VIEW FROM THE OFFICE
Welcome to the UK office blog where we will be providing you
with some insights into life at the UK office and some of the
activities of IDP UK.
June 2013: Elen goes global!
Elen Carrington
At the beginning of March I experienced my first
overseas visit for IDP when I, along with Arlene Griffiths (the UK
Director), travelled to Dubai for Going Global
2013. I didn’t really know what to expect but I had
heard a lot about it!
Arlene and I arrived in Dubai on the Sunday
and spent the first day in the
IDP office in the city with Ingi Maher, Yowan
Jodha, Sana Alhasani and Rohan Rego. During the day Arlene gave a
presentation to update our colleagues on the work of the UK team
and how things are progressing, and answered their
questions.
The following day, Monday, was the first day
of the Going Global conference, and this year the opening reception
was held in the tallest building in the world – the Burj
Khalifa, which was very impressive.After registration
and the opening speech most of my day was spent in meetings with
clients and it was the same for Arlene. It was the first year an
IDP network country (IDP Middle
East) had hosted a booth at the event and it was
placed opposite the IELTS booth. So clients could pop by for a chat
or make bookings to meet specific team members the following
day.
In the afternoon I went back to the IDP office
while Arlene stayed at the conference meeting with more clients,
prospects and people from the British Council. I sat in on a
meeting with Ingi, UK Destination Manager for the Middle East, and
other members of the Middle East team. We later went back to the
Burj Khalifa for a meeting with Dr Kevin Van-Cauter of the British
Council.
After the opening day we spent the evening
getting to know colleagues from the Middle East and Melbourne while
enjoying an Indian meal. After food we ventured to the nearby
Dubai
Mall and visited the Dubai Aquarium, one of the largest tanks in the
world with more than 33,000 living animals, it was quite a
sight!
On the Tuesday the Going Global Conference
started properly, with even more arranged client meetings at the
IDP booth and plenty of clients just popping by for a quick chat.
That afternoon I left the conference to visit a local American
school with Rohan from the Dubai office. When there I gave a
presentation on studying in the UK (and why it’s so great!) and
this was followed by a question and answer session where Rohan and
I answered the student’s questions about their future study
options. It went so well I even managed to create a good lead!
Another busy day of client me
etings ensued on the Wednesday, but this
time I managed to attend 3 of the sessions during the day. A
couple of the sessions I attended included the Times Higher Launch
where IDP was mentioned several times showing the strong
relationship we enjoy with them. The other one which I found
interesting was one about gender and leadership in higher education
- all about women's rights, which was very insightful.
Thursday was our final day in Dubai and after
a morning spent in the IDP office catching up on work following our
3 days at the conference, we flew back to the UK later that
afternoon. By this stage I was thoroughly exhausted but I had
learnt much from my trip, the highlight of which was meeting
several clients and trying to understand their needs and why they
had come to the conference, and how they interact with our network
staff.
Nothing beats a face to face meeting and it
was also a great chance to understand and observe how our
colleagues operate in our network offices. I also very much enjoyed
the visit to the school where I once again got first-hand
experience of observing our counsellors at work which was fab.
Bring on next year’s Going Global in
Miami!
April 2013: April Induction at London Foundation on Campus
Mari Arthur
I was recently invited by
London
Foundation on Campus (FoC) to take part in their April
induction on Monday 8th April 2013. I was happy to accept the
invitation which allowed me to spend time with the FoC team, meet
the new students and find out more about them and to understand
FoC’s offerings better.
On the day there was a good intake of students from a range of
countries which included; Italy, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Switzerland. The three main
programmes that students at FoC study are: the Undergraduate
Foundation Programme (UFP), the Masters Foundation Programme (MFP)
and the International Diploma Programme (IDP). On the day of my
visit the students were mainly MFP or English language pre-MFP, who
are planning on studying a range of degree programmes including
Finance, Marketing, Microbiology, Law, Sports Management and
Psychology.
During the induction Peter McLaughlin, Centre Head, gave a rousing
welcome talk and allowed the students an opportunity to share their
backgrounds and academic aspirations. Peter, who is a graduate of
the University of Cambridge, spoke of the psychological challenges
associated with moving and studying in Britain. He explained to the
students the different stages of culture shock that can occur when
coming from a different education culture, while also assuring the
students that his team were there to support them and that they
were now part of the FoC community.
Next, Huw Morgan Jones, from
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in North
Wales (who is fluent in English, Welsh and Mandarin), spoke to the
students about what they could expect over the next few days and
went through some UKBA requirements.
After spending the morning with the group and joining them for
lunch I went to a Media UFP class given by Mr Richard Davis, who
holds a Master’s degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature from
Birkbeck, University of London. It was an engaging seminar where
the students were encouraged to participate and give their thoughts
on how best to progress the TV show project they were working on.
