We just talk about the good stuff

“The Gilman Scholarship will benefit me by expanding my horizon globally and setting me out of my comfort zone,” said Diandre’ Richie, a University of North Carolina junior.

Richie is one of nearly 1,500 US undergraduate students to receive a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad through the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The ECA’s Gilman Scholarship initiative began in 2001 and is supported by the Institute of International Education. Since then, the program has facilitated over 36,000 US students study or intern in over 155 countries.

Gilman Scholars must be recipients of Pell grants to qualify for funding from ECA. The initiative supports the department’s mission around diversity, equity, and inclusion, with an average of 70% of recipients identifying as racial or ethnic minorities, 60% coming from rural America, and 50% first generation college or university students.

Programs vary in length, location, and mode of delivery. During his May 2023 Gilman program, Ritchie will spend a week in Iceland with The Green Program, an initiative that specialises in creating global sustainability solutions.

“I will focus on renewable energy innovation and sustainability,” the environmental science major shared. “This will expand my network in the sustainability field while also allowing me to get professional advice that will help me during my future studies.”

Leyha Williams also majors in environmental studies. The Howard University student told The PIE she is passionate about sustainability, culture, and storytelling and seeks to apply her unique perspectives and abilities to generate excitement about sustainability.

“My goal for my study abroad can be summarised by one word: connection”

Williams will attend the University of Ghana next semester as a Gilman Scholar. “My goal for my study abroad can be summarised by one word: connection. I want to connect to my culture; I want to connect to the landscape; I want to connect to the people.” She said she hopes to foster this connection through coursework and volunteer efforts so she can apply her knowledge and skills to positively impact communities globally.

During the pandemic, the Gilman program offered students virtual opportunities to study abroad. Josh Pope is a recent graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University who participated in a virtual exchange in Taiwan as a Gilman scholar while the pandemic ensued.

Pope said he particularly enjoyed the service project that is a part of the program’s requirements. “As part of my project, I returned to my old high school and talked to current students in the Model UN team about Gilman, studying foreign policy, and becoming a foreign service fellow.”

Joseph Meringolo, assistant director at the Center for Global Education and Fellowships at Salve Regina University, said, “The Gilman provides up to $5,000 to each scholar, which can help cover those more direct study abroad costs, such as visa fees and flights, and even the major expense areas like room and board.”

Meringolo believes the scholarship gives scholars more “financial bandwidth” within their study abroad experience, adding that the funds “support the ability of scholars to have more access to programming that might be additional, and not included in the standard program fee.”

Applications for the next round of Gilman Scholars open in mid-January 2023 with an application deadline of 9 March.

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The UK’s prime minister has acknowledged the “significant economic and cultural contribution” international students make to the country, but stopped short of saying the UK should be attempting to recruit more.

Rishi Sunak said the UK will always want to recruit the “best and the brightest”.

“International students do make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the UK’s higher education sector and indeed the UK. They enrich the university experience for all students,” Rishi Sunak told a committee of MPs on December 20.

“The point to recognise is, the target we set of 600,000 was for 2030. We met it several years early and that is a sign of success but obviously it causes one to look at the situation but no one is doubting the contributions that students make to the UK and the economy.”

He did not say whether the UK should change the target for 2030.

“International students make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the HE sector and UK”@RishiSunak celebrates the positive impact of international students and the success of the International Education Strategy at @CommonsLiaison (1/2) pic.twitter.com/jevoB7sGnU

— University APPG (@universityappg) December 21, 2022

Asked by chair of the education select committee, Robin Walker, whether some institutions should be attracting international students and others not, is a “non-starter”, the prime minister said limiting international students at some institutions is “not something I’ve spoken about”.

The education minister Gillian Keegan recently said the UK should “focus on how we can expand and grow still” after reaching the 600,000 target a decade early.

However, home secretary Suella Braverman has previously claimed that “poor universities [are] being bankrolled” by international students. Her comments caused dismay among international education stakeholders and were heavily criticised.

“I want to make sure that we attract the best and the brightest to the UK, that is something we will always want to do,” the prime minister confirmed to the committee on December 20.

