ICEF

About this Workshop

For most international students, agents play an important role in selecting and applying to institutions abroad. As a result, agents have become a vital recruitment method for Canadian and US educators.

For the last nine years, the ICEF North America Workshop in Canada has attracted an increasing number of participants, firmly establishing itself as Canada’s leading education networking event.

In 2019, the ICEF North America Workshop will be held in Vancouver. At the event, educators and service providers from Canada and the US will meet with hundreds of education agents, all rigorously vetted through ICEF’s renowned quality screening process. Among other requirements, agents must provide several references from current Canadian and US partners, and disclose the number of students they have successfully placed per education sector in North America in the last year. This ensures that only active, relevant agencies are accepted to the event.

Prior to the workshop, educators and service providers gain access to eSchedule PRO, ICEF’s customised scheduling software. Through this software, educators and service providers can easily determine relevant agents and pre-arrange up to 38 face-to-face meetings.

In addition to formal meetings and social events, workshop participants may also participate in various market intelligence seminars and industry presentations.

Attended by the best North America-focused educational agents, and organised by the industry leader in educator-agent networking events, the ICEF North America Workshop – Vancouver is the must attend international education event in Canada.

The event enables educators to hold pre-scheduled one-to-one business appointments with relevant, quality student recruitment agents, as well as with other educators and service providers. These appointments are 25 minutes in duration and serve the dual objectives of meeting with new contacts and/or maintaining existing relationships. The workshop programme also includes meals, refreshment breaks and evening functions, which offer valuable social networking opportunities.

Specific Information about this Workshop for Agents

Easily develop partnerships with quality educators from Canada and the US
Increase student placements by gaining new contacts and new representation agreements in North America
Broaden and diversify your product portfolio and study options
Maintain existing contacts and networks
Promote your agency to key players within the international education industry
Keep up with current market intelligence and trends
Meet with a large number of educators and service providers in one place - save time and money
Sit the ICEF Agent Training Course (IATC) test

View the Agent comments video.

Educators exclusively from Canada and the United States
International agents wanted to connect with educators from Canada and the US
Service providers who have products and / or services to sell to Canadian and American students via education institutions or education agents
Education industry members including education associations, tourism boards and economic development organisations

Prior to the workshop:

Comprehensive details of invited educators and service providers
Access to the eSchedule PRO online meeting booking system
City and venue information

At the workshop:

3 nights’ hotel accommodation (per agency) for agents based outside the workshop location
A copy of the Educator & Service Provider Catalogue
An entry in the Agent Catalogue
Access to Marcom Onsite for last-minute appointment scheduling
Participation in seminars
Workshop receptions, refreshment breaks and meals
Opportunity to attend agents familiarisation tours and receptions

Training options for agents

ICEF supports ongoing agent training through five courses:

ICEF Agent Training Course (IATC)
Canada Course for Education Agents (CCEA)
Chinese Education Agent Course (CEAC) – China-based agents only
US Agent Training Course (USATC)
Irish Education Agent Course (IEAC)

PROPOSAL FORM for FAM Tours and Receptions / Toronto

FAM Tours & Receptions

Agent familiarisation (FAM) tours and receptions are excellent ways for you to gain exposure and promote your institution and / or association to event registered agents.

FAM tours allow you to take advantage of a large number of agents attending the event and attract them to visit your institution, campus and region. Effective FAM tours enable agents to increase their product knowledge and bring back first-hand experience to potential students.

FAM Tour guidelines:

FAM tour organisers may determine all logistics, conditions and costs associated with their tour, including which event participants are accepted to join, and which are not.
ICEF will not get involved in the organisation of FAM tours, but simply ensure relevancy for event participants as well as an equal representation of tours to all delegates.
All delegates interested in attending FAM tours will be asked to make direct contact with the tour organiser. Organisers are responsible for confirming or declining acceptance directly with participants.
FAM tour organisers wishing to promote their tour through ICEF are required to submit a proposal. All proposals are subject to approval by ICEF.
FAM tours may only be offered outside of event related activities and times.
Only organisations attending the event may meet and host other event participants. We do not wish to encourage non-registered institutions to access and benefit from meeting potential business partners that event registered organisations have paid to meet.

Reception guidelines:

Receptions allow you to host agents in a memorable way while reinforcing your brand. Inviting the agents that you wish to target gives you the chance to make meaningful and focused connections in a relaxed and fun environment.

Reception organisers may determine all logistics, conditions and costs associated with their event, including which event participants and other business partners are accepted to join, and which are not.
ICEF will not get involved in the organisation of receptions, but simply ensure relevancy for event participants as well as an equal representation of receptions to all delegates.
All event participants interested in attending a reception will be asked to make direct contact with the reception organiser. Organisers are responsible for confirming or declining acceptance directly with participants.
Reception organisers wishing to promote their event through ICEF are requested to provide information as outlined on the ICEF website.
Receptions may only be offered outside of event related activities and times.
Only organisations attending the event may meet and host other event participants. We do not wish to encourage non-registered institutions to access and benefit from meeting potential business partners that event registered organisations have paid to meet.

