The Shift Of Universities And Colleges To Online Recruitment Of International Students

Education industry is amongst the most affected industries amidst the COVID 19 breakout. Due to international flights being revoked, countries practising complete lock down and travelling being avoided to maximum extent, Universities and colleges face a decline in the number of international students possibly jeopardizing the pristine culture of foreign education.

The COVID 19 outbreak has aroused unusual complications for the foreign education sector. Students are unable to traverse between countries owing to international flights being aborted. In the view of this situation, it becomes onerous if not impossible for students to physically reach the universities concerning their admission which makes the procedure altogether vexatious and complex. This is where disruptively innovative online Ed Tech platforms (like https://m.iapply.io/) catch the public eye which help the students to research, select and apply for course of their choice in Universities and Colleges of Canada. The Artificial Intelligence supported API(Application Programming Interface) works on a nexus of complex algorithms that ensure more promising results.

Acknowledging the current situation, even the colleges and universities need to implement certain variations to thrive in the foreign education sector. That being said, there is an exigent need for universities to diversify themselves both Geographically( recruiting students from various countries and not confine it's reliance to particular Nations ) and Academically ( offering comprehensive courses covering a vast spectrum of career options rather than just limiting towards some specific courses ) so as to engage additional audience. Further diversifying includes more complex means to cope with unexpected situations, considering the COVID19 outbreak as a reference, the Universities and colleges which studied and understood their finances by monitoring the essential data are performing relatively well compared to their alternates because they laid emphasis on diversifying their finances, thus not relying on exclusive sources.

The last few years have witnessed a change in the preference of career opted to by students to pursue. With ever diversifying opportunities, the education industry cannot survive without diversifying themselves. To match these continuously diversifying requirements of students, IApply helps them to apply for the college that best suits their requirements without the daunting requirement of being physically present at the University premises for recruitment.

To understand this shift in the trends that the foreign education sector has witnessed in the past few months, we first need to fathom the situation from a student's perspective. The most obvious reason that why students prefer to pursue their higher studies from other countries is because they feel that the current education system prevailing in their country is inferior to its alternates, possibly lacking practicality, scope, being technologically underdeveloped etc. Universities need to acknowledge their requirements and expectations and perpetually work towards devising methods for the welfare of the students. To aid the universities in this process, several EdTech platforms like IApply.io have emerged as a median to assist students making the whole process convenient and efficient. IApply.io is an AI base educational application platform which assists the students in their quest for the University that is best suited for their requirements thus being a catalyst in their career growth. The Artificial Intelligent programme works on the complex algorithms that guide the students based on their preferences and keeps on shortlisting the universities as the users share their predilections for the subjects and courses they aspire.

Considering this as a pressing priority, Universities need to foster the recruitment of international students by online means. It is essential to fathom the mindset of their audience, predominantly constituting the Generation Z( Gen Z for short). Conducting surveys and online interactive seminars could prove efficient means to understand their requirements as well as what intrigues them and then alter their policies and websites accordingly. Optimising their website is crucial to survive on the internet because if their website is not user friendly, convenient to interact and SEO optimised, they would fail to establish their online existence which is another significant conundrum that springs here. Active engagement with your audience, content curation and Search engine marketing (SEM) is essential for a positive feedback. Moreover it is essential to ensure that website's content is SEO optimised to ensure that your content is easily reaches the targeted audience and a better Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO). Website promotion plays yet another crucial role to ensure a wider audience is engaged with the University authorities.

Another intricate quandary, the manual research would require the students to learn about legions of colleges and universities and then shortlist the ones that suit their requirements which certainly turns out to be a strenuous toil which is unequivocally not desirable. IApply.io resolves these labyrinths by acting as a centre stage, helping the students conveniently search and shortlist colleges based on their inclinations and then apply for the apt college accordingly. The Artificial Intelligence used makes the whole process much convenient and quick that's why such Ed Tech platforms are catching the eye of foreign education aspirants specially in the recent times.

Acknowledging significant complications and How to Manage them

• International Travel Being Aborted The travel industry has been amongst the worst hit by the pandemic. With countries being locked down, international and domestic flights aborted and travel being avoided to maximum extent, it is not possible for international students to be physically present in the University premises for their recruitment therefore it's online alternate is more sought option. Moreover, the Generation Z is more tech savvy and prefers the latter alternate from the comfort of their home conveniently rather than boarding flights and exhausting travels. Therefore ensuring online presence is essential.

• Online Promotion Approximately 59% of the Global population is active on internet which means if we want to connect to a wider audience, the internet and social media can prove very effective. Creating a interactive, user friendly website is imperative. Regularly updating engaging, informative and SEO optimised content helps in connecting with your audience. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Linked In are of great significance.

Email marketing, Data Mining (and studying the data), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Micro blogging, all of these if used correctly can ensure a higher Conversion rate (basically a better CRO) and more Click Through Rate (CTR).

• Diversification As already mentioned above certain aspects of the foreign education department demand immense Diversification when compared to their primitive moulds. Considering the present situation, the foreign education sector is experiencing an abrupt decline in the number of students opting foreign studies because majority of foreign students were Chinese. Since majority of universities relied on China for their foreign students, they overlooked the stipulation of diversifying their audience geographically. Therefore Diversification plays a decisive role in determining the augmentation of foreign education sector because it is essential to understand the requirements of the audience and curate our content accordingly.( CRMs can also prove beneficial to understand our audience better)

• Time Consuming and Arduous We've already discussed how the whole process of searching universities , shortlisting them and then applying manually for recruitment is a very time consuming and inconvenient, therefore undesirable. A mediator who handles the intricate task of searching and shortlisting colleges is often sought after. Online EdTech platforms are therefore capturing the interest of foreign education aspirants these days. In addition to making the whole process much convenient and quick, they also provide more promising results as the nexus between the algorithms is in such a manner that it sorts out the best college based on your preferences.

The present situations prove to be more abstruse for foreign education industry as well as it's consumers (the students) as the outbreak of COVID 19 has aroused certain complexities that were not considered before by majority of the education departments. Since physical communication and interaction is an awaiting consideration owing to the pandemic, people prefer to confide in online interactions due to the convenience and efficiency. Furthermore, as far as education is concerned, it is quite essential that they segregate the best Ed Tech platforms to assist them as it is crucial that we opt for a college that is most suitable as per our requirements. This can only be achieved if the Ed Tech platforms that we consult are devoted towards providing their audience with the best possible service. At IApply.io a great emphasis is laid on providing the students with best possible experience as they set out on a new journey. The Artificial Intelligence supported system accurately shortlists the most suitable colleges that meet your requirements and helps you conveniently apply for admission in these colleges. They've always prioritized this initiative as a medium to assist students to achieve the greatest heights possible rather than as a business concerned towards generating profits.