Results
Study in France and Study in Indonesia have succesfully participated in The Go-Abroad Fair with a Study in... stand. Which is a conglomerate of at least three participants coming from the same geographical area.
Any questions?
"Growing leads and a broad variety of enthusiastic students"
More and more Dutch students decide to go abroad for either a study or an internship. These adventurous students are looking for information about all possibilities abroad. How do you reach out to these ambitious students? For many of them the most effective way is to have all educational institutions in one inspiring physical place. In other words: The Go-Abroad Fair in Jaarbeurs Utrecht. With over 12.000 visitors it is the biggest international student recruitment fair in the Benelux. This makes it an ideal place to gather information, meet the institutions and make progress in their decision-making process. That automatically means that for an institution there are many potential students present. The Go-Abroad Fair is the place to be!
Why participate and how to
Exhibitors of the event participate with an individual booth, but some universities combine their strengths in a “Study in …” booth. A “Study in …” stand is a conglomerate of at least three participants coming from the same geographical area. This way they have advantages they would not have on their own. Having multiple universities in one large stand becomes extra interesting for potential students to pay a visit to! You can also support each other and redirect students to your fellow exhibitor. And last but not least, you share the costs. It’s a win-win situation!
We interviewed two of our esteemed Study in conglomerates: Study in France and Study in Indonesia about their experiences! Both parties are conjunctions of different universities residing in their countries.
Campus France: “The combination with the education fair is convenient, so French universities can stop by and talk to their Dutch partner universities”
Marnix Satter is University and Scientific Cooperation officer at Institut Français NL and manages the local division of Campus France. Marnix is responsible for academic collaboration on two levels: between Dutch and French universities and between universities and students as well. Thanks to his own experience as an international student at a French university (Science Po Strasbourg), he is able to promote studying in France from his own experience. Marnix also gives informational presentations at universities and works side by side with different French institutions.
Campus France has been at The Go-Abroad Fair for 6 to 7 years now and continues to grow the number of universities that are attending them. Therefore, the preparations for the fair start rather early, as they have to contact all universities to identify who would like to participate. Marnix also explains that the French make a little trip out of it, where they take the opportunity to visit different Dutch universities. Marnix then takes on the role of mediator between institutions during their visits. “In this way universities can think about partnerships which, for example, simplify the exchanges.”
Casual and friendly atmosphere
At their stand, Marnix has met a variety of students. Mainly many high school students with a broad range of interests, which fits Campus France as they can help them to navigate to the right direction. “With high school students you can often plant a seed, which is fun because they come in spontaneously and they end up thinking that France could actually be an option for them.” Besides this, there were also many concrete questions, directing specific studies or universities.
The students are very enthusiastic about the possibilities and have an open and curious attitude, which leads to many positive conversations. “The atmosphere is casual which suits the type of visitor (orienting) who can quietly go down all the booths and not be drawn in.” This is an aspect of the fair that many visitors also appreciate, as the exhibitors are relaxed and let the visitors come to them instead. One of Marnix’ favorite aspects of the fair is the fact that they have a joint stand, so they can present themselves as team France.
Growing numbers of Dutch students
Compared to the past five years there are 25% more Dutch students in France. It is hard to measure the exact impact of the fair, but the fair creates a good chance for visibility according to Marnix. In December and January, they often have many questions, which can be related back to the leads they get at the fair. After the fair they often do a mailing to the students they have spoken to, which sometimes boosts the response as well. In general, the audience of the fair is very broad and it is also a good opportunity to network with both students as well as partnerships thanks to the combination with the Education Fair, Marnix explains. For next year, Marnix would like even more space for France, as there are multiple universities on the waiting list, ready to join as well.
Study in Indonesia: “Sharing a booth is nice because we represent Indonesia as a whole, so it's easier for everybody to find us”
Study in Indonesia also represents several universities at the fair and Astrid Rehulina Peranginangin who is the Communication and Events officer from Nuffic Southeast Asia, explained to us what the benefits have been participating at the fair. Study in Indonesia is responsible for promoting and internationalizing higher education between Indonesia and the Netherlands. An important aspect is to inform students about the possibilities considering scholarships, but also to link Dutch institutions to Indonesian universities or stakeholders.
Astrid explains their goal is to both have Dutch students studying in Indonesia, and Indonesian students coming to study in the Netherlands. A part of this educational collaboration involves Dutch guest lecturers giving presentations in several Indonesian institutions. Study in Indonesia has been present at The Go-Abroad Fair for the past three years and has received a lot of good input and response from their Indonesian counterparts.
Enthusiastic students and variety of questions
Astrid explains all universities have their own unique potential students at their stand, all looking for information about different things. There were quite some questions about short courses, but also internship programs and full-time bachelor programs in Bali for example. Astrid: “Indonesia is very wide and has a lot of culture and diversity. For example, if you want to take marine science, the whole country is surrounded by marine and the ocean. This is an opportunity for the students to not only study the course but directly dive into it to explore and to carry out their practical experience.” According to Astrid, there are plenty of students coming from the Netherlands, taking internship courses.
Astrid enjoyed the atmosphere at the fair and was surprised by the growing number of visitors compared to previous years. One of the aspects Astrid highly appreciated about the fair was the area where the students had the chance to sit down and process the information they had received. Giving them a break and look at the fair's magazine to see what other booths they still wanted to visit. Astrid: “We are happy to see a lot of enthusiastic students who are really eager to learn.” Astrid explains this is the biggest fair she knows of, but also likes the diversity of the fair as you can find opportunities for all continents.
“My Indonesian institutions are happy with the fair, so we thank you for organizing it, for communicating it with us and for providing a platform to bring our international curriculums on the globe.”
Both parties are very happy with the collaboration with OGZ. Marnix: “Very impressive that a team this small puts together an event this big. Moreover, the contact we have throughout the year is always very pleasant.” Also, Astrid confirms this: “I like the constant communication with Mieke from OGZ, because many things were new to me and they always answered all my questions and assisted me in giving me thorough information on what to prepare and expect.” All in all, the exhibitors look back at the fair with a positive experience, and are excited for next year’s edition.
Conclusion
In this case we did an effort in answering the question why and how to participate in The Go-Abroad Fair with a conglomerate coming from the same geographical area. To get a compelling answer we interviewed two exhibiting Study in parties. We can conclude that for both Study in France and Study in Indonesia there are six clear benefits to exhibiting at The Go-Abroad Fair:
Study in France and Study in Indonesia both state that the universities from their countries meet their target audience at The Go-Abroad Fair;
Both parties state that they enjoy the casual atmosphere at the fair;
They also state that they are happy to see a lot of enthusiastic students who are really eager to learn;
Study in France and Study in Indonesia really enjoy the fact that, together with the participating universities from their country, are able to represent their country;
Both parties like the fact that they can meet (potential) partner universities from the Netherlands;
Lastly, both organizations mentioned the good collaboration, service, and communication between them and OGZ.
Become part of The Go-Abroad Fair
If you’ve come this far in reading the case, you have probably become interested in becoming an exhibitor. If so, please don’t hesitate and request a brochure to get more info on how to become an exhibitor! If you need more information, please contact our sales team.
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