🎤 Speakers

Stephanie Zimmermann - Director Agent Development, ICEF
Brittany Goodman - Associate Director USA, ICEF

📝 Description

This session will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to make the most out of your participation at ICEF events in general and ICEF San Diego in particular.

The session will cover the following topics:

- Preparation prior to the event
- How to maximise your time during the event
- Post-event follow-up and agent contracts
- How to maximise the working relationship between agents and providers

🎤 Speakers

Cheryl Delk-Le Good - Executive Director, EnglishUSA
Amy Ryan - Senior International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce
Dr. Daniel Lincoln - Associate Provost for Strategy & Planning, The State University of New York
Sara Sato - Assistant VP, Enrollment Management, Hawai‘i Pacific University
Moderator: Martijn van de Veen - VP, Business Development, ICEF

📝 Description

The promotion of any study destination requires all relevant stakeholders to be involved: destination marketing organisations, education institutions, local and regional governments, tourism bodies, industry associations, and travel providers. Cooperation between these stakeholders is crucial, yet can be complex.

In this session where we focus on the promotion of the USA as a study destination, we will discuss

- the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders
- funding: who foots the bill?
- the value of international students for the destination’s economy

and especially:

- the crucial role that overseas student recruitment agencies play in the successful promotion of, in this case, the USA

🎤 Speakers

Adam Lee - CEO/Co-Founder, StudentRoomStay
Krista Hestehauge - Account Executive, StudentRoomStay

📝 Description
Will homestay ever fully bounce back from the pandemic? StudentRoomStay’s Adam Lee & Krista Hestehauge will be discussing the impact of COVID-19 on international homestay and the various, ever-changing shifts in perception that continue to affect companies, students and host families across the world.

Other homestay leaders from Canada and Australia will also share their biggest challenges from the past few years and the areas that provide the most hope.

Join us as we examine the role of modern technology in a traditional homestay industry and its cruciality in our quest to recover the pre-pandemic cultural connection we all crave.

🎤 Speakers

Maryam Moshiri - Executive Director, CIBC | Simplii
Kin Chung - Head of Credit, Zolve
Liz Nutting - Executive Relationship Manager, Discover
Moderator: Martijn van de Veen - VP Business Development, ICEF

📝 Description

New fintech solutions are making international education increasingly accessible, affordable and manageable.

Think of student loans where eligibility is now determined by AI powered assessments or that require an ‘income share agreement’ (ISA) rather than a co-signer. In parallel, initiatives that lead to substantial cost reductions include digital banking services, personalised and automated budget management tools and Fintech-powered international payment solutions.

In this session, we will lead a discussion where the panelists are invited to provide their insights on some of the latest, and upcoming, financial services and solutions for the international education industry in general and international students in particular.

🎤 Speakers

Dr. Brian Whalen - Executive Director, American International Recruitment Council (AIRC)
Beck Lamb - Associate Director of Onshore International Admissions, St. George's University

📝 Description

The American International Recruitment Council (AIRC) is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the international student enrollment and recruitment field. In fulfilment of this role, AIRC has spent the past year developing new International Enrollment Management (IEM) standards to help guide institutions as they develop and improve their IEM operations. This session will demonstrate through actual case studies, how the standards can be used by institutions to advance strategies and improve IEM operations. Areas of the standards include:

1. Mission and goals
2. Institutional effectiveness
3. Marketing and recruitment
4. Admissions and enrollment, and
5. Student wellbeing and services

These comprehensive standards provide guidance to institutions in serving the best interests of students, the institution, and its partners. The standards present a benchmarking tool for institutions of all types and sizes to understand IEM best practices and how to meet the requirements set out by the standards. Link to the Standards.

By attending this session, attendees will:
- Be able to identify strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for IEM by assessing their own institution's mission and goals; institutional effectiveness; marketing and recruitment; admissions and enrollment; and student wellbeing and services as part of the overall international enrollment process.
- Be able to define how to meet the standards through consideration of a series of related questions that assist institutions to conduct a self-assessment that will help institutions to improve their practices.
- Learn how the standards can be used as a tool for developing, implementing, assessing and improving international enrollment strategies to meet institutional goals.
- Learn how to use the standards to collaborate across the institution.