“The reforms that we have put in place will all have continued to attract people here”

“There is a global competition for talent… funnily enough our visa system for highly-skilled people is very competitive.

“The reforms that we have put in place will all have continued to attract people here,” he added, possibly referring to the Graduate visa route for post-study work opportunities.

UUKi has said that the UK should not be “pursuing growth at any cost”. The focus should be on sustainable growth, diversifying the pool of international students and maintaining the position of second most popular destination behind the US, Jamie Arrowsmith, UUKi director has said.

“We just want to make sure that people, when they are here, are contributing one way or another, I think that is an important foundation of a proper migration system,” Sunak concluded in his statement to the committee.

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UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning works with states to foster learning beyond formal education. David Atchoarena discusses the urgency of doing so and the need for universities to adapt beyond their traditional demographics.

As the director of UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning, David Atchoarena is at the forefront of driving the UN’s sustainable development goals. Specifically SDG4, which focuses on ensuring access to inclusive and equitable quality education and, crucially for Atchoarena, “promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all”. 

The Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) was established 70 years ago under a different name – the UNESCO Institute for Education. In the aftermath of the second World World War, it focused on promoting international understanding and collaboration through education. Since then, the organisation’s mission has evolved. 

“More recently, this topic and this scope was extended to a more comprehensive vision of education as lifelong learning,” Atchoarena tells the PIE. “So not only adult education, but looking at this continuity of learning throughout life, from a very early age until people get older.”

Lifelong learning refers to ongoing education, both inclusive of and beyond formal schooling for personal and professional development. As some countries experience declining birth rates and longer life-spans, continuing to educate and re-skill their populations throughout their lives is becoming increasingly important.  

The Hamburg-based UIL supports UNESCO’s member states to develop policies and provide the tools for everyone to access lifelong learning. 

“One of the responsibilities that we have is also to manage to build a stronger narrative and build more evidence,” says Atchoarena, “so that we can actually explain and demonstrate to policymakers that, okay, if you invest more in lifelong learning, in a certain way you will also contribute to climate change mitigation policies, you will contribute to employment, etc.”  

Atchoarena sat down to speak with The PIE at the Global Lifelong Learning Summit in November. The conference took place in Singapore, a country that is actively investing in adult education and training its workforce for the jobs of the future. Under its SkillsFuture program, all Singaporeans aged 25 and over receive money to spend on educational courses.  

But while countries like Singapore are committed to improving lifelong learning, continuing education is missing those who need it the most at the global level. 

“We’ve known for decades that people with low socioeconomic background, low educational background, women, people with disabilities, people in remote rural areas have less opportunities to actually access education,” says Atchoarena. 

“Although this has been well identified as a challenge, the policies, the strategies – whatever – that have been put in place have not been really up to the challenge.” 

Societies are “weaker” as a result, he says. 

“There is really an issue of a raison d’etre and survival for universities”

As UIL attempts to make lifelong learning a reality for all, Atchoarena believes that universities have an important role to play. 

“I think that often the university is a very traditional… sometimes conservative environment where it’s difficult, for instance, to accept the fact that certain levels of qualifications can be actually achieved regardless of a learning pathway,” Atchoarena says. 

“We are seeing that in many countries with all the difficulties and the resistance in implementing the recognition of prior learning within universities.”

But Atchoarena is confident that change is coming within higher education – perhaps by necessity rather than choice as the number of young people entering universities drops in some regions. 

“There is really an issue of a raison d’etre and survival for universities,” Atchoarena says. “They will have to diversity if they want to remain present. I think that demography, to a certain extent, in many countries will force universities to change.” 

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Authorities in Kenya have approved the planned acquisition by Braeburn Group of International Schools of former competitor Hillcrest Schools in the country, on condition that the former absorbs 97% of all 180 Hillcrest employees.

The decision on employee retention goes against the position taken earlier by Hillcrest, as it had issued a notice to the employees, alerting them that they would all be retrenched once the takeover process is complete.

“Regrettably, as a consequence of this transaction, Hillcrest will terminate employment of all its employees on the grounds of redundancy,” it warned in a notice issued in October. However, it explained that some of the workers would be retained in a tripartite deal with Braeburn and authorities.

