If you could spend five minutes with anyone from the international education sector, who would it be and what would you ask them? Introducing The PIE’s latest series, Five Minutes With… where we speak to leaders from across the sector and ask them all the big questions.

Akshit Jain works at T&A Consulting in Delhi where he supports Norwich University of the Arts as country manager for India. As a passionate professional, he tells The PIE about the importance of people-to-people connections that the sector creates and why India is such an exciting education market.

What do you like most about your job?

The importance of the Indian market as a major driver for global growth in student mobility is on display everywhere. The mindset of the growing market here is incredibly dynamic, and being a part of it allows me to stay connected with the pulse of the changing educational landscape.

What brings me immense satisfaction is knowing that I am in a position to offer valuable guidance and counselling to students. I find great fulfilment in providing the kind of career advice and direction that I wish I had received during my student years.

“This role enhances my empathy, people skills and public engagement”

As a country manager I am able to positively impact the lives of hundreds of people I interact with, and contribute to institutional partnerships and try to build a sustainable model of student recruitment.

This role not only brings out the best in me but also enhances my empathy, people skills and public engagement, making it a personally and professionally enriching experience.

What work-related issues keep you awake at night?

Two work-related issues keep me awake.

Firstly, the volatile nature of government policies, particularly last-minute alterations, that significantly affect student mobility. These sudden shifts can lead to many challenges, impacting the planning and execution of a student’s plans and decisions.

Secondly, the holistic experience of Indian students within international universities is another area of concern. I often reflect on ways to enhance the overall journey for these students – from the application process to on-campus integration and academic achievement.

What is your proudest career moment?

Revisiting my alma mater as a valued member of a Russell Group university in a previous role, and engaging in a multi-faceted partnership between these institutions, stands as a remarkable highlight.

It felt amazing to be in the same place I was as a student, now being part of a university-wide collaboration on an international level, that will widen the horizon of students willing to go abroad.

How did you find yourself working in international education?

My journey into international education has a lot to do with my inner calling. I went to an Engineering college in 2015 to do computer sciences and spent my foundation years doing internships with top MNCs. Grades were not an issue, I was getting the job done but my heart was not in the right place.

“I was getting the job done but my heart was not in the right place”

Right out of college, I got a fantastic chance to work for a top university, thanks to my placement coordinator. It was a switch from spending time with machines to public dealing. I soon realised that what intrigues me isn’t gadgets, but people.

So, I dove into the education world, and it’s been an amazing ride ever since. I have done university representation and then switched gears to project management within the education sector. This allowed me to understand the ropes of HR, Recruitment, Operations, and Client Relationships.

Biggest challenge to your profession?

Our industry is run on students’ sentiments. It is integral to understand the saving, investment and expenditure sentiment of your region from a consumer point of view.

Unforeseen factors like the the pandemic, travel restrictions and political disturbances majorly affect the student mindset and their plans to study abroad.

A well researched student looks into rankings, impact of research, location, support services, alumni networks, accommodation, employability, visas, post-study opportunities and so much more. We as providers try to ensure that the equilibrium is maintained but on an individual capacity one can only do so much, this becomes the biggest challenge for me.

Champion/cheerleader which we should all follow and why/ who from the sector do you admire most?

In the past years, I’ve met some truly amazing folks with incredible talent. While I don’t have just one champion to follow, I think it’s important to learn from everyone around us. I try to soak up knowledge like a sponge.

Each of us has strengths and areas where we can do better. I like to pick out the best in everyone and add it to my professional outlook. I like the person I am becoming.

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The Albanese government in Australia has announced that it is ending a visa that sector stakeholders say students have been utilising to end their studies early and access full-time work in the country.

Estimates suggest that around 30% of 100,000 individuals currently on 408 Covid visas in Australia are former international students. Peak bodies have welcomed the government decision to end the visa as it closes a loophole that has been used to access the jobs market.

The decision to close the visa from February 2024 for all applicants will help to maintain Australia’s reputation as a quality international education destination, they say.

The visa will only be open to applications from existing pandemic event visa holders from September 2 this year. A charge of AUS$405 will also be introduced.

