Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
14th Nov 2014

Five for Friday

For this instalment in our occasional “Five for Friday” column, we have gathered below some of the more eye-catching and varied items that we’ve been reading lately. We present them here for your end-of-week reading pleasure.

When admissions becomes marketing

This post from College Admissions Today has been nagging at us for a little while now. It makes the interesting point that admissions staff are now often asked to play a more direct role with respect to marketing and recruitment, and raises some interesting questions about how this impacts workloads and focus in the admissions office.

Is Japan going to hit its target?

Japan aims to attract 300,000 foreign students by 2020. The good news: there is just one thing standing in its way. The bad news: that one thing is China. The Japan Times reports on how China’s efforts to attract greater numbers of international students are drawing market share from Japan.

Saudi Arabia tops the first ranking of Arab universities

Saudi Arabia owns the top three positions in an initial ranking of 91 Arab universities in 16 countries published recently by US News & World Report. The rankings are notably concentrated: the top seven countries counted 77 universities in the table (85% of the total), while seven other countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen - had only one ranked university each.

Pearson launches new English test

Education giant Pearson and the online language learning platform busuu have partnered for the global launch of a new English proficiency exam: the Global Scale of English Test (GSET). busuu is the first company worldwide to offer the test, on exclusive terms with Pearson for an initial six-month period.

We’ve looked at Facebook from all sides now

Social marketing specialist Brian Carter offers an unvarnished view of Facebook: the good, the bad, and the ugly. In this nicely balanced post, he offers a compact summary of the challenges - and strengths - of this key social media platform.

Most Recent

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Because you found this article interesting

Canada’s foreign enrolment has fallen by nearly 300,000 students over the last two years Speaking in the East Coast city of Halifax last month, Canadian Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that...
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China: Two-thirds of new TNE partnerships are with countries outside the Big Four China has been ramping up its transnational education (TNE) partnerships with other countries, with the Ministry of Education...
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Vietnam: Students encouraged to obtain advanced technology degrees abroad Vietnam boasts one of the fastest-growing economies in the world (+8% in 2025), but its workforce cannot yet...
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The Netherlands: Foreign enrolment slowdown driven by declining undergraduate numbers In 2024/25, 131,000 international students – including 51,800 new students – were enrolled in a degree programme offered by...
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UK: International student numbers fall for second year, especially in postgraduate programmes A sharp year-over-year decline in non-EU students enrolling in UK universities in 2024/25 (-5%) is the main contributor...
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Italy rises as a study destination but struggles to retain foreign graduates Italy is increasingly popular as a European study abroad destination, with international enrolments increasing by about +10% per...
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AI is changing how students search: What it means for marketing and recruitment The following is a guest post contributed by Guus Goorts, a Netherlands-based education marketing coach who helps universities...
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Taiwan ramps up international recruiting efforts with expanded work rights and scholarships The Taiwanese government is intensifying its efforts to attract and retain international students. In 2025, it introduced several...
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