Category: Blog

Erasmus+ future is “green and inclusive”

The future of the Erasmus+ program is inclusive and green, according to stakeholders gathered in Brussels to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the EU student exchange program.

The event coincided with the release of the Erasmus+ 2021 annual report, in which the four priority areas for the period of 2021-2027 were laid out – inclusion and diversity, environment and climate change, digital transition and democratic participation.

“2021 was a special year for Erasmus+. It marked the beginning of the new program, one that, with almost double the budget,€28 billion, committed to become greener, more digital and more inclusive. I am proud to say that the new Erasmus+ program reflects the needs and wishes of the citizens of Europe and beyond” said Mariya Gabriel, European commissioner for innovation, research, culture and youth.

According to the report, some 65,000 participants with fewer opportunities were supported by the program, making up 10% of the total number of participants. This includes those with special needs, those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those from the outermost regions.

Sabine Verheyen, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education said that this is a “big step forward” for the program but also highlighted that there is more to be done.

According to Juan Rayón González, president of the Erasmus Student Network, the most important thing is to understand the barriers that people face to participate.

“How do we do that? It’s actually very simple. We ask them. We need data, we need assessment, we need qualitative data meaning experiences in a structured way. We need qualitative data, using our services, using our tools and then we need to build on that data to create actions and to create policy changes.”

Credit: Erasmus+ annual report 2021

Some €330.3 million of the 2021 budget was spent on projects supporting the environment and climate change.

Ute Haller-Block, head of unit for Erasmus+ coordination, DG Education and Culture, European Commission, said her vision is of a fully inclusive, fully green program in 15 years.

“This is the one we have to tackle or start to tackle fully now. We have starts of a strategy, but we really have to contribute to the Green Deal by 2050,” said Haller-Block.

“We have to keep mobility because physical encounters are very important, so we have to look into alternatives. Slow travel is one word I’ve heard, and of course new technologies hopefully will be there to also have greener travel.”

Gabriel stated that although the doubled budget for the new program spanning 2021-2027 is welcome news, for her it is more about how many people the program can support and how many opportunities it can provide with this budget.

Credit: Erasmus+ annual report 2021

At the end of 2021, the number of participants in mobility activities since 1987, when Erasmus launched, reached 12.5 million

For the year 2021, Eramus+ had a total budget of €2.9 billion funding around 19,000 projects and including 71,000 organisations and close to 649,000 participants in mobility activities.

Other key findings from the report show that 59% of those who benefitted from Erasmus+ in 2021 were women.

Sophie Beernaerts, head of department Erasmus+ at the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, highlighted that although the four priorities outlined are important, the program must be flexible enough to deal with emerging needs in the coming years.

“We don’t know what the future will be”

“We don’t know what the future will be,” she said.

Beernaerts gave the Ukrainian crisis as an example of the need for such flexibility.

“We really gave a lot of help to educators, professors and learners there. This is something we could not have foreseen,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gabriel applauded the program’s ability to react to the “drastic and unexpected” increase in inflation rates.

“Solidarity is an essential part of who we are, because it is one of our core European values,” said Gabriel.

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Iraq’s first int’l campus to open next year

Iraq’s first international campus is set to open to students next year in the country’s Kurdistan region.

Construction has begun on the new British International University in Erbil. The institution will offer University of London degree programs when it opens in September 2023. Students will be able to enrol in courses including Business, Management and Computer Science, with additional subjects on offer from 2024. 

A breaking ground ceremony for the new campus took place on December 8, attended by the Kurdistan regional government and UK officials.

Speaking at the ceremony, Masrour Barzani, the Kurdistan regional government prime minister, said, “I hope the teaching of University of London degrees in Kurdistan, which is a renowned international university, can serve the education and scientific sector in the Kurdistan Region.”

The 150,000 sq ft campus will include student accommodation to cater for students from Iraq and the wider region. Up to 8,000 students will be able to attend the university in its first six years. 

The University of London, which is a federation of 17 institutions including LSE and UCL, currently provides distance and blended learning in 190 countries. 

