The centre in Colombia was launched by the city’s British Embassy on December 1, and is the company’s fourth UAC globally.

“Along with the heightened demand for international degrees we are seeing in Colombia, there follows a need for face-to-face engagement with locally based university representatives and counsellors who can empower students to make the best study abroad decisions for themselves,” INTO CEO Olivia Streatfeild said in a statement.

“Our UAC in Bogotá gives students crucial access to experts and resources that demystify the discovery, application and enrolment process and set them up for academic and career success from the start.”

“There follows a need for face-to-face engagement with locally based university representatives and counsellors”

INTO revealed an initiative earlier this year – backed by a £6.3 million investment – which will include 11 new locations worldwide by the end of 2023.

Vietnam has two INTO UACs – in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – and Indonesia has one in Jakarta. New hubs are lined up for launch next year in Bangkok and New Delhi, along with UACs in Pakistan, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Dubai, South Korea and Taiwan.

The company has also partnered with the British Council to administer the computer-delivered IELTS exam, starting in December.

Like the other locations globally, the Bogotá UAC will “provide an excellent place for universities, agents, students and parents to connect”, Russell Hammond, UAC and INTO LATAM director, added.

“The synergy between all our varied activities, soon to include IELTS exams, will not only enrich the student experience but further position our partner universities in the US, the UK and Australia and their world class programs in this burgeoning market,” he said.

A “significant” currency devaluation against the US dollar and inflationary factors are “driving new trends towards European and UK alternatives”, despite the US remaining at key study destination, INTO noted.

“The US remains a popular destination for Colombian students, who accounted for nearly 10% of the more than 72,000 students from Latin America studying at American universities in 2021,” Hammond continued.

“With this in mind, US institutions have an enormous opportunity to deploy staff at UAC Bogotá and liaise directly with agents to offer students a seamless study abroad service.”