“We’ve lobbied for the cessation of this visa extensively”

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles, said that the ending of the pandemic event visa, which the Labor government inherited from the former coalition government which was in power at the height of the pandemic, was previously “an important part of Australia’s visa system” during Covid-19.

“Many people on temporary visas helped Australia during this period. We’re providing an opportunity for people who hold a pandemic event visa to explore another visa option, or plan to leave Australia,” he said.

“Under the Liberals, our migration system wasn’t working for anyone. There was no plan to deal with how the borders reopened.

“We’ve brought wait times down, and we’re working to make sure our migration system is working again for all Aus­tralians after a decade of mess and mismanagement under the Liberals,” he said, in a dig at the former government.

Speaking at the English Australia conference taking place in Sydney this week, the body’s CEO Brett Blacker said the association is “delighted by the announcement of the ceasing of the Covid 408 activity visa”.

“We’ve lobbied for the cessation of this visa extensively, noting that the ELICOS sector has been utilised more than most for students to be able to access the 408 visa due to the short-term study nature of their student visas,” he told The PIE.

“Within the estimates that 30% of the student of the visa cohort on 408 are students, we know this has had an impact on the international education sector, so the closing of the visa at this point is well received.”

When Blacker announced the decision to the conference there was huge applause from those gathered.

Phil Honeywood, CEO of IEAA, noted that the government should be congratulated on the “overdue measure”.

“It was obviously a legacy policy problem that they inherited from the previous coalition government, but it’s been allowed to continue for too long and we’ve now got over 100,000 holders of these visa types. At least 30% of those are estimated to be former international students who’ve jumped on to work full time,” he told The PIE.

“And we are really keen that Australia’s reputation as a quality international education destination is being [maintained].”

The announcement comes after several key policy decisions impacting the international education sector.

Last week, Canberra said it would abolish concurrent confirmation of enrolments, which was allegedly being used by unscrupulous providers to help students switch providers.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority has also been given “more scope” to keep substandard, unethical, dishonest or non-compliant practices out of the VET sector.

The Albanese government also ended unlimited work hours for international students in July this year, which was a measure initially introduced during the pandemic.

The 408 Covid visa decision “comes on top of recent announcements that all about returning Australia’s good quality study destination reputation”, Honeywood said.

“We look forward to more policy reforms to be announced in coming months,” he added.

“We’ve seen a trend of students on student visas moving to Covid visas and discontinuing their studies”

Deputy chair of the English Australia board and CEO of Discover English, Joanna Kelly, detailed that the school in Melbourne had seen students leave courses early to begin working in Australia instead.

“The discontinuation of the 408 Covid visa has been anticipated by the sector for months,” she told The PIE.

“At Discover English, we’ve seen a trend of students in the last three months on student visas moving to Covid visas and discontinuing their studies,” she said.

“Other providers were also losing students who, instead of extending their English course or moving to further studies at vocational or higher education level, applied for the visa that allowed them full time work rights. It was meant to be a temporary measure.”

Additional reporting by Emily O’Callaghan.

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The German U15 group of research-intensive universities has signed a long-term agreement to support closer ties between researchers and universities at its Canadian counterpart, U15 Canada.

During meetings on August 28-29, senior leaders from the 15 German institutions visited Canada’s University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa in the first bilateral meeting of its kind between the two organisations.

The visit culminated in a joint statement committing to deepening exchanges, including through the sharing of best practices, enhanced consultation on emerging issues and the joint formulation of science policy.

The partners say they want to collaborate more closely at a time of “challenging upheaval and uncertainty”.

University members have a “vital role” to play in strengthening democratic societies and cooperation is needed to build a “successful, prosperous and inclusive future”.

Institutions want to become climate-neutral, shape disruption through artificial intelligence and advance diversity and fairness in academic careers at the same time as they face evolving threats to the security of research activities, they added.

Home to top researchers shaping world-leading research, U15 universities are “internationally facing”, Chad Gaffield, CEO of U15 Canada reiterated.

“This agreement represents the next step in forging closer international collaboration amongst the top research universities in Canada and Germany,” he said.