Despite the position, the Competition Authority of Kenya asserted itself in seeking to protect the interests of ex-Hillcrest employees, decreeing that the takeover could only affect five out of the 180 workers.

“In regard to public interest issues, the Authority is of the view that this proposed transaction is likely to lead to negative public interest concerns.

“Specifically, the merging parties have indicated that certain administrative functions of the target business will be partly handled by the acquirer’s head office, including finance and human resource management,” CAK stated.

It added, “The Authority approved the proposed acquisition of the business and certain assets of Hillcrest Investments Limited by Braeburn Schools Limited on condition that the acquirer employs at least one hundred and 175 of the target’s 180 employees on terms that are not less favourable than what they are currently entitled to.”

“This proposed transaction is likely to lead to negative public interest concerns”

A successful takeover will see Braeburn dominate the British curriculum market segment at 12.8% of the nearly 30,000 pupils enrolled for the UK curriculum in Kenya alone – this is after inheriting the 2.6% market share currently taken up by Hillcrest.

Its rivals, according to the CAK will include the Aga Khan Academy at 7.1% of the market share, and local entities Srimad Premier Academy carrying 3.8%, and Oshwal Academy with 3.4%.

Based on the figures, the regulator observed that the proposed transaction was “unlikely to lead to substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the market for British national curriculum in Kenya”.

The acquisition will also see Braeburn become one of the biggest education groups in East Africa, the latest addition bringing the number of ‘co-educational’ international schools it owns to 17, spread over 10 campuses in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Hillcrest schools include early years, preparatory, and secondary schools, which provide British National Curriculum, iGCSE and GCE A-Levels to over 3,600 pupils.

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English language specialist UKLC has partnered with the renowned Clifton College in Bristol to deliver high-end summer programs for junior students.

The courses offer immersive language experiences, including excursions designed to allow students to continue learning in real-world situations and use of Clifton’s wide range of sports facilities.

“We have been delivering exceptional summer programs across the UK for over 20 years now and I have always thought about opening a centre specifically designed for individuals and small groups,” Céline Aloé, UKLC managing director, said.

“I’m so pleased that we have found the perfect fit to do this now and it’s an honour that Clifton chose us to partner with them.”

It is the second partnership UKLC has in Bristol and brings the total number of UK centres where the provider delivers junior programs to 13. Its partnership with Badminton School sees it offer programs throughout summer, in addition to fixed times throughout the year.

“Bristol is a fantastic destination for young people, we already have a summer school there and we know it very well,” Aloé added.

“Our students love the buzz of the city and all of the enjoyable things there are to do. I’m so excited for what we have planned, the team have created an outstanding program and I can’t wait to welcome students to Clifton College next summer.”

The school will open on July 9 and run for six weeks.

Students can tailor their programs through an extensive choice of electives and activities, UKLC added, and the Clifton College program has been specifically designed for individuals and small groups.

“We are always being asked by our partners if we have something to offer specifically for individuals and small groups and it’s wonderful to now have something that fulfils this,” Jess Goldsworthy, sales and marketing manager, said.

“We will continue to work exclusively with agents and ensure that we maintain offering the very best service to our partners. We have so many exciting things happening here at UKLC and adding another centre to our offering is a wonderful way to end a fantastic year.”

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While Indians are waiting up to 999 days to obtain US business or tourist visas, prospective students can expect to wait considerably less time.

Yet, some Indian students are still seeing visa delays which could see them miss the January intake, ultimately meaning they will need to defer, stakeholders have warned. Media reports have suggested that US is particularly affected, yet stakeholders have told The PIE that all countries are facing delays, with European destinations such as Germany a particular concern.

Some US institutions have reported issues surrounding visa delays while others have said problems are limited to very few numbers of applicants.

One told The PIE it is “seeing questions from admitted students regarding visas”, with some inquiring if they can arrive late for the spring 2023 term or defer to fall.

“During our recent interaction, a few students said their appointment slot is not until January. These are mainly students from India,” the school representative said.

