Seeking globally mobile students in a world in turmoil

The political and economic changes of the past year will have a far-reaching impact on the future mobility patterns of students. The vote for Brexit and Donald Trump’s triumph in the United States presidential election, in the two largest destination countries for international students, have revealed strong support for anti-immigration policies.

The United Kingdom and the US are set on a path to creating more barriers to attracting and retaining international students. The two largest source countries of international students – China and India – have experienced economic changes that have decelerated the ambitions and ability of students to go abroad. The slowdown in economies will make some students more concerned about recovering the cost of education.

The combination of these changes in the leading source and destination countries indicates that institutions must brace themselves for a new environment of uncertainty, hyper-competition and turbulence.

University World News, DrEducation and StudyPortals have partnered to convene an hour-long, free webinar on Wednesday 12 April at 11am EDT and 4pm BST. It will bring together a panel of experts to examine how they are adapting institutional strategies in a new environment. What are the strategic options institutions are considering in response to this turbulence? The discussion will highlight diverse perspectives to inform international enrolment strategies.

More than 1,000 people from across the world have registered to participate in the webinar so far.

Click here to secure your free registration.

This webinar is the fourth in the global online discussion series on international higher education convened by University World News and DrEducation. The first three webinars attracted more than 3,000 registrations from around the world. This fourth webinar is in partnership with StudyPortals.

The panel will be moderated by Rahul Choudaha, co-founder and CEO of DrEducation and interEDGE.org in the US. Choudaha is known for his expertise in connecting research, data and trends with institutional strategies for campus internationalisation. He is also the author of the recent article, “Three Waves of International Student Mobility (1999-2020)”, published in Studies in Higher Education.

He told University World News: “We are seeing a perfect storm of changes in source and destination countries, posing challenges to universities. To overcome the challenges this turbulence poses, institutions must innovate if they want to grow international student enrolment and support student success.”

The panel includes experts from three key destinations for international students – the US, UK and Canada.

• • Kathleen Massey is university registrar and executive director of enrolment services at McGill University, Canada. Massey is currently the chair of the national ARUCC Groningen and Study Mobility Task Force in Canada and leads the award-winning enrolment services team at McGill. ARUCC is the Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada.
  
  
• • Vincenzo Raimo is pro-vice-chancellor (global engagement) at the University of Reading in the UK, where he leads the university's global strategy, including developing new markets and building academic and business partnerships overseas.
  
  
• • Adina M Lav is assistant provost for international enrolment at the George Washington University in the US. She has over 15 years of experience in enrolment management and academic services – including marketing, recruitment, admissions, advising and career services.