“Our hope is that by working closely together, we can continue to deliver research which is of real value to both Canada and Germany.”

Both associations also “expressed eager anticipation fora successful agreement” as Canada seeks to join the European Union’s flagship research Horizon funding program.

In November, the EU began formal negotiations with Canada to join the program, and New Zealand became an association partner earlier this year.

“We share the same values – a factor that is becoming increasingly important in view of the current geopolitical dynamics”

The new agreement noted that science is “becoming more geopolitical, with disinformation campaigns and attacks on evidence-based decision-making and debate processes on the rise”.

Faced with challenges that are “inherently international”, mutual learning and the joint formulation of political positions is more important than ever, the associations maintained.

“Science and research depend on exchange and cooperation across national borders,” said Georg Krausch, chair of German U15 and president of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, adding that the first bilateral meeting between the associations “was a resounding success”.

“I am very pleased that we will be working together even more closely and strategically in the future,” Krausch stated.

“The universities of U15 Canada are scientific powerhouses and are among the global leaders in future-oriented and cutting-edge research fields. Moreover, we share the same values – a factor that is becoming increasingly important in view of the current geopolitical dynamics.

“Overall, the meeting holds great potential to further strengthen the cooperation between research-intensive universities in both countries.”

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Applications for student visas in Finland have gone up again in 2023, with a 48% increase on 2022 numbers, according to the country’s immigration service.

Some 8,762 non-EU nationals submitted applications for residence with the intention to study by July – up from 5,911 at the same time last year.

Calling the increase “dramatic”, the Finnish Immigration Service said that interest in the country’s education system was “growing”.

“Finland is increasingly being picked up on the radars of students and recruitment agencies,” noted Harri Suominen, co-founder of Edunation and AsiaExchange, speaking with The PIE.

“While it would be great to think it is purely because of outstanding marketing efforts by institutions and Finland, a great deal of it can be put down to recent changes in our residence permit procedures – not having application fees, and minimising the red tape,” he continued.

That minimisation of red tape has resulted in soaring numbers at universities. Joanna Kumpula of Tampere University, told The PIE the institution is breaking records “left and right”.

“At this moment, it looks like our new international master’s student numbers are up about 42%.

“I say this approximately because we do expect some cancellations due to long waiting lists for residence permits. The big increases [in Tampere] have been among students from for example Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka [largely aligning with national increases].

“Many of those students have not been able to receive even their interview times with consulates before the semester starts,” she explained.

The backlog of applications, which has been a pressing issue in recent years for Finland as numbers recover after Covid, was addressed by the immigration service in its announcement – it insisted it had managed to “process more applications than ever during the same period”.

“We added resources to be prepared for the summer season, as every year. Due to the considerable increase in the number of applications, we have also added personnel in the processing of applications submitted by students for the rest of the year,” explained Anu Tarén, head of the section of permit and nationality unit at the immigration service.

The prediction made by the service was that the backlog would be cleared by “the end of the year”.

Also possibly affecting numbers is the precarious position of Finnish politics. Following an election in April, a right-wing coalition formed a government – and a hardline stance on immigration seems to be the general consensus going forward.

A proposal has already been put forward to raise tuition fees for non-EU students by the coalition.

The Finns – the far-right party involved in the coalition – have ambitions to “drastically” cut immigration, despite ideas from the previous government to attract skilled workers to the country in order to plug labour shortages, and current efforts by multiple universities to attract students to stay after graduation.

“Maybe in Finland, we do not yet quite realise how crucial it is to make people feel welcome”

“The future does seem quite challenging from the perspective of the new government’s program.

“On one hand they do recognise that we need more international talent, both employees and students, but at the same time the realities of the changes they want to push do not fully support international student recruitment for higher education,” Kumpula noted.

“Maybe in Finland, we do not yet quite realise how crucial it is to make people actually feel that they are welcome here,” she mused.

“Finland has already taken big leaps and we already are an international country – but the reality is we’re not international enough.

“We need to acknowledge the great country we are, tell it to the world, and warmly welcome people here,” Suominen added.

