1) The document discusses findings from the 2017 International Student Survey (ISS), the largest survey of international students, regarding their preferences and considerations when choosing a country and university to study abroad. 2) Key findings include that 76% of respondents had friends or family who studied abroad whose experiences influenced the respondent's choices, and 40% preferred to communicate with universities using WhatsApp. 3) The survey also found that 76% of EU students interested in the UK would be likely to study at a branch campus of a UK university located in the EU rather than the UK. Popular locations for such a campus included London, Berlin, and Paris.

1. internationalstudentsurvey.com
EUbranchcampusesandotherinsights
fromthe2017InternationalStudentSurvey
PaulRaybould-MarketingDirector,HobsonsEMEA
internationalstudentsurvey.com

2. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Agenda
1. The evolving International Student Survey
2. The power of peers
3. The appetite for social media messaging
4. The alternative country choices
5. The EU branch campus debate
6. The international students’ preferences quick quiz
7. The 2017 ISS
8. Questions

3. internationalstudentsurvey.com
• The world’s largest survey of pre-
enrolled international and EU students
• Press coverage including BBC News,
Times Higher Education, PIE News, ICEF,
Huffington Post and others
• Referenced by MP Paul Blomfield (Chair
of the Universities APPG) in Parliament
discussions re the HE Bill
• The 2017 ISS has over 63,000
respondents and includes universities
from the Netherlands, Germany and Italy
• Request a copy of the 2017 ISS at
internationalstudentsurvey.com/2017
(fill in the online form and receive your copy
when it launches in April)
The evolving International Student Survey

4. internationalstudentsurvey.com
We asked students:
• Do you have any friends or family that have previously or are
currently studying as an international student?
• Has the experience of your friend(s) and/or family influenced your
choice of country, city, university or course?
The power of peers

5. 24%
56.5%
14.8%
4.6%
23.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Do you have any friends or family that have previously or are
currently studying as an international student?
76%
have a friend
and/or family
member(s) that
is/has studied as
an international
student

6. 31.2%
48%
14.4%
27.8%
23.9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Has the experience of your friend(s) and/or family influenced
your choice of country, city, university or course?
69%
say the experience
of friends and
family has
influenced their
choices

9. internationalstudentsurvey.com
We asked students:
• Which social media messaging services would you like to use to
communicate with a university you are considering studying
at?
The appetite for social media messaging

10. 40.01%
33.65%
19.87%
12.17%
8.97%
6.45%
5.26% 4.97%
3.9% 3.49%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
What proportion of international/overseas students want to
converse with universities via the 10 most popular social media
messaging channels?
40%
want to use
WhatsApp to
converse with
universities
Softwares such as
Oratio and Casengo
enable universities
to converse with
students via
WhatsApp and
Facebook
Messenger

11. internationalstudentsurvey.com
We asked students that had enquired to UK universities:
• Aside from the UK, which other countries are/were you
considering?
The alternative country choices

12. 46.6%
40.9%
35.7%
28.4%
18.5%
16.2%
13.5% 12.4% 12%
9.2%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Of the international and EU students that have enquired to UK
universities, which other countries are/were they considering?
To what
extent has
Trump’s
travel ban
increased
the appeal
of UK
universities?
Find out in the
2017 ISS report
internationalstudentsurvey.com

13. internationalstudentsurvey.com
We asked EU students interested in studying in the UK:
• If a UK institution were to open an EU branch campus, how likely
is it that you would study at that branch campus?
• And in which European city would you want an EU branch
campus to be?
The EU branch campus debate

14. Not likely,
16%
Not likely,
36%
Somewhat
likely, 53%
Somewhat
likely, 30%
Very likely,
23%
Very likely,
28%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Of the EU students interested in studying in the UK, how likely
is it they would study at an EU branch campus of a UK
university?
76% of EU
students
interested in
the UK would
be likely to go
to an EU
branch
campus of a
UK university,
if it is NOT in
their home
country
76%
58%

15. internationalstudentsurvey.com
What do EU students have to say about UK universities
opening EU campuses?
“As I am a European student, I certainly would find less difficult to
live, study, travel across Europe than obtaining a visa for the UK.”
“The institution will bring its expertise, skills and culture and
blend with the host country's skills, experience and culture to
come up with a much better product.”

16. internationalstudentsurvey.com
What do EU students have to say about UK universities
opening EU campuses?
“As I am a European student, I certainly would find less difficult to
live, study, travel across Europe than obtaining a visa for the UK.”
“The institution will bring its expertise, skills and culture and
blend with the host country's skills, experience and culture to
come up with a much better product.”
“Because I want to study in the UK and not anywhere else.”
“It seems like a profit driven 'brand expansion' which dilutes the
power of a brand in the long run.”

17. In which city would students want an EU branch campus to be
located?

18. The international students’
preferences quick quiz

19. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Which of the following did international and EU students
say they are most likely to choose?

20. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Which of the following did international and EU students
say they are most likely to choose?

21. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Which of the following did international and EU students
say they are most likely to choose?

22. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Which of the following did international and EU students
say they are most likely to choose?

23. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Which of the following did international and EU students
say they are most likely to choose?

24. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Which of the following did international and EU students
say they are most likely to choose?

25. internationalstudentsurvey.com
Discover:
• In response to Amber Rudd’s comments re linking visa availability to
‘course quality’ and ‘university quality’, are international students more
likely to use rankings, graduate outcomes, student satisfaction, TEF ratings
or Russell Group membership as indicators of ‘quality’?
• How effective is the #WeAreInternational campaign at improving the
perception of how welcoming the UK is to international students?
• How much does Trump’s travel ban improve the likelihood of international
students coming to the UK?
• And which countries do international students now consider to the best
for quality of education, graduate outcomes, safety, value for money,
lifestyle and to be most welcoming?
Pre-request a copy of the 2017 ISS report at
internationalstudentsurvey.com
(will be sent upon launch in April)

26. Questions?
internationalstudentsurvey.com
Paul.Raybould@hobsons.com
@digipaulr
linkedin.com/in/paulraybould1