University representatives in the UK have been reporting ongoing issues with obtaining business visas for Nigerian student recruitment events.

The PIE understands that the British High Commission has been asked to offer diplomatic support and the situation is being resolved.

Ahead of a busy recruitment travel period in West Africa that includes the popular IDP Study World Exhibitions taking place in Abuja, Accra, Kumasi and Lagos, a number of international officers from UK universities have been receiving rejections to their business visa applications to enter the country.

Other representatives that have held two or three year business visas have also reported having them reduced in length or having them rejected.

Bukky Awofisayo, a senior market leader at Intake, which is now part of the IDP Education group, said, “We have only heard from one partner getting a visa rejection to date and the person has re-applied for a single entry rather than a multiple entry request made earlier.

“We are expecting to receive the exact refusal details to know the cause of the rejection. We will seek to contact the Nigeria immigration office in London to find out more about the visa challenges and the option of visa on arrival.”

Visa problems are an unwanted headache for international recruitment directors at this time of year, as travel plans are often multi-destination to provide maximum support for students at a peak time. Travel funds for hotels, flights and transfers have already been committed.

It is very unlikely private sector recruitment events will offer refunds for exhibition fees based on visas being issued successfully. This responsibility is on delegates as part of the terms of agreement.

Stuart Rennie, a specialist in Africa market entry and managing director at AfraEd, said he had been contacted by several international teams for assistance.

“I can see from coordinated WhatsApp groups with clients and colleagues that rejections have become an issue,” he said.

“There are cases where passports have been held at the embassy for up to six weeks and returned eventually with no visa. [Without resolution] it could have a direct impact on exhibitions being held in October where UK staff were aiming to travel out to the region.”

Selma Toohey, an executive director at QS, added that “lots of international officers are being refused Nigerian visas and nobody knows why”. While QS events are not scheduled until November there is clearly a concern it is affecting the run of events this October.

The Africa BUILA regional interest group is planning additional in-person events in the region including school visits.

Current RIG chair, Caroline Rushingwa said the situation was “being resolved” when contacted for comment.

It would appear the turnaround times specified by the outsourced visa processing company OIS have been inconsistent for more than a year now, with widespread speculation about the reasons why.

One suggestion is university representatives applying via a visa company appear to be far more successful than individuals who are applying on their own.

Nigeria is one of the five priority countries named in the UK’s international education strategy co-authored by the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Education.

The recent changes made by the Home Office however, banning international students from bringing family members to the UK as dependants could harm the UK’s appeal in Nigeria.

Nigeria had the highest number of dependants (66,796) of sponsored study visa holders in the year ending March 2023 according to entry clearance visa application and outcomes data.

“We should also be paying attention to staff needing to travel in the opposite direction”

University leaders will be monitoring the January intake closely for signs of decline in interest from the region and if the wider UK appeal has been harmed by the new policy.

“We should also be paying attention to staff needing to travel in the opposite direction,” pointed out Emma Tarrant Tayou, director of the Graduate Guidance Group and former Africa business development advisor for the University of Nottingham.

“Universities have invested in local staff who play a really important role in driving the numbers from Nigeria but I have heard of a number of in-country representatives being refused visas by the UK for essential familiarisation and training visits for the very universities they represent.

“This is the way institutions build knowledge, trust and with their appointed people on the ground. If Nigeria is to be a priority country for UK higher education we need parties to advocate for ease of visa and travel in both directions.”

Rennie, speaking of the services offered by AfraEd, said “in key markets such as Nigeria it is important to have an on the ground presence where trained local staff can support recruitment. Visa issues can be avoided if universities have dedicated people in the country.”

Have you experienced business visa issues with Nigeria? Have these issues been resolved or are you still needing support? What are your student recruitment plans for the autumn/fall period in the region? You can tell us in the comments below or email editorial@thepienews.com

The post Nigeria to resolve business visa delays appeared first on The PIE News.

Canada’s higher education system is “uniquely positioned” to build sustainable communities across Ibero-America, education leaders heard at the United Nations last week, as a new partnership seeking to accelerate sustainable development globally was launched.

Speaking at the UN, Global University Systems Canada CEO, Cyndi McLeod, noted that in order to build a sustainable and inclusive future, accessible and industry relevant qualifications will be needed.

