ICEF staged its first ever roadshow last month enabling educators to meet agencies at events in Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea. It has also announced its 10th charitable partner as part of its Education Fund, a commitment to education-related projects.
Business was brisk at this year’s ICEF Dubai Workshop, with agents from the region and educators holding some 3,900 targeted meetings about placing students. As raised during the event's seminars, outbound mobility from UAE is predicted to rise, along with the numbers going to the region.
If the US got their act together and had one national agency such as the British Council or AEI in Australia, instead of having 3 different departments with conflicting opinions – State, Commerce and Education - then things could really really start cooking.
The top five most attractive study destinations according to education agents have not changed since last year, according to the i-graduate ICEF Agent Barometer 2012, however Canada has significantly gained ground on its competitors. 64% rated it "very attractive" – up 5% on 2011 and 15% on 2008.
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.
Canada is the latest country to mandate a training programme for education agencies interested in gaining certification relating to their Canadian counselling skills. The Canadian embassy in Germany officially launched the Canada course for Education Agents at the weekend on the fringes of ICEF Berlin.
The most recent ICEF Asia Workshop held in Beijing, China earlier this month welcomed 154 agencies from across the region to represent a pan-Asian delegation of education agencies looking to expand business with 126 education institutions.
The European Association of Quality Agencies (EAQA) has been recognised by ICEF and FELCA as an accredited agency association. Established in 2011, EAQA aims to support agents in European countries were there is no established national agency association.