“Such collaboration epitomises the relationship between the UK and the Kurdistan Region”

Vice-chancellor Wendy Thomson said, “The University of London is renowned for providing distance education to more than 40,000 students around the world, and we look forward to extending our offer of world-class degree programs to students in Kurdistan, Iraq and the wider region.” 

The new university is owned by Erbil-based investors and GEMS holding company.

David Hunt, outgoing UK consul general to Erbil, said, “We, as the UK are keen to increase ties and develop our relationship with the KRI further in the education sector. Such collaboration epitomises the relationship between the UK and the Kurdistan Region.”

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Fewer transitions to PR in Australia and October data indicates steady recovery

The number of students arriving in Australia in October this year was 43.6% lower than pre-Covid figures for the same month in 2019, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown.

In October of this year, 28,690 international students arrived in the country. Universities Australia described the figures as “good news” as they “confirm international students are steadily returning to Australia’s world-class universities”.

Earlier this year, the 49,340 international student arrivals to Australia was a 73.2% decrease compared to February 2019 figures.

“We can be proud of this progress, but we have work to do to return to the position of strength we held before the pandemic,” Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said.

“We also know that return patterns are not even across the sector, with some universities finding returns slower.”

“We also know that return patterns are not even across the sector”

Jackson pointed to the “enormous” social, cultural and economic contribution international students make, including the $41 billion in exports education generated before Covid-19.

“International students also strengthen the communities they join in Australia, enhancing our social fabric and adding new skills and knowledge to our economy,” she added.

“We look forward to contributing to the government’s migration review to shape the way we attract and retain the best people to contribute to Australia’s economic, social and cultural prosperity.”

Writing in Campus Morning Mail, Dirk Mulder said after September data showed Chinese enrolments down 31% on 2019 figures and commencements down 44%, “things could be about to improve”.

With changes expected to flights from China and mandatory quarantine, there are signs from the Civil Aviation Administration of China that it will more than double international passenger flights between October and late-March, on the same period a year ago.

“This is all good news. Flight arrivals are currently at around 5% of what they were three years ago for point-to-point travel,” he wrote.

 

The migration review, announced in September, will look into “unlocking the potential of all migrants”, streamlining visa processes to make them internationally competitive, as well as sponsorship opportunities for emerging jobs and industries.

A new Grattan Institute research paper has also added to the migration review debate.

The document – submitted to the migration system inquiry – called for permanent skilled visas to be targeted at younger skilled talent to “allow them to stay in Australia long term, not to address short-term skills shortages”.

The report noted that temporary migrant numbers fell significantly during the pandemic, “but is recovering quickly as students, skilled workers and working holiday makers return to Australia”.

“Thanks to this faster-than-expected recovery in temporary migrants, net overseas migration in the October 2022 Budget was forecast to recover to pre-pandemic trends two years earlier than was forecast in the March 2022 Budget,” it said.

It also noted fewer international students are making the transition to permanent residency, and those transitions from temporary to permanent residency that are happening, are taking longer than in the past.

It stated that, historically, up to 25% of student visa-holders transitioned to a permanent visa within six years of first commencing study in Australia, but for more recent cohorts that has halved to just 12%.

“The decline in the share of international students transitioning to permanent residency reflects – at least in part – the decision taken in 2010 to decouple student visas from permanent skill visas,” the report said.

“Under the new policy, graduating students were offered a new Temporary Graduate visa, which provides students with the opportunity to gain work experience before applying for permanent residency. But again, the growing number of international students and recent graduates, combined with fewer permanent visas allocated via the points-test, resulted in intense competition for permanent skilled visas among international students.”

Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia has also contributed to the Australian Department of Home Affairs’s review. In its submission, the body highlights five issues.

It calls for a thorough examination of the Genuine Temporary Entrant Requirement students need to submit when applying for visas, a new “coordinated” international education framework – including a renewed call to introduce an Australian Commissioner for International Education, as well as extended post-study work opportunities for skills training students.