Some 4,600 Latin American students are enrolled in GUS universities and colleges in Canada, she said, adding that Canada and Ibero-America have “much in common”.

“The Canadian higher education system is uniquely positioned to collaborate with regional stakeholders, empower and build sustainable communities through green economic development, entrepreneurship and harnessing the incredible talent of youth and local people,” McLeod explained.

The two regions both have a “rich cultural diversity, an abundance of natural resources, cultural and heritage tourism and have been at the front of global sustainability discussions for a long time”.

“Canada’s higher education has a pivotal role in advancing several of the UN’s SDGs, specifically in Ibero-America, building curriculum to support sustainable agriculture practices, ecotourism, fair trade and academic programs and research that focus on a circular economy,” she said.

GUS, which acquired FutureLearn in late 2022, has partnered with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning to provide free access to online courses on sustainable development issues.

The project is hoping to reach 100,000 lifelong learners in 292 UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 76 countries.

Former UK universities minister, Jo Johnson, who joined FutureLearn as chairman during the GUS takeover, said that over the next 24 months, participants will “have access to a curated collection of online short courses from leading British and global universities, all focused on the themes of ‘sustainability’ and ‘climate change’”.

“Sustainability education is only as impactful as the people that can access it”

“This invaluable opportunity comes at no cost to learners, and seeks to elevate sustainability and climate awareness within learning cities and their respective countries,” he said.

Announcing the project at the UN, GUS chief impact officer, Yuliya Etingen, stated that for students to be empowered to become catalysts of positive change, “education systems around the world need to include foundational sustainability knowledge”.

“Sustainability education is only as impactful as the people that can access it,” Etingen said. “This is why partnerships between the public and private sector are crucial. Collaboration between NGOs, education and tech companies are the future to making this dream a reality.

“By offering free climate change courses in 292 cities around the world, residents will be able to study for absolutely free, from Bogota to Hamburg to Beijing and they can learn how they can make a difference in their community.”

“Sustainability is a global imperative that necessitates a collaborative, inclusive and intersectional approach,” McLeod concluded. “It is up to us as leaders to harness these strengths for a greater good and it is essential that we recognise the UN’s SDGs not merely as aspirational but that they serve as a roadmap for a better world for all.”

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A pioneering new AI tool from Global Study is seeking to reshape international student management for agencies.

The software platform, Student Advisor, streamlines international student management and features an AI tool that works alongside advisors as an optional “co-pilot”, drafting responses to student queries that advisors can choose to edit before sending.

“We intend to deliver the most intelligent AI brain in study abroad. That’s our goal,” Gregory Sukornyk, CCO and co-founder of Global Study, told The PIE.

In August 2022, Global Study launched the alpha version of Student Advisor, working closely with student advisory operations to optimise and improve the platform over the following many months.

“We intend to deliver the most intelligent AI brain in study abroad”

Now, open to the market, Paul Cowles, CTO and co-founder of Global Study said it boasts “the most advanced AI solution in the study abroad space”, with even more enhancements to come.

“We began harnessing the power of AI two years ago and have since built a conversational platform as a foundation for an AI first future,” said Cowles.

Sukornyk described the product as a “total game changer” for advisors, highlighting the benefits it gives them such as extra time to handle higher touch aspects of counselling.

“Counsellors waste a lot of time on mundane tasks when managing students. [Student Advisor] can massively increase productivity,” said Cal Barton, CEO and founder of Global Study.

“All communication can be done and stored on the platform. No bouncing around from WhatsApp to SMS to Email to Zoom and hunting for past messages.”

This platform aims to allow agencies to marry technology with the human touch, presenting a private, dedicated conversation hub for each student encompassing text, audio and video communications.

Other features of Student Advisor include a customisable student journey tracker, integrated document management, student reassignment tools and instant multilingual translation.

“The student journey tracker means essential steps and deadlines aren’t missed. That offers strong quality control and the AI can do in seconds what can easily take counsellors hours,” said Barton.

Although the product was not originally designed for universities, Sukornyk said a number of partnerships with universities have evolved, allowing institutions too to manage domestic and international students through the platform.

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Police in the town of Kingston in Canada, which hosts multiple universities with sizeable proportions of international students, have responded to reports of a scam targeting them.

