The British Council were proud to host their annual International Education Services Conference last week at Manchester Central on 5^th and 6^th December 2018. The theme of this year’s conference was “Roll with it, or revolutionise?” and focused on changing markets, systems and technology, and the potential impact on the education industry. The conference attracted more than 500 delegates from across Higher Education institutions, schools, colleges, English language providers, study influencers and education professionals for a full-packed 2 day agenda on international education.

The conference truly held a global atmosphere with over 42 countries in attendance and over 600 individual meetings, the discussions and future opportunities were certainly in full swing!

The conference delivered a diverse and dynamic group of speakers and panellists provided in-depth insight, as well as, actionable and practical tools of engagement models, methods and research. We were delighted to invite Robin Bew - Managing Director of Economist Intelligence Unit, Simon Anholt - founder of Good Country, Nation Brands Index and Richard Gerver, an award-winning speaker on creativity, leadership and education. These conversations aim to continually develop our international position and how we can revolutionize our strategy to navigate for success.

Matt Durnin, Head of Insights and Consultancy at the British Council, gave a popular “Around the World in 60 Minutes” address, analysed data from across a range of global stakeholders to show the changing face and space the recruitment industry operates in. Exploring core topics he positively presented opportunities in the next recruitment cycle.

Robin Bew of The Economist Intelligence Unit led a lecture on the key points of the global economy and focused on economic performance, while the importance of international perception was discussed by Simon Anholt from The Good Country, who claimed that “countries have become rather similar to brands”.

Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive of The British Council, continued the discussion of national branding on day two of the conference and commented that he’s optimistic about the future and “It’s our privilege as the British Council to support you”. He gave a passionate talk on globalisation and international relations, with a focus on the UK's place within education, referring to the British Council’s “value of trust report”. Ciarán presented how the data gathered from the report showed positive international perceptions of the UK, which in turn will allow for continued engagement, particularly in trade and study.

Closing the conference, Richard Gerver author of Creating Tomorrow’s School Today, shared his insight on leadership, change and innovation. With a passionate and upbeat presentation, he told organisations to remember that systems and structures rarely change the world we live in, people do.

Brenda McMahon, Director of International Education Services commented, “I’m delighted with the participation and outcomes of this year’s International Education Services Conference 2018 – we analysed global trends and truly tackled challenging issues to ensure the UK remains the number one destination of choice for international students. With an impressive line-up of speakers and engaging sessions, it was wonderful to see best practice being shared and a wealth of new opportunities. I look forward to seeing you all next year!”

Where possible in terms of copyright restrictions presentations will be uploaded to the IES website here.  We are receiving presentations from presenters at the moment so please check back in the next few days as more are added.

Please continue to use #IES2018 on social media to share your experiences and join our new International Education Services Facebook page which was exclusively launched at the conference to gain access to reports and conversations with educational experts. If you wish to view photos from the event please visit the conference page.

The 2018 conference video can be viewed on this link.

Stay tuned for International Education Services upcoming events and news by visiting our website.