Promotion

Once your proposal has been accepted by ICEF, we will promote your event to assist you in attracting the quantity and variety of agents desired.

Your FAM tour or reception will be listed in this section of the website along with your contact details, hyperlinks and / or promotional materials. ICEF will also promote your event to all attending agents once their registration has been approved, as well as in numerous follow-up communications prior to the event.

Please provide ICEF with a website hyperlink and / or a brochure / flyer / invitation (pdf format) containing the following information:

Name of activity
Host name and contact details
Details of the event including program, location, date and time, inclusions such as food and transportation, invited target groups / individuals and maximum number of participants

Please note: Proposals received less than 4 weeks prior to the event will be listed on the website but will no longer be published in any other agent communications.

2019 FAM Tours and Receptions

The participant information pack will be published 3 months prior to the event.

All participants will need a valid passport or an appropriate travel document to enter Canada.

As of November 10, 2016, visa-exempt foreign nationals who fly to or transit through Canada will need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Exceptions include U.S. citizens and travellers with a valid visa. Click here to find out if you need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).

Please check travel and visa regulations with your respective embassy well ahead before travelling. A list of countries whose citizens will require a visa to visit Canada can be found at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

US citizens should visit the Department of Homeland Security website for a list of acceptable documents to re-enter the US.

Business travellers usually need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV). To make sure you apply for the right visa to enter Canada, please check this page.

Canada does not have a visa office in every country. To find out the visa office closest to you, please click this link.

Please refer to this page to find videos on how to complete visa applications correctly.

Information on general processing times at various visa offices is available at the following link.

What to do if an application is refused:
If an individual’s visa application is denied, the applicant will be informed in writing. If there is new information that was not previously considered or if circumstances have changed since the refusal, the applicant may wish to submit a new application. Please note that unless the applicant provides further information that addresses the concerns raised in the refusal letter, the applicant will likely get the same results. Every person applying for a visa must satisfy the requirements under IRPA in order for the visa officer to approve the applications.
Applicants are advised to submit complete applications, including all supporting documents, in accordance with the instructions provided in the visa office website.

For additional information on what to do if an application is refused, visit IRCC’s website.

Please note that ICEF can only provide you with a letter of invitation for the duration of the workshop (April 24 - 27). If you require a letter of invitation, please contact Ms Hannah Brust. Deadline for invitation letter requests is March 24, 2019.

“Excellent event once again! I attended ICEF Montreal in 2015 and this event was not only larger but just as well organized. I am continually pleased and grateful for the amazing work that ICEF does for these conferences.” - Prem Modha, IDP Education, Canada.

“A big thank you to all the ICEF staff for giving me this great opportunity for my business and for being so efficient and professional!” - Berenice Oliva, New English Travel S.a.s., Italy.

“I have attended ICEF event 2 times so far. Attending this event helps me know the way to celebrate a professional event. At this Vancouver event, I had an opportunity to meet some good educational providers and open my network.” - Son Pham, AS INTERNATIONAL JOINT STOCK COMPANY, Vietnam.

“The fair is well prepared. I love the way that ICEF hosts and I will definitely come back when I get the chance.” - Hung (Alex) Pham, Instulink International, Vietnam.

“Great opportunity to get to know canadian educators. A completely new market for my agency.” - Gabriela Ardito, Viajes Culturales a Europa, Argentina.

“The whole event was very productive and enjoyable. Definitely a must attend workshop, where educators and agents keep up with the industry and work together to find the best way to offer a better quality of education for international students.” - Eliana Gleide Vieira Silva, Best Way Intercâmbios, Brazil.

“We have been to a lot of fairs. ICEF is very organized comparing to others. We were very happy with the size of the Vancouver event, we were not expecting that many schools and variety of programs.” - Carolina Niero, BIL Intercâmbios, Brazil.

“Great way to establish new business opportunities.” - Santiago Flores, Apex ... tu camino, Ecuador.

“This is the best event in the world regarding education workshops. I give kudos to all ICEF management staff and all other staff contributing to make the workshop more interesting every year. I will always attend future events.” - Chika Stella Eboh, Mediatrix Educational Services, Nigeria.

“The workshop was well organized, and the quality of educators and service providers was higly commendable.” - Kayode Adeyeye, Kared Global Services, Nigeria.

“In a word, ICEF is a an umbrella of international student recruiters and education providers.” - Bapan Saha, SA Associates Inc (SAA), Bangladesh.

“As usual, an outstanding ICEF event. Brilliant organization and the level of contacts was fantastic.” - Mark Lucas, iae Global, Australia.

This workshop is sponsored by