It also requests a renewed focus on international students’ socio-cultural benefits and more transparency around agent fees for students.

The first findings from the migration review are expected in February 2023.

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LRN signs new agreement in Pakistan

UK-based awarding organisation Learning Resource Network has signed an agreement in Pakistan that could see its qualifications reach more than 5,000 candidates in the country within the next year.

A partnership with Centre for Emerging Studies and iLearn, as well as with the Defence Housing Authority College and School System – owned by the Pakistani army – comes after LRN partnered with Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College in Karachi in 2021.

The provider also launched International GCSE and AS/A Level qualifications globally that same year.

“LRN is feeling optimistic and enthusiastic about working closely with CES-DHACSS , and is hopeful that this is only the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership,” said CEO Muhammad Zohaib Tariq.

CES-DHACSS will be offering a range of LRN’s qualifications at its campuses across Karachi, including the GCSEs and AS/A Levels, as well as teacher training qualifications.

“We are committed to providing our youth with innovative learning opportunities that profoundly help transform lives of DHACSS students,” said director Center For Emerging Studies at CES-DHACSS, Azhar Rafi.

Executive director of education at DHACSS, Brig Muhammad Arshad Khan, added that the education provider is “well aware of the challenges of shaping young impressionable minds with a positive international perspective”.

“This agreement is the first agreement of this size in Pakistan”

“We aim to empower our students by preparing them, to grow as individuals who will make a mark in the global village, the world has come to be today. We are hopeful that our partnership with LRN will open new avenues for our students,” he said.

Overall more than 100,000 students take LRN’s qualifications globally.

“Currently, in Pakistan, teachers don’t have teaching qualifications, so having teaching qualifications will open the avenues for students who are going to be taught by qualified teachers,” Tariq told The PIE.

“The Pakistani Army owns DHACSS, so this agreement is the first agreement of this size in Pakistan; we have similar sized agreements with other prominent organisations outside Pakistan.”

DHACSS has 15 campuses in Pakistan and over 16,000 students, ranging in age and education level from pre-school to master’s degree level

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TAP launches campaign for Ukrainian children

Directors of peer-to-peer edtech company The Ambassador Platform have surpassed a target of £10,000 for a charity providing safe accommodation to Ukrainian children.

The ‘Higher Ed Stands with Ukraine’ campaign has raised close to £14,000.

The Ambassador Platform includes many staff based in Lviv office, set up in 2018. The team selected the Ridni Centre for Social Support for Children and Families for the fundraising effort.

The centre can offer safe housing for 26 children needing help, as well as free classes in Maths, English and Art. In one year of operation, it has helped 14 children safely return to their families and 45 families are still receiving psychological support.

“The higher education sector is a global network of like-minded people and institutions,” Nik Higgins, co-founder and chief growth officer at TAP, said.

“We’re calling on that network to put into practice the principles of international cooperation, tolerance, and respect”

“We’re calling on that network to put into practice the principles of international cooperation, tolerance, and respect that make it so special by coming out in support of our Ukraine fundraising campaign.”

The appeal comprises two key initiatives.

The first will see company directors George Olesen and David Barnes drive to Lviv from the UK to deliver supplies, warm clothes and Christmas gifts to the Ridni Centre, and the second is The Higher Ed Hoodie Project.

The initiative will see organisations across the HE sector pledging £1,000 or more have their logos printed on hoodies that will be worn during the trip.

Organisation sponsoring the sweaters include: Studyportals, Times Higher Education, FindAUniversity, Unibuddy, aecc, IDP Education, AMET Education and The PIE.

More information is available on the Just Giving page here.

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Netherlands uni chairs call for stop to curbing int’l students

A group of university chairs in the Netherlands has called for figures in parliament to stop attacking international students and the prospect of their recruitment.

The letter, written in the popular daily newspaper NRC, describes that an onslaught on international student recruitment will only help to “increase national labour shortages”.