The group had to develop a concept for a new TV show then work
individually on how they would promote this show, through websites
and magazines.
I then attended an Inter
national Relations seminar with the
inspiring Ms Lulwa Al-Fadhel, currently a PhD candidate at Queen
Mary, University of London. They were in the middle of group work
on how globalisation has impacted on terrorism. They each had to
discuss the influence of psychology, sociology, economics, politics
and religion on terrorism and also how technology has enabled the
advancement of terrorist activities, from recruiting to bomb
activation. This class was highly engaged with the topic and were
very well informed for their young age group (18 – 21).
Just before leaving I met an enthusiastic UFP student from
Bangalore who had come to FoC through IDP. Ravi had high praise for
the office and for Sashirekha (his IDP counsellor) who was still in
touch with him and he praised the support and help he had received
from IDP. He was also thoroughly enjoying the UFP course and the
university and looking forward to progressing to the next stage of
his studies.
January 2013: My AIEC Experience
Bryony Blinman
In October last year I attended the Australian
International Education Conference (AIEC), which is
organized by IDP and was held in Melbourne. I had never been to
Australia before so I was delighted when the opportunity came up
for me to attend the AIEC. I was also privileged to be the first
IDP UK team member to visit our Head Office, which is also based in
Melbourne.
The AIEC is attended by representatives from a majority of
Australian institutions and at this latest
conference representatives from 9 UK universities were also
there as well as a number of people from UK organizations with
interests in the UK HEI sector. IDP Country Directors from all over
the IDP world were also present to speak to clients about what is
happening in their markets and a number of them were also
presenting at the conference.
On the first morning of the conference, IDP held a breakfast
briefing session for its Australian clients to give them an
overview of what IDP would be presenting at the
conference. They were shown the latest data for student
recruitment trends as well as a sneak peek of the latest research
we have done into how international students choose a study
destination, which was one of the presentations at the
conference.
The theme of the conference was International Education in the
Asian Century. Sessions over the 3 days included the launch of the
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
2012-13 which IDP is once again sponsoring this year.
Phil Baty joined live from London by video link to share the
results. Sir Steve Smith, Vice Chancellor of the University of
Exeter, gave a plenary address about the Politics of International
Education from a UK perspective. UK representatives gave
presentations covering subjects including Australia – UK
collaborations (The Monash-Warwick Alliance), maintaining London’s
appeal to international students and the global responsibilities of
HEIs.
I hosted an informal dinner for UK delegates at a Korean
Barbeque restaurant. There were 17 of us altogether including 6
people from IDP. We had a really nice sociable evening and were the
last ones left in the restaurant at 11pm!
The conference dinner was also a great success. With a theme of
East Meets West, delegates were encouraged to dress up for the
occasion. Indian dancers took to the floor between courses to show
the way and many delegates joined in even at that early
stage.
My second week in Melbourne was spent in our Melbourne office on
Bourke Street right in the heart of the business district. My
colleagues were very welcoming and I was given a desk and was
really made to feel part of the team. I got a chance to meet
everyone and learn a bit more about their roles. It really was
invaluable to forge and build these relationships so that now back
in the UK communicating with my Australian counterparts is much
more effective. I also got to visit the counseling office in
Melbourne and see OSCAR in action first hand for counsellors.
I had planned to spend another week sightseeing in Australia. I
took my 5 year old daughter with me and a friend to look after her
but unfortunately my daughter contracted pneumonia so we spent most
of the last week at the doctors, pharmacy and Medicare (Australian
NHS). Luckily she did not have to go into hospital and we could fly
home as planned (where she has now made a full recovery) but we did
have to cancel our trip to Sydney. Never mind – that gives me
another reason to return.
I really did love Australia. Such a long journey, through such
diverse cultures (we went via Dubai and Brunei) and to land in a
country, which has so many similarities with the UK. I felt
immediately at home there.
October 2012: Welcoming students at Manchester Metropolitan
University
Naomi Eagling
All UK universities have been busy welcoming students
from across the world. Many of our clients recognise the importance
of a well-structured induction programme to ensure that students
get all the information they need to make the start of term a
success. It is also important for students to be welcomed to their
new University, city and the UK more generally; after all they have
often travelled thousands of miles away from home.
As a Client Relationship Manager it was important for me to get
a realistic view of the challenges that our clients face at this
time of year. I was also intrigued to meet some students and find
out what is important to them. So I went to work for Manchester
Metropolitan University for a day during their International
Induction week.
On arrival I was met by a team of student ambassadors and
members of the student welfare team. There was a jam packed
schedule of lectures that students could attend, from banking and
managing student finances, to Postgraduate and Undergraduate
Assessment styles. Cultural changes, Visa management and
accommodation were all sessions that students could attend.
