I spent the first three days of this week in the lovely green (and very wet) south of Wales, in a small town called Trefforest at the University of Glamorgan. The University played host to this year’s annual BUILA conference. For those of you reading this outside the UK, BUILA is the British Universities International Liaison Association, and a great organization to be a part of if you are working in an international office at a UK university.
The annual BUILA conference is a dynamic mix of seasoned international officers, directors/heads of international offices and newcomers just starting out in the field. It’s a small conference when you compare it to the behemoth that is NAFSA – there were only 180 conference attendees this week at Glamorgan. But I like that it’s small as it gives me the chance to meet new people and really chat with them properly, as well as catch-up with old friends and colleagues. The sessions are usually practical and full of ‘take-aways’ that I can make use of once I get back to the office, as opposed to being theoretical or cerebral.
This year the conference theme was ‘In it to win it’ and looked at collaboration as a way we (as universities) can all win in internationalizing higher education. I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to speak on the plenary panel on the opening morning of the conference. I, along with colleagues, talked about working with other universities to recruit international students, as a part of a recruitment consortium. A few years ago I and a colleague from the University of East Anglia founded a consortium called ECUK which is aimed at recruiting students from North America to study at universities in the UK. We went from a group of 6 universities in 2009 to now having over 25 institutions participating. We talked about how we started the consortium, why it came about, the challenges of keeping it going and how we see it developing in the future. I hope conference attendees found it useful!
Other points of note brought up at the conference, which I’m going to pass on to colleagues in my office (and hopefully effect some change):
- The various uses of social media in recruitment, conversion, communication with and retention of international students (yes, I know this one isn’t new, but it was brought up again and again at the conference and is worth continuing to work on).
- Indonesia as an emerging market and one to keep an eye on. If you haven’t been considering Indonesia for its recruitment potential, I’d encourage you to check it out. The numbers to the UK are still quite small, but growing.
- Due to the rise in use of social media (among other things), the days of 16 weeks a year travelling abroad recruiting are coming to an end. The international officer as ‘road warrior’ is old-school, and the IO’s expertise and skills can be better used by focusing on conversion and taking advantage of digital tools, rather than standing for hours on end at overseas exhibitions.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Jessica,
It was my first BUILA conference and i thoroughly enjoyed it for many of the reasons you outline above.
For me the highlights included the free, frank and mutually supportive discussions with colleagues in the sector. Really enjoyed (most of) the social media sessions, which were extremely engaging, informative and practical, and the UKBA experiences and subsequent discussions which were insightful, too, as well as your own session with Anne-Marie.
I’m inclined the agree with David’s comment, especially as some territories are culturally inclined towards initial face-to-face meetings and prefer longer periods during which to cultivate trust and relationships. A dash too quick towards virtual may be a dash too far away from the students and stakeholders. Perhaps a jog rather than a race to virtual?
Whilst the dynamics may be changing in the long-term for now I think there will be a role for ‘road-warrior’ with ‘remote-warrior’ alike operating in tandem. Bad news from an annual accounts perspective as costs are pushed up but good news in the longer term as the combination should add value to the entire student journey and so provide an engaging and encompassing experience across multiple platforms, which enables the student to be fully informed and connected, whilst differentiating from competitors’ activities.
I remember case study discussions about Toyota from my student days. They would ‘assist’ Ford, GM etc to change their work practices to ‘Just-In-Time’ and ‘Kaizan’ etc. So far, it all sounds good. But, those car companies went through a period of significant change and confusion during which time Toyota took market share away from them. My point being if the sector makes radical changes too quickly even with the right intentions, this may hinder our short-term engagement with the students/partners/stakeholders/customers.
Of course, it all depends on the degree to which ‘road warrior’ activities are reduced and ‘remote activies’ are introduced. Ours is considerably lower now than, say, four or five years ago, but I’d be reluctant to reduce this further in the immediate future.
I’ll rather cheekily take this opportunity to ask you to accept my request to join the LinkedIN ECUK group!
Best wishes,
Jerry
Hi Jerry
Thanks for your thoughtful comment! I think there are quite a few others out there who will agree with you, re. road warrior and remote warrior operating in tandem. I suppose international travel will never really be replaced in international student recruitment, even with all the technology available.
And, I’ve accepted your request to join ECUK :-)
You just need to check out the discussions page to see what we are planning for the autumn. There’s quite a bit planned already.
Take care!
Jessica
Hi Jessica … its sounds as though the BUILA conference was really interesting this time around. I’m sorry I missed it.
I was particularly interested to read the comments regarding social media and the shape of international recruitment in the future. Social media is without a doubt going to increase in importance as time goes by, but in my opinion there is still no substitute for ‘pressing the flesh’ and meeting students/parents in person. I would be a bit cautious of paying the equivalent of a house in the NE of England, based on an online conversation. It will be interesting to see how many universities will have the nerve to cut down on travel. Although exhibitions are a tired old format, I think overseas travel for IO’s is likely to continue for some time yet … but then I am a crusty old road warrior! LOL. Keep up the good work Jessica. Your weblog is fab! Best Wishes. David
Hi David (or should I say, crusty old road warrior)
Thanks for the comment! It was a good conference, with familiar faces but also loads of new ones.
For those unis focusing on overseas travel (and that is actually most of them still), I think people are trying to innovate and do more besides (or instead of) exhibitions, which are no longer as promising as they once were. So the time spent overseas is more effective/efficient rather than wasted. Perhaps at next year’s conference someone will present on ‘exhibition alternatives’.
Jessica