Working the global student market

Even for the most ancient of universities, the days of students beating their way to your door are long gone. Today’s further educational market is highly competitive and thoroughly internationalised, and the marketing teams at modern universities have to work emerging markets on a global basis to ensure they win their share of international students.

On a mission to explore new markets

In recent months, the University of Aberdeen has been collaborating closely with a number of export support organisations to cultivate target markets in new expanding energy powerhouses like Mexico and Venezuela.

“In the first place, strategic alliances between Aberdeen and other energy cities like Villahermosa give us great credibility,” says Assistant College Registrar Mark Critchley, who went out to Mexico last year with an Aberdeen City Council-led trade mission.

“Because we are able to build on existing, well-established links, we can proceed much more quickly to establish agreements in principle with universities in overseas territories.

“These memoranda of understanding – of which we now have three in South America with another two in the pipeline - show us that the target universities are really serious in their interest in sending students over to Aberdeen.”

“Universities sometimes don’t see such early results as in the private sector, especially where marketing established degree courses is concerned, but I have no doubt that our intensive marketing activities earlier this year will translate into student numbers by 2008.”

Key Market knowledge

Earlier this year, Mark took part in an SDI-organised trade mission to Mexico, and he is full of praise for the market knowledge and commercial awareness of the British Embassy in-market personnel. “They really know the territory, and they make quite sure you are going out to speak to the right people,” he says.

“You could waste a lot of time and resources without that valuable steer, and their influence doesn’t even end with the mission. I am now in almost weekly contact with my contacts in the British Embassy in Mexico, checking on feedback and refining my contact network.”

“When the people out there know you are really committed to following up all the leads they help you to identify, I find they are fully prepared to go that extra mile for you in return.”

Mark also believes that taking part in a high-profile delegation gives you added credibility, and reports that Aberdeen University’s well-publicised links with industry also play an important role in convincing overseas employers to send high-performing students to the city.

“When overseas oil companies, for example, are sponsoring their students in courses, they really like to hear that we can arrange for regular introductory visits to local oil service companies.

“Such visits are mutually beneficial – the companies gain insights into the requirements of overseas oil operators, while the students experience Aberdeen business culture at first hand and make energy contacts which often prove of long-term value.”

The University has had long-established overseas targets in major markets like China, but, notes Mark, SDI has also been highly proactive in alerting the University to fast-growing new energy markets like Venezuela and Mexico.

“Because SDI has access to the global UK Trade & Investment network, it is well placed to identify early interest in academic markets and give us a heads-up so we can get our marketing into gear,” he says.

The University now has MoUs with the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, in Mexico City – one of the most important universities in Mexico - and with two universities in Villahermosa.

Forging local connections

And, Mark notes, valuable synergies are also forged with many of the SMEs who accompany the University on the trade missions.

“Although these are often small service companies, they invariably go out of their way to help us by hosting company introductions in Aberdeen for our overseas students,” he says.

“The ‘Aberdeen’ element in our name, with its global reputation for technological innovation and project management capabilities, is therefore one of our real trump cards to play when it comes to attracting students from the other side of the world.”

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