🎤 Speakers

Eddie West - Assistant Dean, International Strategy and Programs, San Diego State University
Dr. Gautham Kolluri - Founder/Managing Director, CIP Study Abroad
Sadiq Basha - CEO, Edvoy
Soni Khanna - Head, Brand and Global Engagement, UniSearch
Ben Waxman - CEO, Intead
Tony Lee - CVO, ICEF
Moderator: Martijn van de Veen - VP Business Development, ICEF

📝 Description

In this multi-panel discussion, we will take a closer look at the rapid rise of digital agent aggregator platforms and the position they are claiming in international student recruitment, from 4 different perspectives.

1. Recruitment professional perspective:
- How do recruitment professionals - educators and agents - look at the rise of aggregator platforms? What are their expectations, experiences, views and estimations?

2. Aggregator perspective:
Aggregator? Master-Agent? AI-powered agent platform? Digital recruitment provider? Tomáto, Tomàto?
In this section we will ask two prominent agent aggregators, who may even challenge this denomination, to provide their definitions and views on the role, position of their recruitment platforms in international education, now and in the future.

Questions may include, but are not limited to:
- What do they think about the term “agent aggregator”, do they identify as one?
- How do they operate, and which technologies are used?
- What is the current business model and is it subject to change in the future?
- How does their platform affect the role of the conventional recruitment agency?
- What is their role and responsibility vis-a-vis the end customer: the student and their family?

3. Marketing professionals perspective:
Interesting to understand are the views of industry professionals who are neither educators nor agents: the view of experienced marketeers on the position of agent aggregators in today’s and tomorrow’s international education industry.

4. Industry perspective:
Live Q&A with an audience of industry professionals

🎤 Speaker

Vanessa Goulding - Business Development Manager, ICEF

📝 Description

A great seminar for both those new to working with agents and those experienced recruiters looking for an agent marketing strategy. ICEF Agent Voice is a bi-annual survey of ICEF-screened agents from over 100 countries. It is unique in its frequency, reach, and level of detail – comparing perspectives of agents around the world and gaining fresh insights into how they are adapting and responding to global issues and challenges. This includes a year-on-year comparison of the attractiveness of international study destinations as perceived by agents recruiting for a wide range of international study programmes. Additional aspects covered include:

- Where ICEF agents plan to send students in 2023 and beyond
- How institutions can effectively provide support and work closely with their agents this year
- What agents see as the most effective marketing strategies

The survey findings will help educators to build their reputation and relationships with agents and will also assist them in developing strategies to market themselves and their destinations more effectively.

🎤 Speakers

Marie-Claude Svaldi - VP of Government Relations & Recruitment EMEA, ELS
David Anthonisz - Director, International Student Recruitment, St. George's University
Lisa Xue - Director of Global Education Institute (GEI) at the College of the Professional and Global Education (CPGE), California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Moderator: Sarah Crowther - President, Collective Study

📝 Description

This session will be in panel format and discuss scholarship programs specifically in the Arab Gulf and Middle East. The session will begin with a general update on new scholarship opportunities, then a panel discussion with university representatives who have worked with scholarship programs and offer insights as to how to begin the process of securing approvals and "getting on the lists," the challenges of working with scholarship programs, and the positive outcomes of working with scholarship students.

The goal of this session is to leave with a deeper understanding of how to get approved for scholarship programs as well as how to navigate the process from receiving approval to receiving students.

🎤 Speakers

Samrat Ray Chaudhuri - Director of Global Recruitment, Webster University
Blerina Polovina - Director of International Admission and Services, Webster University
Luke Shorty - Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, Thomas College
Abhijit Zaveri - Managing Director, Career Mosaic Pvt. Ltd. India

📝 Description

The panel is made up of expert educators who serve in unique and critical roles impacting international students’ success. Those attending this session will get an in-depth insight into the various rules surrounding visa compliance and why they are critical to the growth and sustainability of international students in the USA. The session will also focus on emerging opportunities international students can take advantage of and how they can maximize their experience in the USA by taking advantage of pre/post-study work options like CPT, OPT and H1B.

We will try to understand the expectations of international students with respect to on-campus and post-study work options and hear from the universities about some best practices to maximize such opportunities for international students. The key takeaways for agencies will be to gain an understanding of compliance and opportunities so they can advise and prepare students accordingly before arrival to the USA.

