic benefit and research outputs PhD students bring, which in turn boosts departmental, institutional and national reputations.
A story about the conference and the issues raised was reported in The Australian:
International link the way of future
Aban Contractor in London | March 11, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE future of British postgraduate research would be better served by greater collaborative partnerships with overseas universities, Higher Education and Intellectual Property Minister David Lammy has told a meeting of 120 delegates from 11countries.
His comments were backed by a host of academics and top bureaucrats, including the deputy vice-chancellor (international and development) of the University of Queensland, Trevor Grigg, who suggested that, instead of competition, universities should see partnerships as a form of co-operation to attract the best and brightest postgraduate researchers.
Speaking at the Rethinking Higher Education conference in London last week, Mr Lammy emphasised the importance of postgraduate mobility and the need to look at a coherent postgraduate strategy to ensure that research careers in Britain remained attractive.
"Of almost a quarter of a million students from outside the European Union who are currently studying here, more than half are postgraduates," he said. "International students comprise over 40 per cent of all our research postgraduates, more than any other country I could name."
He denied claims that the British Government's new points-based migration system would harm the multibillion-pound overseas student industry, saying there were a lot of scare stories about the effects it would have on the recruitment of undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The minister warned that universities would be expected to take responsibility for the students they sponsor.
"Let me say this for the record: the new migration system is designed to be clearer and simpler for those we want to come to the UK, such as students, (while) being robust against abuse. We have simplified the visa arrangements for sponsored researchers and, only last week, we announced that visas would be awarded for the full length of students' courses.
"But universities have responsibilities too. It can only be right that sponsors are responsible for those migrants they bring into the country and this must include the reporting of enrolment, non-attendance and discontinuation by students."
The conference, organised by Universities UK and the International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate), looked at the benefits to British and international universities that the research outputs of PhD students brought, including the boost to departmental, institutional and national reputations.
Mr Lammy said in the future more universities would enter into collaborative partnerships with overseas universities, following the 95 international research co-operation projects already established through the Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education.
I-graduate director William Archer said that national and institutional strategies were constantly being adapted worldwide in a bid to outshine competitors in attracting international research students.
"Awareness of the different approaches and strategies adopted by competitor nations is critical. The choices for students are changing all the time. For this reason it is more important than ever for institutions to track the decision-making, expectations and perceptions of their research students and to monitor against changing trends," he said.
UUK's higher education international unit head Shaun Curtis said British universities were highly successful in attracting postgraduate research students from across the world. "We have a 15 per cent share of the global market (the highest per capita in the world), but competitor countries such as Australia and the US are implementing strategies to increase their market share."
UUK president Rick Trainor said that "now was not the time (for Britain) to pull up the drawbridge". British universities and the British economy needed access to the best and brightest students from across the world. Solutions to the global downturn would be found in greater internationalisation, not less, he said.
Professor Grigg stressed the importance of Australian universities in the country's push to innovate. The blend of different agendas including collaboration, revenue generation and human resource development would vary country by country. The future of internationalised universities would focus on international research partnerships. He suggested that instead of competition, institutions should perhaps see engagement in partnership as co-operation with other countries to attract the best and brightest young researchers.
The British Government plans to outline a new framework for higher education later in the year.
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