The scam involves students being contacted by phone or online and told that their name has come up in a fraud investigation.

“[They say] the victim’s information has been used to commit a fraud and they require proof that they are not part of the criminal enterprise,” Kingston Police said.

“This may require the victim to share banking information or even make a payment. The suspects often claim to be working with the RCMP [Mounties],” they elaborated.

The police said that students should be on the lookout for signs of the scam when they are contacted “out of the blue”, especially if they’re being asked to provide personal information or bank details.

They warned students that the scam would often involve someone telling them to “act immediately or they will be arrested”.

-Scammers target Int’l students, claiming to be police from their country
-Claim to be working w/ CDN Police
-Suspects ask for $ wire to prove victim’s ID or avoid detention
If you’re contacted/suspicious, call @KingstonPolice for advice.

— Anthony Hampton (@kpfraudunit) September 14, 2023

Anthony Hampton, an officer working in the fraud unit at Kingston Police, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, to try to warn international students about the scam.

“Suspects ask for [money] wire to prove victim’s ID or avoid detention,” Hampton wrote.

Queen’s University is one of two prominent institutions in the area that hosts international students.

The other, St Lawrence College, has approximately 10% of its total student body listed as international students, but Alpha College, which is a partner of St Lawrence located in nearby Scarborough, reportedly has a majority body of international students.

“The suspects often claim to be working with the RCMP”

Neither Queen’s or St Lawrence replied to The PIE’s request for comment, and no public PSAs or warnings have been produced on the institution’s social media channels or websites.

Police also said that the scam was particularly targeting international students from China, with suspects claiming to be law enforcement from source countries, working with the federal police.

According to the Criminal Investigations Unit, one person had “already been defrauded” out of CAN$23,000 as a result of the scam.

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Generative AI is being used in attempted attacks on digital English tests, cybersecurity professionals have revealed to university stakeholders.

Speaking at a Duolingo event in central London, senior security engineers explained that they are ahead of the curve in ensuring test integrity but continued vigilance and honest discussion is needed in the battle against fraud.

The proliferation of ‘deepfake’ videos online – so called because of the manipulation of fake content to look or sound like someone else – have been fuelling a new wave of extortion and disinformation scams.

The technology was originally used in the adult entertainment industry to superimpose the faces of celebrities on to actors. The same techniques can be used to make an online English test taker appear to be the genuine applicant, when in fact they are an impersonator being digitally masked to avoid detection.

Face-swap apps have become widely available but the sophisticated software needed to convincingly render a live stream is luckily still beyond the budget and expertise of cheating rings.

Nonetheless, Basim Baig, head of cybersecurity for the Duolingo English Test, explained why the company has decided to appoint a lead engineer in deepfake technology as the company proactively tackles security threats.

“​​Deepfakes are a machine learning driven attack but we have access to the same, if not better technology as the bad guys,” explained Baig.

“We are building out our [tech] muscles to understand how deflective technology works. We then implement the latest techniques being developed by the broader cybersecurity community on deepfake detection for things like preventing propaganda, election fraud or extortion.

“Real time deepfakes are still different from offline deepfakes. If you think of Hollywood, an artist might spend days getting the rendering just right. Real time deepfakes are a much, much harder thing. You need much more expensive equipment.”

“The technical barrier to entry is high”

High end graphics processing units from companies like NVIDIA are entering the open market and are powerful tools for people with the technical skills to use them.

“It’s something that’s on the rise,” said Baig, “but it’s minuscule right now.”

“I think the technical barrier to entry is high. That’s the main reason people are not doing it right. To achieve [live deepfakes] you need a single picture rendered in real time, while at the same time it doesn’t look like your CPU is on fire. [For these reasons] not being detected by our systems is an impossible challenge.”

The use of both AI and human proctors by testing companies is helping keep test secure and spot the tell-tale signs of external interference.

Kimberely Snyder, a senior operations manager at Duolingo explained some of the clues to spotting deepfakes, saying, “We look for behavioural signals and discrepancies in the video like eye movement or people’s teeth. Teeth are a huge giveaway.”

Other digital metrics are monitored, the details of which need to remain obscure to prevent fraudsters from trying to bypass them.

Baig explained that a major benefit of the Duolingo test compared to competitors is they are conducted asynchronously, meaning they are recorded on a secure desktop application and then assessed by several people later, is a huge advantage because video frames can be slowed down and analysed.

