Bernd Wächter Director, ACA EUPRIO Conference Stavanger, 13 June 2008 Promotion and marketing – key components of an internationalisation strategy

On ACA A (mainly) European association of national organisations in internationalisation Promoting innovation through internationalisation Studies and expert opinion on (international) HE developments -Perceptions of European HE worldwide -The Global Promotion Project -English-taught programmes in Europe -EURODATA (global student mobility stats) Seminars and conferences, such as Beyond European HE in the next decade, Tallinn, June

Internationalisation – a beast with many heads (1) International mobility of students and scholars Recognition of degrees and study periods Curricular internationalisation (‘international’ content, integrated study abroad phases, double/joint degrees, etc) Foreign-medium provision (English-taught programmes, etc) Teaching foreign languages ?

Internationalisation – a beast with many heads (2) ‘Transnational education’ (‘cross-border’ or ‘collaborative’ provision, distance/online education) Institutional networks and networking Joint / coordinated structural system reform (degrees, QA and accreditation mechanisms, etc) = ‘Bologna’ (and ‘Lisbon’?)

Internationalisation: where does promotion come in? MOBILITY Student mobility, mostly To be precise: incoming mobility, mostly from outside of Europe, for a full degree TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION If you are active in this form of internationalisation Off shore campuses and programmes ‘Twinning’ and other arrangements CURRICULAR INTERNATIONALISATION English-taught programmes, mainly Double and joint degrees sometimes (overrated) INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS

Actors in promotion and marketing First, second, third: the HEIs and their ‘products’ National, European and global alliances National level organisations European level actors

The preconditions Solid quality of teaching and research (according to type and mission of institution) Attractive products (programmes taught in English, programmes with traineeships, possibly with study-abroad phase Customer care: student services and infrastructure Transparent information provision

Brands and key messages: know the others and yourself (1) THE OTHERS The potential students are of prime importance What do they seek? How do they chose study destinations? Do they perceive you at all (visibility)? How do they perceive you (strength, drawbacks)?

Brands and key messages: know the others and yourself (2) YOURSELF What we like about ourselves: a treacherous guide Example: tradition/history Example: diversity (linguistic/cultural) Example: beaches and other attractions Example: Bologna, quality assurance, EQF and other unsuitables. Counter example: we want to make you succesful and rich.

Focus and kowledge Few have the means to market themselves everywhere and among all target groups Even those who do need more than a one-size-fits-all approach Decisions on source countries/regions (underpinned by knowledge/research on their markets) Decisions on levels: undergraduates/postgraduates and PhDs Choice of instruments (fairs, road shows, media campaigns, physical presence, etc) according to source country and target group A propos instruments: the use of agents?

The end, at last Thank you for your kind attention !