Jon Aizlewood

Sixty per cent of the graduates of Hult International Business School find employment outside their country of origin. Many savvy operators are now enabling their students to leave "global-work-ready" by blending education with career counselling, professional experience or multi-campus instruction.

The British government has refused to alter its immigration policies to protect the provision of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects at UK universities – despite warnings from the House of Lords that its policies threaten the viability of many STEM programmes. However, it did say it was monitoring the impact of its visa policies.

Quality English (QE), a marketing association for independent English language schools that conform to universal high standards, took its members on a trade mission to Europe last month, to build relations with education agencies.

A panel of leading international student recruitment professionals emphasised the importance of data and digital marketing for delegates from Scottish FE and HE institutions at a free conference in Edinburgh last week.

The top five most attractive study destinations according to education agents have not changed since last year, according to the i-graduate ICEF Agent Barometer 2012, however Canada has significantly gained ground on its competitors. 64% rated it "very attractive" – up 5% on 2011 and 15% on 2008.

The UK-based international student market remains vital to UK universities despite the country’s tightened visa policies, The PIE News has learnt. At the UK University International Student Fair last month in London, institutions said an important proportion of overseas enrolments originated within the country – and that onshore marketing led to better students.

Colombia has signed two mutual degree recognition agreements in as many weeks following Memorandums of Understanding reached with Portugal and Chile. The agreements are part of a campaign to increase internationalisation in Colombia's higher education sector and recognition of its graduates in the global workforce.

Launched in March by the Irish immigration authorities and sector body, MEI, the fast-track visa programme for Chinese students is so far underwhelming the sector for its impact on enrolment figures. Despite an initial quota set at 400 students, only about 200 hundred are expected to enrol by the end of the year.

Marketing at LSBF is much more central to the operation. We are truly global and we don’t view agents in the margin. We also have a different approach to students – counselling them rather than just trying to sell them something...

Developers from GoAbroad.com, one of the leading international education and experiential travel resources in the US, have launched a fundraising site to help students raise money for courses abroad. FundMyTravel allows students to start a campaign on the site and then share it with family and friends who can make donations.