The panel will comprise of Blerina Polovina, Director of Admissions and the Primary Designated School Official (PDSO) at Webster University, who has served in this area for over 10 years. Luke Shorty, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at Thomas College. In this role, Luke oversees the execution of the internationalization and incorporation of professional and career development services for all international students at Thomas College. Abhijit Zaveri, Founder and Director at Career Mosaic, globally renowned recruitment consultancy which has worked with universities and agencies in recruiting international students for over 20 years. The session will be moderated by Samrat Ray Chaudhuri, Director of Global Recruitment at Webster University, an international enrollment management specialist for over 20 years.

🎤 Speaker

Eddie West - Assistant Dean, International Strategy and Programs, San Diego State University

📝 Description

Climate change is one of the defining challenges and opportunities of our time. However only recently have international educators begun to take note, and action, in earnest. Correspondingly, survey data illustrates the large - and likely growing - extent to which prospective international students consider the environmental sustainability commitments of colleges and universities as a deciding factor in where they choose to study.

This session will feature an overview of recent developments at the intersection of international student mobility and environmental sustainability. It will also include tangible actions international educators can take to "do well by doing good" in incorporating climate action into their day-to-day work and longer-term strategies. The session will be of interest to agents, educators and third-party providers, and will include an opportunity to join a voluntary community of practice dedicated to making progress in this all-important arena.

🎤 Speakers

Sushil Sukhwani - Managing Director, Edwise International LLP
Hiren Sakariya - Director, International Relations, Shreehari Education Consultant Pvt. Ltd.

📝 Description

This session will focus on:

- Best practices when working with Indian agents
- Regional breakdown - what students are going where
- Potential for other sectors: Language, secondary, pathway

🎤 Speakers

Diego Sanchez - Director, International Affairs, Languages Canada
Lisa Williamson - Marketing & Communications Manager, Canadian Association of Public Schools – International (CAPS-I)

📝 Description

Join us for an interactive session and learn how to increase enrollment in K-12, English, French and Post-secondary programs in Canada. Experts from CAPS-I and Languages Canada will share live and up-to-date data from 2022 on their respective annual surveys as well as IRCC statistical analysis to help you better prepare your clients. In this session, you will learn why over 600,000 international students choose to study in Canada each year. Come ready with questions and get live responses on the how-to’s and the what-not-to-do's when preparing student study permit applications.

Learn how to manage expectations from your students and provide them with the best advice when choosing a study program in Canada. Smart data helps to improve enrollment numbers & visa application approvals! Obtain helpful insights from the official representative associations of Canadian education institutions!

🎤 Speaker

Scott Cross - North America Regional Manager, Higher Education Marketing (HEM)

📝 Description

Do you set specific objectives for your digital marketing and measure how effectively those efforts deliver? Navigating the modern digital landscape to recruit prospective students is challenging at the best of times. To be successful, agencies and educational institutions need to have measurable goals in place and a consistent presence online driving them. By leveraging social channels, investing in paid advertising, content marketing creation, and SEO, you’ll be able to strategically target your efforts, generate leads, and recruit prospective students.

However, what is often overlooked is assessing performance beyond typical KPIs by looking at the key contributors to conversion. Conversion tracking is a critical component in measuring the performance and ROI of an organization's marketing initiatives. Through conversion tracking, you can measure and track how prospective students interact with your digital marketing including ad campaigns, emails, website content, landing pages, social media, etc. and determine whether they are successfully converting users through the student enrollment journey. Join us to learn pro tips you can put in place to determine what’s working and what’s not in achieving your goals.

Led by Scott Cross, Regional Manager for North America at Higher Education Marketing and Instructor at McGill University, this session will provide participants with actionable tips to build a multichannel strategy that will help to generate leads and drive sustainable increases in enrollment.

🎤 Speaker

Birgit Hartel, Coach, ICEF

📝 Description

ICEF Coach helps those newer to the international education industry make their networking meetings with agents at an ICEF event as effective and productive as possible. There are 3 phases to the Coach Programme: before, during and after the ICEF event.

Before the event, each participant has a one-on-one consultation and interactive training session with the coach.

The mentoring continues at the event, with a meeting and seminar as well as ongoing support throughout the event, so all ICEF Coach participants maximise their meetings with agents.

After the event, each Coach Programme participant receives a post-event consultation with the coach as a follow-up. This provides the opportunity to de-brief, give feedback on their overall experience at the event and importantly, move forward as effectively as possible to establish productive agent relationships.