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The Taliban has banned at least 60 Afghan women from travelling to Dubai to take up a scholarship at the University of Dubai. 

Some 100 women were offered funded places at the university by the Al Habtoor Group but many were stopped at the airport by Taliban officials and prevented from boarding their flight to Dubai. 

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chair of the group, posted a video on X (formerly Twitter), criticising the Taliban’s decision. 

“They refused them to board their plane and already we have paid for their aircraft,” he said. 

“We have organised everything for them here, accommodation, medication, transportation, security everything.”

I am unable to express the disappointment I feel now as The Afghan female students, whom I had provided an educational scholarship in collaboration with the @uniofdubai presented by Dr. Eesa Al Bastaki @ebastaki, were unfortunately unable to reach #DubaiAirport this morning to… pic.twitter.com/gJK9dB2yTf

— Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor (@KhalafAlHabtoor) August 23, 2023

The video also includes a voice note from an Afghan woman who was prevented from boarding her flight to Dubai.

“I don’t know what to do, please help us,” she said. “We are so concerned about this matter.” 

Writing on X, Al Habtoor said the Taliban’s interference had “left me lost for words to describe the disappointment I currently feel”. 

This is the latest in a string of actions by the Taliban stopping women and girls from accessing education, including barring women from attending university in 2022. 

The incident has provoked international outrage from campaigners and human rights groups. 

“This feels like the door slamming shut”

Heather Barr, associate director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch, described the ban as “particularly painful.”

Speaking on the BBC, Barr said, “We’ve done research on the situation girls who have been pushed out of secondary school are facing and one of the things we’ve heard from them is one of the small tiny shreds of hope that keeps them going from day to day is the dream that one day they might be able to get a scholarship and study outside of the country and this feels like the door slamming shut”. 

In a statement on X, Amnesty International condemned the Taliban’s decision, calling it a “flagrant violation of the right to education and freedom of movement”.

“The Taliban de-facto authorities must immediately reverse their decision and allow these female students to travel and study,” the group said. 

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While Nepal and Bhutan are often cited as exciting growth markets, Bangladesh is sometimes overlooked as a key differential student recruitment market for enabling growth and diversity.

According to HESA statistics, Bangladesh has become one of the fastest growing source markets for the UK higher education sector, increasing by 91% between the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years, with 12,700 students enrolled in British universities.

Despite this growth there are still many misconceptions about the country with institutions underinvesting in a market with such potential.

Legacy concerns about visa refusals have kept many institutions away and a lack of foundation pathways has severely inhibited undergraduate numbers.

For those institutions who have been proactive in the country however, it has played an important role in diversifying student populations on campus and has paid long-term dividends.

Last year, Bangladesh ranked as the sixth largest student recruitment market for the UK.

Samual Jackson-Royle, director of international operations and admissions at Bangor University speaks to The PIE, saying “Bangladesh has a young population and a growing middle class, making it a market of potential growth for all institutions”.

“The key for [Bangor University] and an area of investment has been working to understand where we as an institution can meet the needs of these students through specific additional skills or qualifications alongside the degree or through support in finding employment opportunities post-graduation.”

On the world stage, the country is also a key differential for UK education as it doesn’t feature in the top 10 source markets for either the US, Canada or Australia.

The latter has seen growing success from other South Asian countries such as Nepal and Pakistan who have become key growth enablers since the pandemic, and will be aiming to target similar success from Bangladesh.

As the eighth most populated country in the world with an estimated 170 million people, the north-eastern region is considered an emerging powerhouse in South Asia and the potential is clear.

The buoyant garment manufacturing industry has driven steady growth in the economy and middle-class income, with some surprising trends that make it stand out.

A lower population growth rate than both India and Pakistan, means its per capita income is actually growing faster than both larger countries.

A new bilateral agreement that came into force in July 2023 with neighbouring India, will allow direct cross-border trading in rupees. An initiative that could ease pressure on foreign currency reserves and stabilise fluctuating exchange rates that hamper student mobility.

Regulated financial flows between Bangladesh and India may also encourage increased support from university recruitment operations already based in India.

