The result of nine months’ design work, ‘Ultimate Search’ matches students to courses in 10 study destinations by taking into account their current or predicted academic qualifications, budget and level of English proficiency, as well as taking into account previously available search criteria including course, country and study level preferences.

“This additional information will help institutions to tailor a more a more personalised communication with each student”

The new search was created partly as a response to institutions’ desire to develop an increased understanding of the suitability of users enquiring to their courses, Hotcourses International’s Managing Director, Andrew Wharton, told The PIE News.

Institutions will benefit from the facility by not only receiving a higher volume of enquiries from prospective students but also from more targeted, engaged enquiries that are more likely to convert to applications and subsequent enrolments, Hotcourses says.

“As a result, the increased efficiency in conversion will come institution side as a result of institutions having a greater understanding of the academic ability of the student and their preferences,” Wharton commented.

“This additional information will help institutions to tailor a more a more personalised communication with each student.”

Ultimate search is currently available through the flagship study abroad website Hotcourses Abroad and 12 local language sites including those targeting Latin America, the Middle East and Vietnam, and is due to launch on Hotcourses India in the coming weeks.

The launch of the new facility is the latest in a series of ambitious growth initiatives from the company, which launched its own virtual agency service in India in July.

The latest tool consists of nearly 200,000 pieces of data encompassing 1,283 qualifications for 55 source countries, and plans to add further search fields are already in motion.