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Report from Miami: The ICEF Americas Workshop

The ICEF Americas Workshop is the largest and most international event of its kind in the region. The 2007 workshop—held in Miami December 9-11—saw continued dramatic growth in both overall attendance and international representation. This clearly reflects the strengthening position of the United States as both a destination for and source of international students as well as the growing interest in Latin America among education providers worldwide.

"The ICEF Americas Workshop provided a good opportunity to market to a geographically diverse audience," said Daniela Abuzatoaie of the University of Chicago. "The organisation of the workshop was excellent."

The workshop was attended by 391 representatives from 302 education providers, agencies, and exhibitors—a growth of 44% over 2006 attendance—with 21% of attendees participating for the first time. All told, 51 countries were represented in Miami (a 31% increase from 2006), and the delegates scheduled nearly 4,000 one-to-one meetings.

Before these intensive workshop sessions, participants were invited to join a series of market intelligence seminars. Highlights included:

• An overview of student mobility between the US and Latin America from Dr. Rajika Bhandari of the Institute of International Education. Dr. Bhandari presented some of the latest statistics and trends data for the region compiled by the IIE.
• A presentation on measuring Return on Investment (ROI) in international student recruitment by USjournal.com's Cheryl Darrup-Boychuck. Ms. Darrup-Boychuck reviewed current ROI metrics, and demonstrated a variety of sample formulas and case studies for measuring the effectiveness of international marketing efforts.
• Updates on the UK's point-based migration system, by Nichola Croft, UK Visas' deputy director of visa services for Latin America, and the US's Student & Exchange Visitor's Program (SEVP) by Matthew Stuckey of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency.

The workshop was again held at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, a resort property just outside—but within easy reach—of Miami's South Beach and downtown districts. Many participants noted that the resort's location allowed educators and agents to engage in extended informal discussions outside of scheduled workshop sessions.

"It was excellent," said Amparito Calle of Comtur (Colombia). "The location and everything and everybody was excellent. I got wonderful contacts. Thank you for everything."

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