“In doing so, [parliament] turns a blind eye to the fact that the shortage on the labour market – think of technology, ICT, education and care – is already causing major problems for us,” the opinion piece, signed by representatives from Breda University of Applied Sciences, Tilburg University and others, reads.

“In the coming decades, hundreds of thousands of new highly educated professionals will be needed in the Netherlands, and labour market shortages will only increase without adequate measures,” it continued.

A group representing the universities of applied sciences has also “slammed” the proposed cap, saying student recruitment from abroad was “crucial to filling gaps” in the labour market.

It comes after a parliamentary motion, spearheaded by MPs Peter Kwint and Harry van der Molen, was passed in the country’s lower house at the end of November calling on education minister Robert Dijkgraaf to begin limiting the amount of international students that can be recruited by universities, citing issues with housing and a lack of immigration checks.

Fred de Vries, head of internationalisation strategy and the University of Twente – whose president also signed the open letter – said the government’s approach didn’t take the different approaches by different institutions into account.

“We are actually very targeted. We are really trying to get the right talents to the Netherlands for the right programs, and for the programs where there’s a shortage,” de Vries told The PIE News.

“Although the Netherlands is a small country, the differences are quite big from region to region”

“We choose a deliberate profile and we are taking that very seriously in terms of the quality of education, of making students feel welcome and making sure that they are part of life here, and that they are being the best they can be as global citizens,” he reasoned.

The motion was passed after much debate in the parliament by numerous senior members in the last month, including Hatte van der Woude, saying that universities are filling up while Dijkgraaf has not yet made a concrete plan to control numbers.

Dijkgraaf himself originally said that there would be a revised plan to help with the issue in February 2023, but it has clearly not placated enough members of the lower house.

The minister, according to de Vries, is asking two educational bodies, the Universities of Applied Sciences and the Netherlands Research Universities, for suggestions on how to handle the current influx of students without having to curb numbers in the way parliament demands.

“The big issue is that although the Netherlands is a small country, the differences are quite big from region to region.

“The best outcome would be that we are going to put instruments in place on steering influx of students from [across the world],” de Vries observed.

The Netherlands has faced a number of issues regarding its international students in the last year. Despite a 7% uptick in the amount coming to study, a bitter housing crisis affecting both international and domestic students alike has sought to tarnish the country’s reputation.

That 7% rise is also the slowest growth figure in the last five years.

The motion was made in the same week that Germany announced it would be following on with an “active immigration policy” – targeting an amount of 7 million people by the year 2035 to deal with crippling labour shortages.

“The international knowledge and innovation strategy the Netherlands has says very clearly that higher education institutes need space to actually find talents in the world, so to speak, especially in areas such as technical sciences, engineering and IT, where there is shortage in the future labour markets,” de Vries noted.

The open letter implores parliament to remember the “world-leading” Dutch universities of applied sciences that offer select students that are “high-quality” in many fields – many in areas with labour shortages – and that some universities have incredibly high reputations in being international.

“Maastricht University, located in the heart of Europe with a range that is tailored to this. They train from a conscious educational vision with an international and intercultural character. The Netherlands is also an export country that has to maintain its international appeal,” the letter reads.

Saxion University, an institution in Enschede, released its own statement on the ongoing issue, arguing that a “more nuanced approach” is necessary.

“While studying students become acquainted with the regional labour market. Due to the increasing demand for talent there are lots of job opportunities in many sectors for foreign students after graduation… particularly in regions of demographic decline, international students are vital in combating labour shortages,” said its president Anka Mulder.

“We will know after the Christmas break from the minister of Education what direction he is choosing, and then we will need to work that out and I trust that the universities can take responsibility in that,” de Vries added.

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Brave new world? International tertiary education in 2037

The British Council launched its report, The Future of International Tertiary Education to 2037 at the Going Global conference in Singapore at the end of November 2022. It’s an interesting read. I spoke at the final plenary to give my views on the report.

The British Council Research proposed three possible scenarios for 15 years hence.

The Core Scenario called “Adjusting to a Changing World” saw many more millions of middle-class “consumers” eager to buy higher education from around the world; the normalisation of hybrid education (part online, part in person); a negative perception of online only education; and a shift of top HE institutions towards East Asia and particularly China.

