StudyWorld London 2010 Review

The event's new sponsor, UNITE, was delighted to be in attendance. Rosie Nesbitt, head of sales, said: "This is the first year we've attended and it's been a fantastic opportunity for us to network with companies we haven't necessarily had contact with before. And we can talk directly to the world's leading agents."

"There's been a lot of interest, and it's been a real eye-opener about the business opportunities which are out there and we're really looking forward to working with the people we have met here in the future. We've done a lot of business."

The event guide and information pack got a radical makeover this year to create something containing all the information needed by delegates, but which would also be user-friendly and eye-catching. In place of the bulky ring-binder full of event information and participant details was a glossy A4 brochure and a memory stick, sized to slip into hand-luggage.

Annie Wright, deputy chief executive of English UK, said she was delighted with the fresh new look of the information pack. "We know agents have wanted something which was easier for them to get home, because they've asked us to ship the old-style binders to them after the event in the past. We're getting very positive feedback about the new format, and we’re very proud of the fresh, modern look of the brochure," she said. Another innovation meant agents attending the event could also relax or work in between appointments in a dedicated zone close to the meeting halls.

Participants

This year 240 accredited institutions from 16 countries took part in StudyWorld London. Supporting these were also 386 quality agents and educational consultants from 58 different countries, as well as over 90 individual service providers. As well as a strong attendance from UK and overseas English language schools, StudyWorld was happy to welcome a number of educators teaching languages other than English, including our first provider of Japanese, Spanish in Argentina and several European languages. Independent schools and further and higher education providers were also represented and 34% of the English UK membership attended the event.   

The top 10 countries represented by agents were Russia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, France, India, Ukraine, Brazil, Germany and China. We were delighted to welcome 77 agencies to StudyWorld that had not attended before. The event attracted 36 exhibitors offering various products and services from student accommodation to insurance to IT software.

Seminar programme

In keeping with tradition, StudyWorld London opened with a series of insightful seminars on various themes and topics most relevant in today's ever changing study travel industry. Five seminars were hosted which included one by Penningtons Solicitors. This session provided the most up-to-date legal information on the UK immigration policy for education providers and students. International Graduate Insight Groups drew on recent research to demonstrate how students make their decisions, proving extremely valuable for educators wanting to convert applications to enrolments. Internet Advantage was on hand to offer a practical seminar about analytics and how to take advantage of the detailed statistics and information available to get the most out of the Internet for your business.

The English UK Partner Agency Scheme was also launched at StudyWorld. The session, at full capacity, was led by members of the English UK team and discussed the benefits of the scheme, how to join and included presentations on English UK and Accreditation UK. A very popular session on what makes a good agent-educator partnership was led by Richard Day from English in Chester. This interactive session gave educators and agents the opportunity to meet each other and exchange ideas on a number of questions posed by group leaders, aimed at improving the understanding between partners.

Business appointments

The online appointment scheduling system, Marcom eSchedule PRO, facilitated the appointments between participants prior to the event. Participants had the opportunity to schedule up to 35 one-to-one appointments over two days, with each appointment lasting 20 minutes. The Marcom eSchedule PRO saved time, prevented double-bookings and was accessible 24 hours a day. An extraordinary number of appointments were pre-booked, with 84 per cent of available slots taken before meetings began on Tuesday morning.

Venue

StudyWorld London 2010 was held in the Hilton London Metropole, which is located in the heart of London. The Hilton London Metropole won the award for 'Best Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events Hotel' for executive travellers in the UK for 2010 at the Business Destinations Travel Awards.

Click here to view photos from StudyWorld London 2010.