ICEF Podcast ICEF GmbH

Various study destination countries are seeing significant increases in international student enrolments, with Canada, as an example, seeing 30% year-over-year growth in 2022, and a record enrolment of more than 800,000 foreign students.

Inevitably, challenges have accompanied such rapid growth. with increasing media reports detailing questionable recruitment practices and poor-quality services for students. India for example, has been an important part of the Canadian story, with Indian students now accounting for nearly four out of ten foreign enrolments in Canada. But how best to ensure that students are receiving professional services from agents at home and an excellent study experience once at their study destination?

This podcast’s main topic features a special panel discussion, recorded at ICEF Vancouver, with leading practitioners exploring the best practices for recruitment within the context of surging student numbers.

A broad range of AI powered tools and solutions are available for, and increasingly used by, international student recruitment professionals are making the recruitment processes faster, more secure and more efficient. But how does AI really impact the student journey?
In this special episode we will kick-off with an introduction to AI by professor Seyedali Mirjalili: What is AI exactly; how does it work, how does it learn, what are typical misconceptions or misunderstandings around AI, what’s AI’s ‘the best kept secret’ etc.
What follows is a panel discussion about the use and implementation of AI in international student recruitment; its pros and cons, the impact it has on the roles and responsibilities of the recruitment professionals whether agency or educator, and to what extent the use of AI benefits our end-customer: the international student.
Professor Seyedali Mirjalili will also be speaking at ICEF Digital, Nov 3rd in Berlin, the one-day conference focused entirely on digital and AI solutions for international education professionals. icef.com/digital

Promoting a study destination is usually a concerted effort of various local stakeholders: the local schools and institutions, local government bodies, destination marketing organisations, local accommodation providers and even local businesses. Most successful, however, are those initiatives that include and involve overseas education agencies. Good examples of this approach can be found in Australia and New Zealand, where organisations like StudyPerth, StudyAdelaide, StudyNT and ‘Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao’ are very active and successful in ‘destination branding’ targeted at prospective international students.

In this podcast, representatives of these study destination organisations explain and discuss how they are organised and how they work with overseas education agencies, as well as local stakeholders, to get the maximum exposure for their respective destinations.

Whether Canada, the US, the UK, Australia or the Netherlands: finding accommodation seems to become a bigger hurdle for international students than getting accepted at an institution or even obtaining a student VISA. How is the international education sector - and student accommodation service providers in particular - responding to the accommodation crises that so many important study destinations are dealing with?
In this episode, representatives from student accommodation service providers discuss and respond to the housing challenges that exist across popular study destinations in all corners of the world, and what can be done by educators, agents or students themselves to secure appropriate and affordable accommodation in the study destination of their choice.

"ChatGPT”, has been dominating the headlines since its launch a little over 2 months ago. The AI powered chatbot is able to generate accurate, comprehensive answers to all types of queries big and small and the question now is, how will this new digital tool influence the international education sector? How will it affect recruitment and communication processes, marketing strategies, entry exams or even help create new tools and solutions for international students?
We have asked the AI powered chatbot itself to answer these questions, and in this episode we discuss these questions and answers with a high-level panel of industry and technology specialists.

Digital learning is beneficial for all ages and levels of students. As institutions, we often focus on the academic aspects of an online education. But, what is available beyond the classroom? In this session, we will explore the ways in which online learners can enrich their learning and development by including extracurricular programmes, summer sessions, internships, and more. We will also explore how the flexibility of digital learning opens opportunities for athletes, performers, and aspiring entrepreneurs to keep on top of both their studies and their passions.