FPP Edu Media, a major educational fair organiser in Latin America, is rolling out its popular social network recruiting site Edufindme in India and Turkey next month.
The site works in tandem with its educational fairs by connecting students with agents and universities. Since launching in 2011 the network has attracted more than 320,000 users across Latin America.
“We could reach half a million users by the end of the year”
“We think Turkey is similar to Latin America in terms of interest. Lots of students want to go where most of our clients are – the US, Canada, the UK,” FPP president Julio Ronchetti told The PIE News.
He added that the scale and make-up of the Indian market was appealing. “Indian students are very much into internet and social networks, so we think this is going to help them find great opportunities.”
Edufindme works by connecting students, universities and agents through the information provided in their user profiles. Users can see how they “match” with another institution or person based on 14 criteria and then, as on Facebook, ask to join their network and communicate.
“It’s something like a mix between LinkedIn and Match.com,” Ronchetti explained. “Students love it and it is a great way for schools to find good students and an easy way to promote online.”
The site is also integrated with Edufairs events, which are held in 36 countries worldwide. Students can be automatically connected to a university’s network after visiting its exhibition booth, simply by scanning a barcode provided at registration.
Ronchetti now sees promise in new markets, predicting 80,000 users in India in the first year alone. He hopes to roll in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand before 2014.
“We got more students signed up than we ever imagined [when we launched],” said Ronchetti. “It’s an easy guess to say that with the addition of new users from all the new markets, we could reach half a million users by the end of the year.”
