British Council Zimbabwe held their annual Education UK exhibition in Zimbabwe in the following venues: 2 February 2017 (Gateway High School and Meikles Hotel in Harare); 4 February 2017 (Holiday Inn Hotel in Bulawayo)

The event, targeted the Higher Education and Schools market, and hosted representatives from 10 UK institutions that positively engaged with prospective students/visitors/partners, providing the audience with information on educational opportunities and subject choices.

2416 visitors attended the exhibition and 78% of the visitors sought information on undergraduate studies in the UK.  In 2017 there was a 70% increase in the number of visitors compared to 2016.  The upsurge in number of visitors indicates increased demand for university and higher education institutions in the UK.  This is also supported in HESA student records where Zimbabwe students increased with 3% from 2014/15 statistics.  However, stringent payment options and shortage of foreign currency may limit number of Zimbabweans enrolling in UK universities in the future. Various marketing strategies were employed to profile this exhibition such as online platforms, social networks, fliers and emails.  Advertising in print and electronic media also proved effective.  Judging by the response of prospective students, Zimbabwe will continue to be a significant market for U.K universities.

A cocktail party was also hosted in each city to provide an opportunity for the university representatives to meet with local representatives of the secondary and higher and tertiary education sector.  This provided a platform for higher education or tertiary institutions to collaborate/partner in research, professional development and further studies. Additional briefings were also held in both cities for exhibition visitors on how to apply for student visas to the United Kingdom.