British Council Taiwan organised a workshop for agents in July,  where we introduced the Teaching Excellence Framework, shared the report on UK’s Competitive Advantages by Universities UK and discussed at the latest Taiwanese student mobility trends.

We also used this workshop to invite agents’ views on how they feel the UK is performing so far, compared to this same period last year, through an open discussion and a short survey. The outcomes of the discussion and the survey showed us that both the British Council and the agents coincide on their analysis of current market trends.  

Below is a summary of the survey results, based on the responses from 21 different Taiwan-based agents.

UK market in summary

• 38% replied they have experienced ‘some growth’ in their business for the UK, mainly driven by undergraduate enquiries
• 29% said they have experienced ‘no change’, followed by 24% saying they have experienced ‘some decline’ in demand for PG-taught and ELT
• 41% said that ‘Business related studies’ received the most enquiries, with ‘arts and design’ in second place (25%)
• 67% noticed there have been some changes in post-Brexit trends relating to better exchange rate between GBP and TWD, which is potentially reflected in the  increase of interest in UG and ELT courses
• ‘World-class education and qualifications’ was top rated by agents that UK is strongly positioned, followed closely by ‘cultural attractiveness’, ‘exchange rate’ and ‘professional experience overseas (work placement)’ in terms of promoting the UK as ideal study destination
• Recent terror attacks and cost of studying and living in the UK, however, were main challenges when promoting the UK

Non-UK market in summary

• 40% said they have experienced ‘some growth’ in their business for non-UK markets and also 40% replied they have experienced ‘no change’
• Of that 40% growth, France and Germany received most enquiries
• 20% said they have experienced ‘some decline’ in interest/demand for US and New Zealand markets

Suggestions to UK institutions

• Engage audience in Taiwan through exhibitions, seminars, presentations and/or workshops – more presence and visibility
• Increase work placement and scholarship opportunities
• Reply to student and agent enquiries on a timely basis

Overall, the Taiwan market for the UK has become stagnant, with a fall in postgraduate enrolments and a slight increase in undergraduate ones. Weaker Pound Sterling has not yet boosted UG and ELT enrolment numbers as the agents initially anticipated, it however is regarded as a great advantage by agents in terms of marketing messaging so it might produce more positive outcomes in the medium to long term.

For more details about the survey results please contact Silvia Fan, Education Marketing Services Manager in British Council Taiwan (silvia.fan@britishcouncil.org.tw).