Europe

Launched in March by the Irish immigration authorities and sector body, MEI, the fast-track visa programme for Chinese students is so far underwhelming the sector for its impact on enrolment figures. Despite an initial quota set at 400 students, only about 200 hundred are expected to enrol by the end of the year.

UK universities expect their revenue from international students to grow by 24.5% in the next three years, according to the Higher Education Funding Council for England, however there is a "significant risk" demand could fall due to UK visa policy. In cash terms, the sector is expecting overseas fee income to rise from £2,513 million to £3,459 million by 2014-15.

A UK-based study abroad agency, Apple Languages/ Language Courses Abroad, has been forced to take action to salvage the company as a blackhole of hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt was discovered. Many language schools in the business are affected but latest reports indicate an acquisition is likely.

An award-winning English language school situated on the west coast of Ireland in Galway is taking its brand to Ireland's capital city, Dublin, taking heed of its students' suggestions to open a second centre to the capital.

The agency behind the websites All About Languages and Idiomas Fuera has launched two new websites promoting high schools, boarding schools and vocational institutions to English and Spanish speaking markets across Europe and the Americas.

A new software platform that seeks to simplify homestay bookings for language schools worldwide, while increasing service and safety for students, could “professionalise” the largely unregulated homestay industry, its owners claim.

Students from the new EU states Romania and Bulgaria are facing waiting times of up to nine months when applying for permission to work part time during their university studies in the UK, the UK Border Agency has revealed. Affected students have said the situation is putting their degrees at risk and forcing them into illegal work.

Study Group welcomed more than 1,500 students and 70 UK universities and institutions to its University Fair last month. Study Group said the fair had given its Bellerby’s students and others a chance to review their options.

The University of Nottingham has become the first UK university to publish commission rates it pays to appointed student recruitment representatives and agents on its website as well as enforcing a new policy of paying a flat fee for all agents.

The ICEF Berlin Workshop took place earlier this week and cemented its reputation as the powerhouse of events for the international language teaching industry. But as well as many of the world's language teaching operations, the event also drew many universities, vocational training institutes and secondary and boarding schools too - 39% of the total providers.

A poll commissioned by the British Council has found that one in three people surveyed living in the UK believe that they would have a better job if they had spent time studying or living abroad. Seventy-nine per cent of Britons had not lived or studied abroad for six months or more, and more men had had an international experience.

Durham University, one of the UK's best higher education institutions, has opened a £50 million student services centre to enhance the student experience. The university said the centre would help it attract the brightest and best students from the UK and abroad.

A scholarship scheme for English teachers from outside the EU to study in Ireland has been expanded to include China and Russia, The PIE News learned at this week's MEI workshop, Galway. The scheme hopes to promote Ireland as an ELT destination via the teachers.

English UK and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have signed a major agreement to develop ELT across Iraqi Kurdistan and enable English UK members to leverage opportunities presented through a scholarship programme.

Berlitz is pursuing a technology-friendly learning agenda, offering iPad-based teaching in its new executive centre in London. The company points to the new iPad mini and plummeting costs for the technology helping the transition to up-to-date teaching, as research points to the relevance of using technology in teaching.