International Student Applications Specialist & DSO at the University of Arkansas, Daisy Juarez, said that the school had not had as many deferral or late arrival requests from Indian students as previously, for spring 2023.

“I think that it was much worse in spring and fall 2022,” she said. “The bigger problem this time seems to be affecting Nigerian students, as they are reporting not being able to secure appointments until August 2023.”

Associate provost for International Programs at University of Delaware, Ravi Ammigan, noted that the school had “not seen major issues regarding visa issuance for incoming Indian students”.

“A few cases here and there but nothing to suggest a trend in deferral for Indian students coming to UD in 2023.”

Asked recently about visa delays, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the Biden administration is “aware of the issues” around wider visa delays beyond student applicants.

“While we have made great strides in recovering from the pandemic-related closures and staffing challenges, we are still working to respond to the significant demand of these visa services,” she told reporters on December 8.

“We are successfully lowering visa interview wait times – that’s around the world. And we’ve doubled our hiring of US foreign service personnel to do this important work. Visa processing is recovering faster than projected.”

The department of State has previously said it expects to reach pre‑pandemic visa processing levels by 2023.

It has also waived in-person interviews for some student applicants, which it said has been a factor in issuing “more student visas in FY 2022 than in any year since FY 2016”.

Analysis from Navitas recently found that the view of US processing times by agents has been “deteriorating slightly”.

According to Bindu Chopra, director at TC Global, visa delays are currently a concern for all destinations.

“Every single country now takes between four and six weeks minimum for visa decisions to be made. Even the UK, which has a service time of 15 working days. It’s taking at least four weeks,” she explained.

Managing director at SI-UK India, Lakshmi Iyer, suggested that with US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand “taking time to stabilise”, the UK could benefit.

“It is good news for the UK, however UK universities are struggling with capacity challenges and diversity concerns on their campuses,” she said.

“We are hoping that it’s only this intake”

Ireland is the one country that “is doing okay” despite having a much smaller cohort, Chopra noted.

“The Americans are a little more forthcoming,” she said, releasing more slots and doing regular social media updates.

However when dates are released, they are often blocked by unscrupulous agents that then sell the places on, she added.

“That’s across the board, by the way. Germany, for example, they couldn’t get dates last year and we had a lot of students still waiting and which means they missed the intake. And they had to move to the next intake. So this is not only a US problem…

“By summer next year, [US] staff strength will be back to pre-Covid, they should be completely back on track. So we are hoping that it’s only this intake, you know, but the other countries are equally bad. Europe is terrible. Germany is terrible… Canada is probably the worst in terms of delays.”

Australia’s education minister, Jason Clare – while announcing the new membership of the Council for International Education including IEAA, Universities Australia, Universities of Melbourne and Western Sydney among others – recently stated that the country is “breaking the back of the student visa backlog”.

“In May, more than 130,000 students were waiting overseas for their visa to be processed,” the minister said. “We have put more than 400 staff on to help process visas.

“And the number of students waiting overseas for visas is now down to just over 30,000. In other words, we have cut the waiting list by over three-quarters.”

Still, Bindu suggested that Australia has tightened up after receiving applications with fraudulent documents.

Earlier this year, agents from India were arrested after the US Embassy in New Delhi informed police they had attempted to obtain visas using fake documents.

“Australia used to be fairly straightforward but with a huge application form, so it was a tedious application, but there was hope at the end of the tunnel. Right now for the January intake, the rejections went up, I think by 50%,” Chopra told The PIE.

“Certain states are prone to fraudulent documents”

Earlier this year, Australian agencies detected some 600 fraud cases from the Haryana and Punjab regions of India. The result has been an uptick in rejections, Chopra continued.

“Certain states are prone to fraudulent documents. All countries are looking at them very, very seriously,” she said, with work experience documents being particularly prone to fraud.

“We’ve always maintained that if you have a gap, you have a gap. Explain it. You can have a gap. You’ve taken a gap year. You got a rejection, you started online, didn’t work out. So you have a gap. Why do you need to produce documents to prove that you are working, and there are no salary slips? Then you’re saying it was an unpaid internship? There are stories, I mean, we at TC Global could write a book. I’ve been here for 21 years, so ask me, I could certainly write a book.”

