Internationalising Higher Education

Personal recommendation is the most powerful factor when deciding on international study - so what makes a student actively recommend the experience to others? In the dynamically competitive global market for international education, each country must rely on its ambassador class to secure future student flows. Not
the traditional diplomatic corps - in fact almost the opposite. It's the undiplomatic, outspoken, passionate supporters of a country's education who will make the difference. The new ambassador class comprises those who would actively recommend the experience to others. Until now, we've had a hunch that graduates would recommend the experience; we now know that one in three of the class of 2006 will go out of their way to do so. For the first time, using data obtained from over 48,000 students, we can isolate the most positive and identify what's different about this group - what makes the UK education experience so special for these
students. What are the characteristics of the UK's ambassador class? Are they all lawyers? Are men more likely than women to recommend? Are postgraduates more likely than undergraduates? More significantly, what differs in terms of experiences and expectations? Who or what convinced them to apply? And finally, what have they got to say? This session will include unedited highlights from feedback volunteered by the UK's ambassador class of 2006.