THE webinar ‘Digital student recruitment: Capturing a new generation’
On 16 January 2024, the ICD staff attended a webinar hosted by THE rankings experts on the topic ‘Digital Student Recruitment: Capturing a new generation”. The event was devoted to an insightful exploration into the future trends, challenges and opportunities for meeting the needs and expectations of a new generation of students.
The presentation was made by Anna Orlova, Regional Director – Europe, and Patrick Hayes, Chief Development Officer.
The following issues were discussed during the webinar:
- Digital student recruitment success stories. In particular, case studies showcasing successful digital student recruitment strategies in Europe.
- New technologies in student recruitment. The impact that new digital tools and technologies are having on student lead generation, as well as the trends and behaviours of new generation students.
During the webinar, Patrick Hayes spoke about the following five trends:
- Students are looking for different things from a university, which is influencing their search. It was emphasised that according to a survey of 2,000 prospective international students conducted by THE’s consultancy team, 79% of them believe universities have an important role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From the student perspective, the highest priority SDG proves to be SDG 4 – quality education (33% of respondents), closely followed by SDG 13 – climate action (32%).
- There are new, innovative ways of engaging with international school counsellors digitally. Just over a third of universities said they were satisfied with working with international education providers, while 68% of international students said they did not use software platforms to manage university/career choices. It was recommended to show students different careers and industries to explore virtually, as well as to offer online training for specific skills or certifications.
- In person versus digital is a false dichotomy – universities and students alike are embracing a blended approach.
- Customer relationship management (CRM) and email marketing remain the key technology solutions of choice, but new initiatives are taking hold. According to 69% of prospective students, current students are the most trusted source of information, for example, through the Student Ambassador Platform.
- Despite the hype around social, university websites remain the main shop window … followed by university ranking sites. When asked what information they used to decide where and what to study, 75% of prospective students cited university websites, 57% cited university rankings, and 56% cited general internet searching.