“It’s because it was built from scratch to be a digital, remote first test rather than simply digitising analog processes,” continued Baig. “By combining machine learning with a highly trained proctoring team we can deliver greater levels of security than ever before.

“Our test is administered from end to end using in-house technology with no third party involvement, and anonymous, randomly assigned proctors, meaning the chain is secure.”

Digital tests companies do not share the same systems for proctoring and security with many only having been developed in swift response to the pandemic and the switch to online testing and learning.

Earlier this year Pearson reported widespread violations with students who had taken the PTE Academic Online Test.

The company has not openly explained the reasons why tests were compromised which has meant legitimate students have had their results rescinded or rejected by universities who cannot be sure of the test’s integrity.

Baig explained that the education industry is attracting many more coordinated extortion scams because of the legality of test fraud which varies from country to country.

“When you’re helping a student cheat on an exam, you’re not technically breaking the law [depending on the country], you’re just breaking the terms of service of a specific multinational company that might or might not have anything got to be in your jurisdiction.

“Whereas if you’re doing wire fraud, it is an international crime. The reason people attempt to defraud any type of test is because there’s money to be made for them.”

The Duolingo English Test was founded in 2016, but there has since been a proliferation of online tests created from a wide range of companies including IELTS, TOEFL, Pearson, Kaplan, Language Cert and Oxford International Education Group as the digitisation of the international higher education sector increases.

The UK government is due to review its own policy on secure English language tests accepted for visa purposes in the near future.

The post Preventing ‘deepfake’ threat to English test security appeared first on The PIE News.

Students are still flocking to Russia for degrees despite the war in Ukraine, multiple reports say but official figures are yet to confirm this.

The country’s ministry of education said two years ago that it would be raising the international student quota for universities to 30,000 per year – it is not clear whether this target has been reached.

Despite the new quota not being announced as officially in place students speaking to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian publication (labelled undesirable by the country’s government), said they were studying “free of charge” thanks to the quota – and despite the war, one vowed to stay.

“My mum texted me and asked me if I wanted to leave Russia. But I said I didn’t want to. I like it here,” said Latvian student Isidor.

Overall, 351,117 international students were in Russia in 2022 according to IIE’s Project Atlas – which was actually down from the previous year, where over 395,000 were counted.

Kazakhstan remains the most popular source country for Russia – over 62,000 students chose it as their destination – but reports of African students choosing Russia are also increasing, amid record scholarships being offered for them.

Vladimir Putin himself said in August that over 35,000 students from the continent study in Russia, a number he aims to grow – this number has not been confirmed by the ministry with any official data.

“There’s a strong legacy of higher education links between Russia and Africa, dating back to the Soviet era,” said Precious Chatterje-Doody, an expert in Russian international relations and a lecturer in international studies and politics at the Open University.

“The USSR used these links to project its superpower status there but also to educate successive generations of Africa’s thought leaders and open them up to Soviet values. Fast forward to now, and well-respected Russian universities still maintain their good reputation across Africa for those who want an international education,” she continued, speaking with The PIE.

Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, also said in August that he was interested to get “more and more students” to go to Russia to learn across a “number of disciplines”.

Leaders met earlier this year at a summit in St. Petersburg, and Russia is looking to open language centres across the continent.

“Russia has been actively promoting itself across Africa as a challenger to an unfair Western-dominated international system that rests on the gains of colonialism,” Chatterje-Doody added.

“This idea resonates in various African countries where the legacies of colonialism are still felt, and it’s only been bolstered by recent Russian military and information influence operations in the region.”

Multiple former students in Russia, originally from Africa, were also drafted by late General Prigozhin’s mercenary group Wagner, where some were killed.

Russia has been pushing for students from less highlighted destinations too – the Russian Embassy in New Zealand recently released a video on Twitter promoting Russia’s scholarships for international students.

🧑‍Do you want to study in Russia?

The Russian Government offers annual scholarships to international students and Russian compatriots living abroad who wish to study full Bachelor’s, Masters and PhD degrees programmes in Russian universities.

Morehttps://t.co/x6DHM76fUn pic.twitter.com/DQ1AGjaS8d

— Russian Embassy, NZ (@rusembnz) September 14, 2023

Its association with China in the diplomatic world has also caught the attention of the west – and on September 14, one federal university also said it will be opening a campus in Guangzhou.

