How Strong is the Brand “Europe” in Higher Education?

Santiago Iniguez, Dean of Instituto de Empresa Business School

I am surprised at the fact that the marketing of European higher education does not seem to be in the agenda of the EU. This is a key issue, since it is hoped that the implementation of the Bologna Accord will increase the number of non-European students coming to study at European universities. Europe is an attractive continent for different reasons, some of the more frequently mentioned being diversity, cultural traditions and history. In fact, Europe was the cradle of the first Western World universities, almost eight centuries ago, many of which still stand today. However, is the brand “Europe” more appealing to non-European prospective university students than other alternative continents?

Earlier this year, the Academic Co-operation Association (ACA), a non-for-profit for the improvement of education in Europe, published the extremely interesting report “Perceptions of European Higher education in Third Countries”. Let me summarise some of its interesting conclusions:

Europe has increased in the past years its share of foreign university students but the US is still the leading destination and Australia is climbing positions quickly. In particular, although Europe has a good standing in Latin America, it lacks the recognition that the US or Australia enjoys among Asian prospective students.

The most successful European countries in attracting foreign students are UK, Germany and France. Europe is seen, according to the report, as “a range of very different countries”.

Information on European higher education offerings seem to be missing or hard to access. The report mentions the lack of rankings and of information that may make the market more knowable, transparent and comparable.  This is something that I have dealt with abundantly in previous posts since a basic requirement for the success of Bologna is the development of an effective information market.

The report also recommends the support of a European brand and the coordination of marketing campaigns. I have some doubts here. In order to enhance the visibility of European higher education and to attract more foreign students there may be two alternative strategies. The first one is investing in the promotion of the generic brand, i.e. “Europe”. The second one is to promote the best brands in European education, i.e. those universities or business schools with worldwide recognition, in order to position European education with premium brands and high quality and hence support the generic brand. The latest Financial Times MBA Ranking, listing the leading b-schools in Europe, has done more for European management education than many other marketing campaigns promoting European management. Given the fragmentation of European higher education I would recommend the second strategy to EU marketing officers.   

Comments

[Der Chao Chen]

Yes, "marketing alone is not enough"-Richard's comment shows one important thing. It's not enough to have English programme to seek more foreign students, it is necessary to treat this non-European students as normal as posisble. Student service, as the example, needs to treat as fair as possible to foreign students, no unnecessary information asymmetry between local and international student, and faculty support those non-Europe students as local ones.

Marketing is just a beginning and needs the full support behind the scense.

[Richard Edelstein]

The most interesting thing about Europe is it's rich diversity of countries and cultures. Any "branding" of European Higher Education would have to draw on the attractiveness of the mix of nations and cultures in close proximity rather than some elusive references to things European. This would require close collaboration between the European Union and individual country governments and a two pronged effort that includes a promotion of Europe on the one hand and individual countries on the other. Finally, marketing alone is insufficient. Individual universities and national education systems need to deliver high quality international student services that insure a successful and positive educational experience. At the moment, few European countries deliver these services as well as the U.S. and Australia.

[Der Chao Chen]

Why does Europe not learn from Australia's experience on higher education? Australia unviersities form IDP and set up offices around the world to promote Austrlais educations.

I think it's a good shot for Europe, with its diversity it can provide more than educational learning but embedded in Europe's history and culture.