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A Chinese student in the US has been arrested and charged after allegedly harassing another student who posted fliers supporting democracy in China. 

Xiaolei Wu, 25, reportedly told the victim that he would “chop your bastard hands off”, among other threatening messages sent via WeChat, email and Instagram. He also allegedly warned the pro-democracy student that he had reported them to the Chinese government and that authorities would “greet” the victim’s family, according to US authorities. 

The victim, who was a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, had posted fliers on campus reading “Stand with Chinese People”, “We Want Freedom” and “We Want Democracy”. Wu, a student at the same institution, has now been charged with stalking and faces up to five years in prison. 

Some Chinese students abroad have been speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party in recent weeks in response to protests that took place in China in November – but doing so can be risky due to Chinese surveillance. 

John Metz, president of the Athenai Institute, a nonprofit campaigning to remove Chinese government influence from American college campuses, said the incident was “far from unusual”. 

“The Chinese government and its proxies… actively sought to recreate characteristics of China’s surveillance state on foreign university campuses,” Metz told The PIE News. 

“This puts intense pressure on Chinese students not just to fall in line but also to inform on their fellow students, either because they believe doing so will earn them political points at home, because they wish to avoid suspicion themselves, or because they genuinely believe the party’s propaganda.” 

A 2021 report by Human Rights Watch found that Chinese students in Australia self-censored to prevent fellow classmates from reporting on them to authorities back home, with academics and students claiming that the “atmosphere of fear” among Chinese students abroad had worsened in recent years. 

Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes have also come under scrutiny in recent years, with bodies in the US, UK and Australia warning that the educational centres risk being used as tools of Chinese surveillance. 

“Universities must dismantle the other financial entanglements that so often compromise their ability or willingness to protect their students”

“Ultimately, protecting students who today are often the victims of this exported surveillance apparatus will require universities to deprive the CCP and its proxies of the official recognition that allows them to operate on campus unchecked,” Metz said. 

“Entities like CSSAs [Chinese Students and Scholars Associates] — which often report directly to Chinese diplomatic staff and enforce ideological conformity on their campuses — must be stripped of their official student group recognition, Confucius Institutes must be closed, and universities must dismantle the other financial entanglements that so often compromise their ability or willingness to protect their students from a hostile foreign government.”

Speaking about Wu’s case, US attorney Rachael Rollins said, “We will not tolerate threats, harassment or any other repression attempts against those peacefully promoting their ideas, doing their jobs, or expressing their opinions. Freedom of speech is a constitutional right here in the US and we will protect and defend it at all costs.”

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PwC will invest $144 million in the development of a new training campus in China, in partnership with two business schools. 

Reimagine Park, a 16-acre training facility, will be built in Sanya in southern China by the professional services giant and local government. It will be home to PwC Asia Pacific’s new Trust Leadership Institute. 

The Institute is being developed together with business schools INSEAD and Thunderbird School of Global Management, and the Danish Design Centre. Together, they will provide training and learning for future talents, leaders and executives, PwC said in a statement. 

“PwC is bringing together a community of solvers with world-renowned institutions”

Due to open in 2025, PwC described the Park as a physical and virtual venue for “everything from immersive, problem-solving workshops to formal, specialised training courses”. 

“Mainland China has been putting more and more resources into talent development, technology, innovation and sustainability,” said Raymund Chao, chairman of PwC Asia Pacific and China.

“PwC is bringing together a community of solvers with world-renowned institutions, such as INSEAD and Thunderbird from education, and Danish Design Centre from the creative industries. They will all bring unique capabilities from different sectors. This will enable the program to make a real impact on society.” 

The development is part of PwC’s wider China strategy, which will see investment in strategic areas including the “workforce of the future”. 

“We hope that PwC will continue to leverage its advantages in the academic and business sectors so as to help Sanya’s digital innovation and talent development,” said Chen Xi, deputy secretary of the Sanya Municipal Party Committee and mayor of the municipal government.

“We welcome partners from around the world to our free trade port. We hope they can share the opportunities from China’s development and excel together.”

Sanya is a popular tourist destination on China’s Hainan island. 

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