While official data is not being given by the Russian government – despite the impression that numbers are skyrocketing – it is clear that portions of students around the world are still choosing Russia.

Whether this number will exceed its 2021 quota amidst the war, however, is a different, more difficult question.

The PIE reached out to several Russian universities and the Russian ministry of education to find out their official international student numbers – none replied to our request for comment.

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Enhanced employability is not the sole purpose of education, but it undeniably constitutes a major motivation for many students.

Many UK universities have underscored the significance of employability by incorporating it as a strategic priority within their learning and teaching frameworks.

Nevertheless, a conspicuous gap persists in our understanding of international employability, particularly concerning those students who intend to return to their respective home countries upon completing their studies.

Our previous research findings indicate that a majority of Chinese international students intend to return to China after graduation. However, they often report feeling ill-prepared for the job-seeking process, both in terms of developing essential employability skills during their time in the UK and navigating the nuances of timing and knowledge relevant to their home country’s job market requirements.

During the 2022/23 academic year, we undertook a new study of Chinese students’ experiences, supported by Jisc Careers Research Grant.

Our primary objective was to investigate the perspectives of both Chinese alumni and Chinese employers regarding the impact of studying in the UK on the employability of students returning to their country.

This in-depth research comprised 36 interviews, consisting of 20 with Chinese graduates who had studied in the UK and 16 with Chinese employers spanning various professional sectors.

Our research suggests that both Chinese alumni and employers value the study abroad experience.

In particular, in nine distinct areas, both employers and alumni agreed that studying in the UK significantly enhanced these attributes and that they contributed to employability:

• Initiative
• Communication and team working
• English language proficiency
• Time management
• Problem-solving and analytical skills
• Adaptability
• Inclusivity
• Research skills and information seeking
• Global perspective

However, there was less consensus between alumni and employers on other skills, such as:

• Critical thinking: UK alumni were less convinced of its value compared to employers.
• Communicating with management: employers believed that alumni lacked proficiency in communicating upward to their managers.
• Subject knowledge: UK alumni believed that they excelled in this area, while employers perceived their knowledge as overly theoretical.
• Persistence: graduates felt confident in this aspect, but employers had reservations.
• Customer service: alumni considered this necessary only for specific roles, but employers deemed it important across all positions.

In addition, four areas were identified as important but inadequately developed in UK education, namely: professional image management; social networking skills; digital skills; and Chinese language skills.

For example, students were encouraged to exclusively think, speak, and write in English when discussing the subject matter they were taught. However, upon returning to their home countries and entering non-English speaking work environments, they encountered challenges in effectively expressing their knowledge in Chinese.

Our research had several other key findings. Employers prioritised university ranking, degree qualifications and study duration, in evaluating candidates. Single year masters were often considered less valuable than longer term study.

Employers also thought that returning students often had inflated salary expectations, as they sought to recoup their study costs and had unrealistic job market expectations due to limited awareness of the Chinese job market.

“Tier 1 cities face graduate oversupply, while lower Tier cities face a shortage of overseas graduates”

While internships were valued for employability, visa restrictions and short study periods limited opportunities in this respect. Alumni also viewed relocating to Tier 1 cities as one of the advantages of studying abroad, but these cities face graduate oversupply, while lower Tier cities face a shortage of overseas graduates.

Our interviews identified a variety of recruitment channels in use, with personal recommendation trusted most by alumni.

University career services were valuable but under-utilised, as students perceived them as too geared toward UK jobs rather than positions in China.

During initial job searches, alumni felt disadvantaged as employers preferred face-to-face recruitment, but they were still studying their course in the UK at peak recruitment times.

Based on our findings, we recommend UK universities to offer clear guidance on how career services function, emphasising their relevance to the Chinese job market.

Additionally they should facilitate offline connections for international students through Chinese recruitment fairs and involve industry partners.

Workshops can be conducted to enhance skills identified as important by Chinese employers but less developed in UK study.

You can read the research in full on Prospects Luminate. And find more information on the Jisc Careers Research Grant.

About the authors: Xin Zhao, University Teacher at the University of Sheffield, and Andrew Cox, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield.

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