6 reasons why you should attend Studyportals Academy 2018

Change is never an easy process to deal with. It implies uncertainty, surprise and a certain loss of the familiar. Navigating change in 2018 can prove itself to be especially challenging, particularly within the field of international student recruitment. The speed at which things are shifting, together with the number of changes may induce a feeling of not knowing what to focus on or how to best react to what is happening.

Questions start to arise: How can higher education professionals talk to the newer generations that will soon join their campuses? What applications and tech options are out there that can improve the overall international student recruitment process? How can universities shape their recruitment strategy to attract and enrol the best candidates for their campus?

We want to start providing answers.

By gathering experts from all around the world to discuss the latest tips, trends and tools in a two days event, Studyportals Academy aims to connect and inspire individuals that are actively working in the field of international student recruitment. If you want to become more aware of the upcoming challenges in this field, you should consider joining the event. This will not only help you gather relevant insights from the sessions themselves, but you will also have the chance to network with fellow colleagues who are going through similar challenges and get more know-how from them as well. Moreover, you can be sure that you will gain a clearer picture of which opportunities your institution can seize within the student recruitment landscape.

The agenda is crafted with 3 different tracks in mind. These cover the most burning topics that one can find nowadays in international student recruitment discussions: strategic decision making, the impact of Generation Z, and the ever-shifting marketing and digital recruitment landscape. Based on these directions, we are inviting you to welcome new input, contribute and embrace upcoming changes, in order to get the best possible results out of your international student recruitment plans.

Here are the top 6 reasons why you should join this year’s Studyportals Academy in Amsterdam, the Netherlands:

REASON 1: Discover practical tips and tools that enhance your innovation efforts within your international student recruitment strategy

In order to be truly innovative, you will need to be equipped with the right tools and know-how that will bring you to the next level. Regarding international student recruitment, your university will benefit from being exposed to new ways of handling the recruitment process. For example, during the conference, you’ll gain hands-on experience by using tools such as Google Tag Manager or Whatsapp in the different stages of the recruitment funnel. Or if you are looking for a more strategic perspective, you can gain relevant insight around change management and how to implement change in your student recruitment process. We guarantee that you will not leave the event without finding out some new piece of expertise that can help in meeting your recruitment goals.

REASON 2: Learn from high-class experts how to use big data to reach your international student recruitment goals

Big data is not just a buzzword anymore. Within higher education, universities are starting to explore the huge opportunities that open up when using big data in decision making. We are delighted to bring on an impressive list of experts, each with their own valuable expertise regarding data and higher education. Whether we’re talking about institutional strategies or learning how to use real-time data to analyse the supply-demand relation between students and universities, big data is creating a fresh space for change. These sessions will now help you make smarter and more informed decisions regarding your recruitment strategy.

REASON 3: Share and discuss your recruitment experiences with fellow colleagues from all around the world

Sharing experiences drives innovation. Due to the small size of the workshops, you will surely get to know your fellow participants and their ideas better. By imparting different points of view, we can together create the perfect environment for ideation and brainstorming. You will be joining other higher education professionals, ranging from senior to junior levels and involved in different departments and stages of the international recruitment process. Each of you will bring your own set of experiences and expertise to the table. Thus, you will be complementing each others’ ideas and create valuable, hands-on output for your institution. Start building those solid connections and expand your professional network during the event!

REASON 4: Learn how to effectively communicate with your future students

There’s a lot of buzz regarding the new kids on the block, better known as Gen Z. They are the newest group to join the university ranks. Because they live in a heavily digitalized and rapidly changing world, the way they will interact with your institutions will be different than previous generations. How they expect to be approached will be different, where they find their information is different and how they actually apply will for sure change the current status-quo on campus. That means that higher education institutions need to start paying attention to this group, to make sure they target and select talent properly, achieving their student recruitment goals. The best part about the agenda of the event is that we won’t just talk about Gen Z, but we are actually asking them to sit at the table with us and share with you live who they are and what they expect from their interactions with you and your institution.

REASON 5: Understand the student journey from a 360-degree angle

One of the first steps you should take to improve your student recruitment strategy is to get an in-depth, complete picture of your students’ journey to getting enrolled at your university. In a way, they represent your customers. By mapping out their different interaction points with your institution, it will be easier to first understand how your future students think and how they make decisions. At the same time, a journey map will help you in identifying the current blocks or bottlenecks in your recruitment plans. You can use journey mapping to analyse your existing student experience across your different touch points or to directly design a new student experience from scratch. This will lead to a more appealing recruitment process for students, but also, it will smooth out and clarify your action points from your recruitment strategy

REASON 6: Contribute to the collective know-how around international student recruitment best practices with your unique point of view

In the end, we are as smart as our collective know-how. Everyone that will attend this event will bring their unique experience and point of view along regarding international student recruitment. By sharing your perspectives with others, you are actively contributing to solving current problems within international student recruitment and making space for innovation. Sharing your experience is not merely an act of altruism, but a significant contribution to long-lasting, positive change in the field of international student recruitment.

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Bonus reason: Meet the Studyportals team in person and get to know how we can contribute to your institution’s success!

Our team will be present during the event itself, making sure that all your questions regarding the event sessions, the industry and Studyportals will get answered. We invite you to take this time to get to know the people behind Studyportals Academy better and see what we can do for you and your university.

Change is imminent for the international student recruitment field. A lot of the well-established rules are being rewritten as we speak. To stay ahead in times like these means to actively get to know the status quo, then learn how to best tackle it for optimal results. That is our aim for you during this year’s Studyportals Academy: to connect, get inspired and gain relevant insights that you can then successfully implement during your own international student recruitment. You can register for the event here.