Canada’s international education sector has been one of the most fast-growing in the last decade, and lucrative. Despite this success, it’s also had its fair share of difficulties – one man who aims to keep the sector in check, and make sure that all those involved are working to help the international students who come to Canada, is Earl Blaney.   Notorious on LinkedIn for his provocative posts, Earl Blaney is a tireless campaigner for considerate student recruitment. Who is he and what motivates him? The PIE met with him in London, Ontario to find out. It turns out that Blaney began his ..read more

From distributing winter clothes and sending an ambulance to Ukraine to providing record-breaking recruitment strategies and proffering trauma support services, the nature, nuance and impact of the UK-Ukraine twinning initiative is wide-ranging. Speaking to The PIE News, Charles Cormack, director of one of the organising partners, Cormack Consultancy, said he was overwhelmed by the time and investment, both financial and emotional, that universities were choosing to invest, as well as the creativity and flexibility institutions have shown to meet the needs of their Ukrainian counterparts. Over ..read more

The 15.7% of Swiss university graduates that have studied abroad is below the national target of 20%, according to a report by the national agency Movetia. The findings from the agency for exchange and mobility found that “only one in nine higher education institutions meets Switzerland’s international and national mobility targets”. Many Swiss institutions show a “significant lower rate” than the 20% Higher Education Area mobility target, the body warned. Mobility rates range widely from 1% to 50%, with only four of the 36 universities surveyed meeting the target of 2 ..read more

Students in Peru say they were violently beaten by police officers during a raid at a university in Lima on January 21. Police reportedly smashed through the gates of the National University of San Marcos and forced a group of around 90 students out of their dormitories, hitting and kicking some. The police entered the university to evict protesters who they believed had taken shelter at the university, after a demonstration in Lima turned violent. Protests have been ongoing in Peru since the imprisonment of former president Pedro Castillo in December. Some female students say they were arrest ..read more

The London School of Economics and Political Science has launched a new youth-centred podcast called ‘The Climb Podcast’ through The Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. The mission of The Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa is to focus on engagement with Africa through research, teaching and public events, strengthening LSE’s long-term commitment to placing Africa at the heart of understanding and debates on global issues. It also home to the Program for African Leadership, established at LSE to empower a new generation of African leaders who will promote best practices of economic a ..read more

“Providing a safe haven and a new home for people fleeing war, violence, and persecution is one of America’s noblest traditions, dating back to the founding of our nation,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said last week, announcing the creation of the Welcome Corps. The initiative is a private sponsorship program supporting the resettlement and integration of refugees as they begin a new chapter in their lives in the US. “Throughout our history, our country has benefitted from the energy, the ingenuity, and the hard work of refugees,” proffered Blinken. A statement from the US Depar ..read more

Financial performance, geopolitics and managing growth were among the three biggest concerns for leaders in international education at the beginning of 2023. Factors such as market instability and political tension are making long-term planning difficult for sector managers and signal a challenging year ahead for many operations. These insights came from a group of senior contacts who took part in our snapshot survey on leadership. More than 60 leaders, including CEOs, pro-vice chancellors, directors, provosts and edtech entrepreneurs from across 16 countries, all gave their views on current i ..read more

The study abroad industry in China saw accelerated growth in the past 20 years, along with the expansion of China’s higher education and the growth of average household income, self-sponsored studying abroad has become increasingly popular for many Chinese families. Even with the drastic decline in 2020 primarily attributed to the pandemic, China remains the primary sending country of international students to traditional study abroad destinations like the US, UK, Australia and Canada. The demand for overseas education has continued, if not strengthened, as we return to pre-pandemic ..read more

Some 200 students have been affected by the sudden closure of an English language college in Ireland.  International House Galway, which is part of the International House group of 150 schools, shut down on January 26 after going into liquidation.  All of the students are covered by mandatory insurance that was taken out when they booked their courses and have now been relocated, according to Lorcan O’Connor Lloyd, general manager at Marketing English in Ireland.  O’Connor Lloyd said the organisation had to “act quickly” to find new places for the students, but that the majority ..read more

A UK university has closed international applications to some of its courses beginning in September 2023 due to high demand.  The University of Bradford, which had 1,815 international students in the 2020/21 academic year, said it had seen an increase in overseas interest in postgraduate taught courses since the pandemic. The university has now closed applications to some of these courses including International Business and Management, Human Resource Management and Social Work.  Bradford said demand was in part driven by its “outstanding” reputation for teaching and the support it p ..read more