Bangladesh also has a strong cultural agenda to support the education of women in society, having held a female prime minister in office since 2009.

The country also has a higher than average propensity for digital transactions compared to the South Asian average.

Zahirul Islam, the Bangladeshi co-founder of AHZ Associates, a professional agency which provides student counselling services across the world for those interested in studying in the UK, explains the growing financial strength of the country and its positive impact on student mobility.

“In recent years, the Bangladesh economy has grown by 6.4%, which is higher than India. With this growth [we are seeing] a new group of applicants and parents coming forward to invest in their children’s future,” Islam explains.

“A lot of this risk is outdated and misunderstood”

“In Bangladesh lies a key and often untapped recruitment market for UK institutions. As the economy grows, people develop and we are proud to see continued strength on the world stage.”

Bangladesh’s colonial past and membership of The Commonwealth means there is an inextricable historical link to Britain that explains the higher demand for UK education specifically.

The University of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s largest public research university was purportedly modelled on the University of Oxford, and the northern city of Sylhet is often referred to as a ‘second London’, due to the thousands of families from the region that chose to migrate to Britain during the 1950s.

Much like New South Wales’s link to Nepal, the diaspora support of Bangladeshi communities living in Britain is a central factor to the successful recruitment of students to the country.

In 2022 student visa approval rates for Bangladeshi students applying to the UK were 98%, equal to India and higher than both Pakistan (95%) and Nigeria (95%), a statistic that will surprise many.

Islam explains however, that there remains caution among university admissions teams as they scrutinise Bangladeshi students as genuine applicants. “The UK has a long history with Bangladesh and yet only a few universities understand and see its real potential,” he notes.

“Universities are often concerned about the idea of risk in Bangladesh but we [AHZ Associates] have been working there for more than a decade and believe that a lot of this risk is outdated and misunderstood.

“Bangladeshi students see the UK as part of their history and welcome the opportunity to study there. These are genuine, talented students that we are proud to support.”

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Non-profit social enterprise World Education Services has invested in global verification company Qualification Check, the partners have announced.

Since 2010, Qualification Check has grown to provide licence verifications in over 195 countries and for more than 50,000 educational institutions and professional qualification awarding bodies. The amount of investment has not been disclosed.

WES CEO and executive director Esther T. Benjamin praised Qualification Check as a “trusted leader in verification” that uses technology and innovative processes to provide “effective, efficient, and customer-focused” verification services.

“Through our investment in this growing corporation, WES will provide even faster, more comprehensive support to those we serve. Together, we can support global mobility, reduce barriers and empower more individuals and organisations with services they can count on,” she said.

WES itself has provided over 3.5 million evaluations on credentials from over 200 countries and territories over five decades. Its services have allowed it to serve individuals pursuing their educational and career goals in the US and Canada.

“World Education Services is an organisation we have admired for many years,” said Ed Hall, CEO of Qualification Check.

Having the “highly valued and driven” organisation as a long-term strategic partner will help Qualification Check to “achieve our vision of, together, becoming the trusted source of global, verified qualification and license data”, he added.

“I look forward to working with the WES team in helping to attain our shared goals of empowering individuals through multi-jurisdictional recognition of their education and previous experience.”

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A more sustainable approach to funding higher education in the UK is needed, the Russell Group of research-intensive universities has said as they face “increasing pressures” to deliver high-quality education and impactful research.

In a briefing paper, the group representing 24 institutions says UK tuition fees and government grants are not sufficient to allow them to continue “educating the skilled workforce of the future and producing world-class research and innovation”.

Analysis shows that the amount UK universities have had to invest to subsidise their research activities has risen from £2.9bn in 2014/15 to £5bn in 2021/22.

In 2022/23 English universities on average supplemented the cost of educating each UK undergraduate student by £2,500 per year, with all subjects now making a loss on average, it added.

The paper notes salaries, maintenance and running costs, IT and digital services, support services and regulation, and scholarships and bursaries as five areas of spending that are “essential to high-quality education”.