Alternative Scenario A: “A More Insular World” envisages a divided and insular landscape with restricted opportunities for international mobility; greater inequality within and across nations; and threats to democracy leading to instability in funding and information.

Alternative Scenario B: “Open and Inclusive”, on the other hand, describes a rapid world recovery from the pandemic with technology roll-out giving more equal access to digital education across the globe; advanced economies preferring face-to-face experiences; and HE institutions struggling to keep up with a very buoyant demand.

These scenarios are imaginings – even if built on the opinion of experts. But there is one reality that is not imagined.

Underpinning all three scenarios is huge youth population growth. By 2037 there will be an extra 115m young adults globally. And, crucially, these will be almost all in Africa.

The populations of North America, Europe and Asia by contrast will have barely changed since 2020. So, it was a surprise to me that the report did not deal with how we bring the African continent more centrally into deliberations on the future of tertiary education.

There are good reasons to do so, particularly if we are to avoid the rather depressing Scenario A.

“There is little doubt that education and research partnerships between the global North and Africa are unequal”

There is little doubt that education and research partnerships between the global North and Africa are unequal. In 2018 sub-Saharan Africa contributed only 1.6% of scientific publications globally, half of which was generated by South Africa alone. This despite having 10% of the world adult population.

Sub-Saharan Africa had 124 researchers per million inhabitants compared with 263 for South Asia, 539 for Latin America and 1,476 for Southeast Asia. No African University is in the top 200 in the QS rankings and no African University outside South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia are in the top 1,000.

There are systemic issues that need to be addressed if the African continent is to play a greater role in the global tertiary education landscape by 2037. This requires deep changes in culture and funding. Research shows that within global North-Africa collaborative projects, African partners often assume minor, non-intellectual roles meaning they may not be included as authors.

Publications from such research are almost exclusively in Western languages and published in journals outside of Africa. The framing of the global North as “developed” or “advanced” and Africa as “developing” is unhelpful. It embeds a one-way “gaze” with global North institutions and funders supporting educational endeavours to aid the continent. It is rare for an African gaze to be directed onto the global North.

At the University of Bristol, our Perivoli Africa Research Centre is working with networks across the African Continent to tackle some of these systemic issues. We are formulating an Africa-based charter for new types of partnerships that will foreground the contribution of African HE institutions as we move towards the Africa-led youth population growth in 2037.

I’m a glass half-full person, so my money is on Scenario B. But Africa needs a voice in ensuring that it happens and happens equitably.

About the author: Professor Agnes Nairn is pro vice-chancellor, Global Engagement, University of Bristol.

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NZ int’l graduates offered Covid ‘hangover’ visa

International graduates who were supposed to be on a post-study work visa in New Zealand during the Covid pandemic have been offered a 12-month visa in a new raft of immigration policies.

An 1,800-strong cohort of international graduates from New Zealand universities will be eligible.

“We are authorising a 12-month open work visa for approximately 1,800 previous holders of post-study work visas who missed out because of the border closures in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said immigration minister Michael Wood in a press conference on Monday, accompanied by PM Jacinda Ardern.

The visa will only apply, however, if those eligible are not already in New Zealand on another visa. According to Universities New Zealand communications manager Guy Somerset, this isn’t a satisfactory way to honour the loss of time that the graduates suffered.

“It is a positive step but we would have liked to see our graduates entitled to the full three years of post-study work rights,” Somerset told The PIE News.

“We don’t currently know what graduates’ reactions are to the news but it is likely many will have taken up opportunities elsewhere,” he commented.

Despite this cohort only gaining back one year of their originally entitled-three year post-study work visa, Wood has insisted in a recent webinar that international students “have the right to job access”.

“Many of them secure employment in the field of their study,” he said in the Indian Newslink webinar.

“It is likely many will have taken up opportunities elsewhere”

“There are good opportunities for graduates in engineering, medicine, and other professionals. Two or three years thereafter, they can apply for residency,” he acknowledged.