I was assigned to a student ambassador from Brazil who led tours
of the library facilities and showed the students how to use the
catalogue system. They even showed the students simple things like
how to use the photocopier and where the silent study zones were in
the library. Another tour, which was great fun, was to a local
supermarket. Something that I take for granted can be so daunting
to a new student in a new country. I explained about the different
prices of groceries, the difference between ‘value’ and ‘finest’
brands and also explained about the age requirements to buy certain
things in the UK.
In the afternoon I sat in on a lecture that was given by the
Greater Manchester Police force. As there are 85,000 students in
Manchester, the police have a designated ‘Safe student’ campaign.
Even as a resident of Manchester myself, I did not know that! It
was really useful to see the Police engage with students, as the
police have different reputations in every country, and the aim is
to ensure that all students know that they are able to approach the
UK Police force without fear or intimidation. The Police Officer
explained some differences of law and talked through some basic
safety tips, such as not carrying more than £50 in cash. The next
lecture that I sat in on was about cultural change and what
students should expect. It was given by an alumnus of MMU from
Malaysia, so he really had first-hand experience! The Q and A
session quickly focused on the weather and the local food. The
weather is a common topic of conversation even amongst those of us
who were born here!
I
was asked some very interesting questions by the students, some of
which may at first seem strange, but when you realise how much of a
change moving to another country can be for students is totally
understandable. For example one student asked the question ‘Is it
legal to ride your bicycle whilst under the influence of alcohol?’!
For me all their questions highlighted just how important the first
days at their new university can be for helping the students to
settle in.
As Nicola Ross the Immigration and Welfare Manager at MMU says;
"Students coming from overseas are encouraged to arrive a few days
before their faculty induction so that they can get familiarised
with their new environment. Student satisfaction surveys show how
important a good start is in helping a student overcome initial
barriers and integrate in the University and wider community, and
also succeed on their chosen course of study."
Attending the MMU International Induction week and helping the
staff and student ambassadors to welcome the new students to their
university has given me a much greater appreciation of the work
that goes into making international students transition to life in
the UK as pain free as possible. It must still be quite tough for
many of them but with the basics of life at a UK university clearly
explained to them they can begin to enjoy everything that life at
university has to offer..
July 2012: Glad to be back?
Arlene Griffiths
Anyone who knows me will know that I’m not good at remembering
names. Statistics – yes. Business I’ve conducted over the last 30
years – usually. People’s birthdays – mostly! And
faces? Well, luckily I rarely forget a face. That’s just
as well really, because in the last few months I seem to have come
face-to-face with the majority of my contacts I’ve ever made during
the course of my career in international education.
The months of April and May were hectic
ones for us at IDP UK. One of the main things we organised was
our IDP Insights event in London, which was a great opportunity to
see many familiar faces, not just from the sector, but also many of
my current IDP colleagues who flew into London from around the
world to deliver sessions. It was the first time that many of
our UK team had met their international colleagues too, so it was a
fantastic get together as well as being hard work in getting
everything together to make the event a success.
The whole team then hurried back to Cardiff for our training on
Oscar – IDP’s CRM system
– with Chris Costley from our Head Office in Melbourne. It’s a
complex, state of the art system and still pretty new so, but who
better than Chris to help us to understand its complexities and how
we apply it to business. If you met him in London, you’ll know he
has a great style of presentation – delivered in his inimitable
Kiwi way! You can read an
interview with Chris on our website, although
unfortunately he doesn’t include some of his famous expressions…
The picture is of me and Naomi (one of the UK
team's Client Relationship Managers) during the training.
Anyway, feeling a bit shattered by then, but after a short
interlude it was time to jump on a plane and head out to Houston
for NAFSA. The first thing I did was to smash a bottle of very
good Welsh malt whiskey in the airport! I was taking it for my
colleague Lyndell Jacka to take back to Head Office. Lyndell was
giving a presentation on Student Buyer Behaviour at NAFSA, which
went down really well. It looked at how students view the major
English speaking countries and institutions and the key factors
that drive their choices. A summary of the research is
available in our Market Research
section.
It was great to see so many familiar faces at NAFSA and to have
the chance to meet and talk with our clients and other partners and
also my colleagues, but I must say that the heat finally got to me…
I jumped on another plane and headed to New York to take my first
holiday in months, making the most of Broadway just before the Tony
awards. 
Never a dull moment – as soon as I was back we were preparing
for some office training and then I was back up to London for the
Times Higher Leadership and Management Awards.
We were hosting a table there on the evening – we had a great
time and it was fantastic to see so many clients winning and being
shortlisted for awards.
So, while I was away our team was able to take a well-deserved
breather and start to prepare for the next three months. I must say
though, I’m glad to back for now…