Over 150 people, from more than 55 institutions and organisations, attended the successful ENIC NORTH 2023 face-to-face conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on 15 May.

Rachel Sandison, Deputy Vice-Chancellor External Engagement at University of Glasgow opened the event with the keynote address, The Future of Higher Education.

Other highlights of a stimulating day included a session focusing on ‘what students really want’ involving UKCISA student ambassadors, as well as speakers and panellists including: Rory McDiarmid, Head of the Recruitment and International Office, University of Strathclyde; Ivar Moller, Deputy Director of Admissions, University of St Andrews; and Emma Gilmartin, Head of Social Media & Student Communications, University of Glasgow.

Our conference partners were Password English Language Testing.

ENIC NORTH was presented in association with AECC Global, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and ApplyBoard.

The event was supported by UniQuest, Skills for English, Enroly, Gecko, Dialexy, OMPT, LanguageCert and Qualification Check. 

The conference programme featured two strands of content: ‘the funnel’ and ‘the filter’ of higher education recruitment and admissions – the marketing, and the selecting, to secure the most suitable students.

Expert speakers from the international education sector discussed issues such as how to effectively manage high volumes of applications; understanding student readiness in English and maths; good practice in the use of agents and aggregators; and differentiating your brand in a competitive market. 

A number of themes emerged from the day’s discussions, including:

• The importance of ‘diversification’, seeking to recruit students from more diverse markets
• Student experience, and the students’ wish for a truly international experience involving meeting new people, from different backgrounds and cultures
• How we can connect and work together as international education stakeholders to combat fraud and deception within the application process
• Opportunities for institutions arising from new markets, and the need to embrace other opportunities that emerge, including from the rise of AI.

The next scheduled face-to-face UK ENIC conference is the two-day UKENIC23, taking place on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 December 2023, at London's QEII Centre, Westminster. This marks a return, post-COVID, to our 'traditional' two-day annual conference format. To pre-register and guarantee your place, please email [email protected] with the names, job titles and email addresses of those who will be attending.