Asia

India and China market entry specialists Sannam S4 and Grok Education Services have announced a strategic partnership to support educators trying to break into Asia. The move will give educators access to a wider range of services and markets (Grok has flagged Malaysia) via a "single relationship".

British PM David Cameron signed a number of education agreements with Kazakhstan last week, extending opportunities for UK providers. UK Trade and Investment said that the oil-rich country offered opportunities in vocational education and skills development.

A group of Scottish MSPs have called for an increase in Mandarin language teaching across all school levels as part of a larger plan to increase trade opportunities for Scottish business in China and encourage more Chinese investment in Scottish industry and infrastructure. As of now, there are just six public high schools that offer Chinese language courses.

Nearly 4.3 million students studied tertiary education outside their country of citizenship in 2011, according to the OECD's latest Education at a Glance report. The report suggests students are increasingly seeking a foreign education to boost their chances in the global job market, but warns a slowdown in scholarships could impair mobility.

Asia’s best universities have seen a surge in international students since 2008 as they upscale and gain ground on their Western rivals, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) says. The firm's Asian university rankings 2013, released last week, show fast rising Asian economies have made "unprecedented investment" in HE enabling them to "attract the world’s best faculty and students".

Australia is to invest an additional AUS$15.2 million in Asian language learning in its schools in the hope of dramatically increasing uptake in the next decade. The government says it will spend the money on new language curricula and improving teacher training among other measures.

Payment transfer firm peerTransfer has launched six new payment methods from China and India that make it easier for international students to pay for tuition fees and other expenses. The firm says that it expects business from both markets to increase through the channels.

FPP Edu Media has launched an app allowing schools to access data on thousands of prospective international students that attend its student fairs, through shared QR codes. FPP President Julio Ronchetti told The PIE News he hoped for 100,000 users by next March.

TVET UK has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture to help improve standards of vocational education in Indonesia and meet the needs of industry. A number of UK colleges are already benefiting from the deal.

A survey of 2,000 college bound international students reveals that after a university's website and college rankings, conversations with current students and college reps had the most influence on where they finally decided to study. They trumped on-campus tours, university brochures and agents.

The number of Indian students at Russian universities increased by almost 60 per cent to 450 in 2012, up from 280 in 2011. Indians are said to be attracted by Russia's affordable, well recognised education system.

Demand for international schools places is soaring with Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Qatar, Malaysia and Singapore offering the best investment opportunities for foreign providers, new research has claimed. Demand is being driven by the rising prosperity of local families.

A record two million International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests were taken worldwide over the last 12 months, representing an 11% rise. The US was singled out for mention as a growth market – a shot across TOEFL’s bows given that test’s dominance in the American market.

A new consortium of 12 US and Indonesian universities was launched this week at the NAFSA conference in St. Louis to promote educational exchange. The initiative is a continuation of the institutions' partnership through the US-Indonesia Partnership Program for Study Abroad Capacity, which stemmed a decline in Indonesian student traffic to the US after it formed in 2010.

Student mobility between Europe and Asia is notably unbalanced in favour of Europe concluded education ministers at the Fourth Asia-Europe Meeting of Ministers for Education (ASEMME4) in Kuala Lumpur last week. For more equilibrium they called for better QA systems and degree recognition.