Through these conversations, we hope to share the fresh perspectives of a few idea generators and thought leaders in international student recruitment. Periodically, the Marketing and Recruiting Network will ask respected colleagues to answer three questions. Visit often to learn more about the most recent and relevant trends in this dynamic field, and to contribute to its development.
Markus Badde
Markus Badde
Markus Badde is the director of ICEF GmbH based in Bonn, Germany. Since ICEF’s foundation in 1991, the company has organized conferences, seminars, workshops, exhibitions, and fairs focusing on education, international student recruitment, languages and cultures, e-learning and distance education, electronic commerce, and knowledge management. In the past 12 years, ICEF has successfully coordinated more than 65 student recruitment workshops in 21 locations around the world, bringing together quality education providers with selected study abroad agents.
What do you see as the most critical element in trying to attract globally mobile students to a particular country? Why?
I believe the most critical element is the quality of relationships: the working relationships between educators and agents, and the connections between students and the institutions they attend as well as the agents that support their plans for study abroad. A strong business relationship is a durable source of competitive advantage, as is, needless to say, an active relationship with students and alumni. Countries or individual recruiters that commit to these key relationships, and develop them over time, will have a distinct advantage in the international marketplace.
What particular obstacles (in terms of threats or challenges) prevent recruiters from being effective? How can colleagues overcome those obstacles?
There are fundamental aspects of international business that we all have to observe, including the need to focus and the importance of a long-term commitment to the marketplace. A lack of attention to these first principles can create a number of problems for recruiters, such as poor results, inefficient use of marketing dollars, and weak business relationships. These are serious issues in themselves of course, but they can often be traced to a breakdown in business fundamentals. Taking care to define a clear focus in terms of market position and target markets – and understanding the need for long-term commitment to building markets abroad – can provide any recruiter with a critical foundation for success.
Ten years from now, how do you envision the landscape of marketing and recruiting in international education?
We anticipate significant change in international recruitment over the next decade. In fact, the early indicators of this change are clearly visible today. Students are now faced with a rapidly expanding range of program choice. This will increase in the years to come as new distance education options are introduced and as emerging study destinations, notably in Asia, continue to establish themselves as serious competitors for more traditional destination countries. The Internet is another major factor, and we can already see the impact of online communication, marketing, and student services on educator-agent-student relationships. Students, agents, and educators are increasingly working together – sharing information, choosing programs, providing support services – over the Internet. In addition, the Internet has also enabled students to create a continuous feedback loop (through e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, and other Web sites) about their study abroad experiences. This global conversation is happening now, and over the next 10 years, our understanding of it, and the ways that educators and agents adapt to participate more fully, will become more sophisticated.