The teaching of international students is the primary surplus-making activity for universities to subsidise their education and research, it said, adding that “universities cannot meet the rising level of subsidy required simply by reducing costs in education without impacting on the quality”.

Increasing efficiencies and other income sources are unlikely to cover deficits without radical business model changes, it continued. While “increasing international student numbers is possible… there are practical limits for universities and their communities, and doing so increases organisational risk,” it said.

The cross-subsidisation with international student tuition fees is “at the core of the research-intensive university business model, meaning the financial sustainability of universities is closely linked with international student recruitment”, the paper noted.

While it allows institutions to be most agile in the short term, there “are inherent risks of increasing reliance on one, potentially volatile, income stream to support the UK’s domestic education and research activity which can be affected by other policy decisions around visas and immigration, or wider geopolitical shifts”.

“Progress in diversification is being made but competition for international students is fierce globally and delivering change is a long-term strategy that also requires support from the government,” it added.

This all means that additional investment from government is necessary, the Russell Group maintained.

“A more sustainable approach to funding higher education is therefore needed – one that can offset the impact of inflation on the unit of resource, and one that is fair and affordable for students and taxpayers, while safeguarding the pipeline of science, skills and innovation necessary for the growth and prosperity of the UK economy.”

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Canada is expecting to host 900,000 international students this year, its immigration minister has detailed, meaning the country is approaching the total number of international students in the world’s most popular study destination, the US.

However, the minister warned “perverse effects” associated with the growth in recent years and risks to the “integrity of the system”. The US hosted 948,519 international students in the 2021/22 academic year, according to the latest Open Doors report.

Speaking on CBC’s The House, Canada’s immigration minister Marc Miller said that the country is set to increase its total international student population by 100,000 to reach 900,000 this year. In the last academic year the country’s institutions enrolled 800,000 international students.

Miller noted that “with any sort of lucrative economic proposition”, there have been players “gaming the system”, particularly among private colleges that “have ballooned in parts of Canada”.

“My principle concern is with that integrity of the system”

“My principle concern is with the integrity of the system,” he said. “[There is] some fraud, some people taking advantage of what is seen to be a back door entry into Canada.”

He noted the growth in international students has led to pressure in a number of areas, including housing. Last week, Canada’s housing minster suggested introducing a cap on students was “one of the options that we ought to consider” to deal with the housing crisis.

“The housing crunch is something that has been 30-40 years in the making and is something that we have to address but we can’t pin it on any particular segment of the population. It would not only be intellectually lazy but also false,” Miller told CBC.

“I don’t want to overstate [the pressure on housing] because a number of students already have housing, a lot of institutions are providing a lot of resources to be properly housed,” he noted.

For a sector worth between $20-30 billion to Canada, Miller emphasised maintaining the integrity of the system.

“There are some illegitimate actors that are giving false sense of hope to people in countries across the world that they can come to Canada and study here. [Then] they get here and they’re getting the equivalent of a store front and not necessarily getting the quality education that they were promised. That is something we need to take a hard look at,” he said.

“It’s going to take heavy discussions with provinces in particular and the institutions that are hosting them.”

The minister said that it is “important to differentiate” between the good and the bad actors. “Just putting a hard cap for example… is not the only solution to this,” he said.

Some private colleges issue acceptance letters and “only have places for about a fifth of places that they send out”, Miller continued.

“That is a real concern and plays to the narrative of the integrity of the system being challenged and people just taking the money and running.”

“What we don’t want to see is hopes dashed based on a false promise”

Other countries have prioritised strategies that focus on sustainable growth in recent years. New Zealand for example has placed ‘value over volume’ in its plans, while the UK is aiming for sustainable levels of international student numbers up to 2030. It famously hit its international student target of 600,000 a decade early and universities want to maintain the level in the next years.

Canada is set to launch a new international education strategy in April 2024. In consultations, stakeholders have said the issue of agents’ role should be reviewed.

“What we don’t want to see is hopes dashed based on a false promise,” Miller concluded.

“People that come to this country are looking to come here in record numbers, and that means people have an idea of what Canada is to them and largely these are people that are going to build the future of this country.”

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