France

Study travel trip organiser, Horizons du Monde, is launching a cruise-based package as it identifies a trend away from pure language courses towards cross-curriculum and tailor-made group tours.

France is introducing a two year post-study work residence permit for Indian graduates, during Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit. The bilateral agreement will also enable 250 French graduates to remain in India for two years working for French companies.

French business school, SKEMA, has announced it is opening its first campus in Latin America near Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, Brazil. In partnership with Fundação Dom Cabral, SKEMA will host its first 100 students in September.

France should increase the amount it charges non-EU students and use the proceeds to internationalise its higher education system, a strategic unit connected to the Prime Minister’s office has said.

French students studying at Quebec universities will no longer pay in-province university tuition fees starting next year under a renegotiated bilateral agreement between the French and Quebec governments.

International students studying in France contributed a net €1.6bn to the country's economy last year, a first-of-its-kind report commissioned by Campus France reveals.

Booming Chinese investment in Africa could prove to be beneficial for France. With historical and lingual ties to several countries on the continent, France has seen an increase in Chinese students keen to learn French and establish ties with French industry. As a result, the French government has initiated a series of programmes to attract Chinese students to France.

The governments in China and France have invested in fortifying economic ties between their countries by supporting the establishment of the country's first Confucius Institute for Business. “Major players in the Chinese corporate world are now more than ever willing to cooperate with Europe," said the centre director.

After France's Minister of Higher Education Geneviève Fioraso declared France's position as a study destination as "fragile" last year, the government has started 2014 with pledges to make good on efforts to boost inbound student numbers including extending work rights and facilitating visa processing.

After a stagnant 2013, members of one of France's leading French as a foreign language teaching associations, Groupement FLE, are prepared to approach 2014 head-on with cross sectoral alliances and plans to expand their marketing strategies to emerging markets.

Geneviève Fioraso, French Minister of Higher Education, has announced €8 million of funding for online courses to allow France to "catch up" with other countries investing in MOOC development. At present, only 3% of French universities offer online courses, compared with 80% in the US. The Ministry wants to promote the courses for job seekers and those already in work as well as for students.

France has made it easier for students from outside the European Union to obtain visas and work in the country after they graduate, in a bid to attract more international students to the country. Students will no longer have to renew visas annually and can stay in France for up to a year to find work after graduation.

France’s National Assembly will this week debate plans to relax laws requiring teaching at universities to be conducted only in French, in a bid to attract more foreign students. However, the idea has met a chorus of disapproval from politicians and teaching unions who believe it could damage French culture.

France's position as a top study destination for international students is "fragile" and the government must improve internationalisation in universities and the student experience to remain competitive, Higher Education Minister Geneviève Fioraso has claimed. She proposes improving Campus France and post-study work rights among other reforms.

To promote French schools and universities in India, CampusFrance and the French Embassy will run a marketing tour across India this autumn but with a twist – priority will given to courses taught in English.