Asia

Yahoo! officially shutdown its email service in China this Monday giving users a week to save data and their contacts list before accounts are permanently deleted on August 26. Although the closure was announced in April, the move could potentially put a kink in communications with potential and current students from China.

The Japanese government has launched a programme that will support young people to travel abroad to undertake internships, volunteering, working holidays or overseas language training. Implemented by JAOS, Global ACE aims to boost the employability and vocational skills of under-35s.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s landslide victory in last month’s general election confirmed that plans to internationalise the country’s higher education system will go forward. Around £284 million (￥43.2 billion) has been allocated toward initiatives to increase inbound and outbound mobility, improve universities’ ranking status and boost academic collaborations.

Pearson recently partnered with investment fund Rethink Education to lead an $8.5m investment in Voxy, an English language learning platform with 2.5 million users. The global giant is pro-actively repositioning itself to be embedded in digital delivery and posted solid half-year results.

A consortium of London-based universities working together to promote London as a pre-eminent international student destination recently toasted its first year milestone and significant successes increasing London's exposure and enhancing its brand as a study destination with strong employment links, notably in the markets of India and China.

Australian vocational provider, TasTAFE, is to offer new courses in China, strengthening a long-running partnership with Shanghai Bangde Vocational College. Courses on offer will include diplomas in business and banking, accounting and hospitality and will include English language tuition.

Sweden-based study travel giant, STS, has agreed the terms of a pilot project to deliver English language training in China, to 720 students at Chaoyang Foreign Language School in Beijing. The programme has the backing of the Chinese government and the company hopes it could be the first of many initiatives.

China's position as a study destination will be solidified in October, when more than 200 Chinese and Western institutions convene at the country's first ever conference promoting in-bound mobility. China wants to increase international enrolments from 250,000 to 500,000 by 2020—a number the Beijing Overseas Study Service Association (BOSSA) says is easily reachable.

Representatives of more than 100 Japanese universities have been briefed about the Australian government's new strategy to increase engagement with Asia, raising hopes that mobility between the countries will improve. With 400 academic partnerships between the countries in existence the potential for more collaboration is clear.

Hungary has included educational exchange as part of its foreign policy strategy of "Opening to the East" by offering 2,000 scholarships to students in Central and East Asia. At a time of cuts to subsidised domestic education the government has argued that the scheme will pay for itself by developing trade ties for Hungary - and that the scheme could be extended to other regions.

Bell English, one of the UK's largest English language brands, will not be renewing contracts with its overseas franchise network as it embarks on a new international strategy focused on strategic partnerships and projects abroad, The PIE has learned. The company says it will focus on developing its teacher training and young learner programmes.

Sri Lanka says it still aims to become an international education hub by 2020, despite signs earlier this year that the plans had stalled. The Higher Education Ministry said last month that it wanted attract more foreign branch campuses as well as convert local universities into world class universities.

Montreal in Canada provides the highest returns for international students seeking an undergrad degree, based on an index created by Economist Intelligence Unit and China’s Bank of Communications. The Sea Turtle Index measured 80 cities for educational returns, real estate returns, financial returns, work experience and social experience.

The essential role skills play in the global economy was highlighted last week at the 42nd World Skills Competition in Liepziger, Germany, organised by WorldSkills International. The competition involved one thousand youngsters from 52 countries and regions who competed in a variety of skill sets.

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".