He also vowed in the interview that Immigration New Zealand wants to facilitate eligible students “from various parts of the world” to go to New Zealand for higher education, and promised to work “closely with Education New Zealand”.

Despite the ongoing labour shortage that the immigration “rebalance” just announced is aiming to address, Wood said that the value brought by international students is indeed recognised by the government, but the “emphasis will be on quality, not quantity”.

Education minister Chris Hipkins has previously spoken about ‘value over volume’ being at the heart of the country’s international education strategy.

As part of the immigration overhaul, 13 professions have been added to the green list and the straight to residence pathway has been expanded to include all doctors and nurses.

Teachers who come to the country will also have the opportunity to go onto a work to residence pathway.

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AMBA Excellence Awards 2022 winners crowned

Winners of the 10 2022 AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards were crowned at a regal ceremony in central London.

Held on December 9, the winners – spanning seven countries – were revealed in front of an audience of more than 210 business school leaders, finalists and judges.

Six institutions were recognised, with India’s Athena School of Management taking home the BGA Business School Impact Award for its initiatives on stakeholder impact, particularly in the Global South.

TBS Education in France was recognised in the Best Innovation Strategy category for its ‘The Blind Search’ initiative, whereby students pitch their research project for two minutes to tutors unable to see who is pitching. Inspired by the TV singing competition ‘The Voice’, the program sought to engage, motivate, surprise and entertain students.

The Universidad Externado de Colombia was awarded the Best Lifelong Learning Initiative for its ‘Privilegios Program’ seeking to “enhance relationships” between students, graduates, the business world and the school.

School of Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies was awarded the Best CSR and Sustainability Initiative gong for ‘Training Global Talent with CSR Competency and a Sense of Sustainability’.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University won the Best Business School Partnership category for its Talent Academy partnership with the Dutch Brazilian Chambers bringing together young professionals from the Dutch business community in Brazil.

A program aiming to foster women’s readiness for boards and eliminating barriers to entry at The School of Business at the American University in Cairo took home the Best Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative award.

Five winners were recognised in the four individual categories.

Damien Demoor from Audencia Business School was awarded MBA Startup of the Year for his maritime CleanTech business GREENOV, which seeks to protect marine ecosystems from acoustic disturbances caused by offshore wind turbines.

MBA Entrepreneur of the Year was jointly awarded to another Audencia graduate as well as Jinlong Ming from the School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China.

Serial entrepreneur Jérôme Pasquet was recognised for the PeeK’in solution for hoteliers to return forgotten items to owners, and Jinlong Ming was awarded for his work on construction company Anhui Conch New Materials Technology.

Two graduates of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University College Dublin, were recognised for their achievements in the MBA Leadership Award and the MBA Student of the Year categories.

Chartered physiotherapist Kerry McLaverty won the MBA Leadership Award recognising her work at Ireland’s only childrenʼs hospice, with the qualification helping her to oversee record fundraising revenues for LauraLynn year-on-year.

“This year the competition was stronger than ever”

Fardod O’Kelly was crowned MBA Student of the Year for developing a thriving new surgical practice during Covid and expanding access to surgery for children in the west/south of Ireland via a new public/private partnership.

“This year the competition was stronger than ever,” Andrew Main Wilson, chief executive of the Association of MBAs and Business Graduates Association, said.

“The entries who have made the final shortlist in each category should feel proud of their achievements.”

In total, 59 entries from 19 countries made the final shortlist, with 16 entries highly commended by judges made up of AMBA board members, business experts, deans and management leaders.

“Additionally, the students and graduates who have been shortlisted as finalists today have all used their qualifications to achieve a spectrum of impressive results, in terms of the positive impact they have made to business, education and society as a whole,” Main Wilson added.

“It was thrilling to be able to celebrate the AMBA networks achievements in person at our Gala dinner – our first in person awards ceremony since 2020.”

The full list of winners and highly commended is available here.

