Internationalising Higher Education

Some of the most significant and far-reaching legacies for marketing of the economic and social changes of the last decade have been reflected in the emergence of the 'new' consumer. Although these consumers are not necessarily new, they differ from traditional consumers in that their expectations, values and patterns of behaviour are often radically different from those with which marketing planners have traditionally had to come to terms. The consequences of this are manifested in several ways, but particularly by the way in which the degree of understanding of customers motivations must be far greater and the marketing effort tailored
much more firmly and clearly to the patterns of specific need. Professor Gilligan focuses on the dimensions of the changing and very different youth market and what has been labelled Generation C. It will argue that there is a clear need for those involved both in the recruitment process and in the subsequent delivery of courses to understand in detail the nature and significance of this very different youth market. Although not all students exhibit these characteristics, the values and behaviour patterns of Generation C are sufficiently widespread to cause a substantial degree of thinking - and possibly rethinking - of how we address the market.
Dee Roach introduces 'Cracking the [My] Space age'. Social networking sites like Bebo, Friendster and MySpace offer educational institutions the opportunity
to make contact with huge numbers of young people in a highly targeted manner. Despite the sweeping popularity of these sites, poor profit potential and lack of image control prevents many institutions from venturing into uncharted waters. The tides, however, are slowly changing. Educational publishers and social networking sites are now working together to offer institutions the opportunity to communicate with online communities and to help in understanding 21st-century connectivity. But do we, as education marketers, really understand this technologically adept and brand-savvy generation? What exactly are they looking for and,
more worryingly, what are they saying about us and our institutions? This presentation takes a tardis-like journey through cyberspace to provide an insight into how we can attempt to 'crack the [My] space age' by using these highly fluid distribution channels to access and target our increasingly elusive student population.