I spend much of my time working with clients around the world from my home office. Last Friday, I was at the ICEF Monitor Global Summit in London, attending sessions and joining a panel discussion.
Events like this are energising because you hear from people across the sector, not just within online marketing. I always come back with new ideas.
Reflecting on the sessions I attended, I see two major trends that affect much of what’s happening in international higher education at the moment.
1. A move to a multipolar world
The West is still important, but no longer dominant in the world. Traditionally, the Big Four (USA, Canada, UK, Australia) took most international students. Numbers keep growing, but they’re now spread across a wider set of destinations — it’s closer to a “Big 14” and there are a number of interrelated reasons for this:
- Pushback on migration in the Big Four. For example, I spoke with an education agent from Myanmar who is now prioritising EU partnerships, given tightened entry policies and uncertainty in the US.
- More destinations are competing. A broader group of countries is actively attracting foreign talent.
- Chinese students staying closer to home. Many choose domestic options (which achieve ever higher rankings) or regional hubs such as Malaysia and Japan.
- Western degrees are no longer a golden ticket. In many home labour markets, a Western certificate alone doesn’t carry an automatic advantage any more. Think of China’s DeepSeek team, largely educated in China. To keep attracting international students, institutions need to compete on experience, outcomes and employability, not just brand.
2. AI
AI is a deep disruption that touches almost everything:
- How students decide. Many now use tools like ChatGPT to research and compare options, which means our search strategy needs a tweak so key answers surface in LLMs.
- How teams work. AI helps marketers move faster, but everyone else can use it too. The paradox: the premium on human connection will grow.
- What students need from degrees. The labour market is in flux. Universities need to prepare students for careers in an AI-heavy world.
- How learning happens. Even if delivery doesn’t change, students will use AI for assignments.
- Admissions and bias. I was skeptical about using AI for admissions, but during a session I’ve heard of it being implemented and operational by SRH University, Edified and EduEnable. When implemented carefully – and with humans involved in the final decision, AI-supported admissions take away a lot of piecing together of documents. Paradoxically, AI is likely to actually reduce bias in admissions compared to purely human processes.
I realise that the discussion about AI needs to move from the general “everything is changing with AI” to the specific task or problem solved (or caused!) by AI.
All of this change can feel overwhelming. But I keep reminding myself, in the words of Mark Pettit, that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The compass is simple: put students first.
Know what they need, then deliver it.
Much of that need is timeless — human connection, support, empathy, challenge and an education that’s relevant to the world around them.
We have a lot of work to do, but if we keep that front and centre, we’ll know which direction to choose.