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Treenat Jaiyasarn, WIN Education

WIN Education specialises in counselling on UK education opportunities. Its founder, Treenat Jaiyasarn, based in Thailand, took a time out to chat articulation agreements, IELTS testing and “astonishing” levels of demand.

 

There are people in the sector who dedicate themselves to helping students to find great places to learn internationally – Treenat Jaiyasarn takes this dedication to a whole new level.

Running three core businesses, Jaiyasarn oversees multiple IELTS preparation centres, IELTS testing facilities and also runs an agency.

The agency, WIN Education Group, offers Thai students the chance to apply for universities primarily in the UK, but also offers US opportunities.

Westminster International Academy and Westminster School of English take the helm in terms of IELTS preparation and testing – but that isn’t where Jaiyasarn stops.

The newest venture is assisting facilitation in partnerships between local universities in Thailand and UK institutions – one, which had its articulation signed in November, involves Chiang Mai University and the University of Leeds.

“Thailand runs a six year medicine program – so we add a master’s degree in the fifth year at Chiang Mai’s medical school and the University of Leeds,” Jaiyasarn explains.

“The student will do four years in Thailand. And then they will go to Leeds medical school for one year to get the master’s – then come back to Thailand to finish their clinical year.

“So upon graduation, students will have the [qualification] from Chiang Mai University and an MSc in medicine from the University of Leeds,” he continues.

Jaiyasarn’s many hands in the international education sector in Thailand stem from his own experiences. As a masters student, he studied in the UK at the University of Brighton. Having visited relatives in the UK, upon his return to Thailand he decided to return to the UK to pursue his studies.

“I liked it. After graduation, I stayed on for another year and a half. So altogether, I lived there for four and a half years – quite a good, decent time to get to understand how the country operates,” he recalls.

The articulation agreement Jaiyasarn helped facilitate is one of the first projects of its kind he has taken on, so is currently a newer venture – but his primary businesses are currently in good shape, and continue to expand.

“We can also see that increase for masters international markets in the future”

“At the moment we have four [IELTS] centres in Bangkok and one in Chiang Mai. We are opening one more in central Bangkok, which will then make it six altogether,” Jaiyasarn says.

“And apart from teaching, we are also an official IELTS Test Centre for British Council IELTS. So we deliver academic teaching and we are also at the test point. So it’s not just teaching; we have a facility where we have the British Council come in and run the exam.”

The facilities also invigilate and register the exams – a new feature that Jaiyasarn has introduced in the last year.

The work, Jaiyarsarn says, is simply to meet the growing demand – one session of candidates is tested every day, with up to 22 candidates in each, and three sessions are often run on weekends.

“Through that, we actually can look at the percentages of students taking academic programs, where they go to study in international programs in Thailand or in other countries outside the UK – and the number of students doing UKVI. So we have these statistics of the market demand in particular markets as well, which is very good for us in terms of data collection,” he notes.

“So far for the IELTS preparation side [of the business], we were looking at 3,000 students a year studying with us in Thailand – so the demand is really high.”

The University of Thailand has also taken on IELTS as part of their requirements for international programs and English-taught programs, Jaiyasarn knows that there is an “astonishing” increase in demand for undergraduate international programs.

“We can also see that increase for masters international markets in the future – namely, going outbound for higher education for masters. And, the percentage of those choosing IELTS to study in Thailand is going up to almost 50% of the market at the moment,” he says – something he hopes to capitalise on as the demand keeps going up.

“At the moment we have four [IELTS] centres in Bangkok and one in Chiang Mai”

WIN Education Group, the agency arm of the operation, is also taking on heavy expansion. During Covid, Jaiyasarn opened new offices in Taiwan, Bangladesh and Nigeria – and another office will soon be opening in Abuja, adding to the office already set up in Lagos.

This year, the group has successfully placed nearly 1,000 students, but Jaiyasarn is already looking to put that number over 1,500 in 2023.

While education is his current primary focus, he also runs businesses within Thailand in construction, and interior design.

“I don’t know how I do it, but it is happening!”

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