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Representatives from across the UK higher education sector met in London to further explore how UK transnational education (TNE) can most effectively and collaboratively be promoted globally.  

The mid-April roundtable workshop brought together delegates from hosting organisation Universities UK International (UUKi), Advance HE, the British Council, UK ENIC, Ecctis, the Office for Students, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, and the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade and Department for Education.

The first event of its type, organised by UUKi’s Joana Westphal and Annabelle Lee, it provided an introductory exploration into how the sector can work more collaboratively, raising mutual awareness of TNE expertise and interests and identifying the next steps towards collective sectoral engagement. 

Chris Lyons, UK ENIC Head of External Engagement, attended. He said: ‘To some extent, the meeting in London was a continuation of discussions from a month earlier at the three-day ‘Deep Dialogues’ conference in Edinburgh. That event’s focus had been on sustainable and scalable TNE, organised by the British Council in partnership with Ecctis, the company which operates UK ENIC on behalf of the UK Government.

‘TNE creates many recognition challenges, and so UK ENIC takes a strong interest in its delivery. As part of the UK delegation to the Global Recognition Convention Bureau – which partly focuses on worldwide recognition of TNE - we are well-placed to share our recognition expertise, as part of collective work to ensure the success and sustainability of the growing number of TNE activities across the globe.’

Recognition is a key component in the success of TNE, yet it is widely understood that the process can become more complex with TNE engagements, due to the combination of different national legislative and jurisdictional interests involved. 

‘Being a part of these discussions is really important for UK ENIC,’ added Chris Lyons. ‘It provides the opportunity to remind people of the significant role that recognition plays and how, without it, the success and viability of TNE programmes can be very challenging indeed.’

Ecctis was represented by in-house TNE expert, Fabrizio Trifiro, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and International Quality Reviews.

At the March 2024 ‘Deep Dialogues’ event, representatives from Ministries and education providers from more than 30 countries across the world, engaged over three days in focused discussions about TNE, its benefits and strategic priorities.

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Representatives from over 30 countries engaged in focused discussions about internationalisation and transnational education (TNE) at the Going Global ‘Deep Dialogues’ conference in Edinburgh last month. 

Delegates representing Ministries and education providers attended this three-day event, organised by the British Council in partnership with Ecctis, the Employee-Owned Trust company which operates UK ENIC on behalf of the UK Government.

Fabrizio Trifiro, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and International Quality Reviews at Ecctis, chaired the keynote address by Professor Hans de Wit, Director of the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, USA, which called for the international education community to come together and adopt a socially responsible approach to internationalisation. 

Chris Lyons, Head of External Engagement at UK ENIC, chaired a session on the Global Recognition Convention and recognition challenges of TNE. Its key speaker was Borhene Chakroun, Director of the Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, UNESCO, who spoke about the progress that is being made in terms of signatories, a work programme and implementation of the Convention.

Fabrizio Trifiro said: ‘During the event a consensus emerged among delegates that a socially responsible approach to TNE is essential to make it scalable and sustainable.'

He said that social responsibility in this context will cover a range of factors:

• Academic standards, with implications for quality assurance and recognition
• A serious long-term commitment to each and every TNE operation
• Responsibility for students if things go wrong, exercising a duty of care, and managing their expectations, as well as carefully listening to and responding to their views, and
• Awareness of community responsibilities: complying with local regulations and meeting local education and training needs and, more broadly, our globally interconnected communities, embedding social goals and SDGs in the social mission of education institutions, including TNE.

‘Some form of global higher education governance systems might be needed to support more equitable forms of internationalisation and TNE, including through funding mechanisms,’ Fabrizio added. 

‘The European higher education area provides an example of this. Whether UNESCO will be able to take this vision and model of cooperation at a global level through the Global Recognition Convention remains to be seen. Either way, we all share the responsibility as key players in the international education landscape in our different individual roles. 

‘We can be agents of change individually, but it will be even better if we work together, united by common values. The ‘Deep Dialogues’ conference was very helpful in making us aware of the role we can play individually and collectively, and in contributing to the development of a cross-border community of practice with a common purpose.’

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UK ENIC Head of External Engagement, Chris Lyons, delivered an online presentation to the University Council of Jamaica last month, with the theme: ‘What's a good grade?’ 

The session formed part of the Council’s 19th Quality Assurance in Higher Education Week, with the invitation following a presentation delivered late in 2023 by Chris Lyons at annual conference of The Association of International Credential Evaluation Professionals (TAICEP). 

‘Through the presentation, my aim was to help delegates' understanding, and compare achievements in different qualifications, with a focus on local qualifications from within the region', said Chris Lyons. 

‘Delegates were very engaging and asked a lot of insightful questions, which again demonstrated to me how much interest there is in understanding grades, scores and their meaning in context. It also highlighted that the UK ENIC International Grade Comparisons database is an invaluable resource. 

‘I look forward to future collaborations with the Council as it continues its work to assure quality in higher education.’ 

The session focused on four key areas:

• Explore the variety of approaches to grading systems and grading practices that exist
• Examine how setting and determining grade thresholds is important in institution admissions contexts
• Explore what a ‘good grade’ is, and
• Determine whether it is possible to find a fair and transparent means to compare grade performances from one system to another.

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UK ENIC provided face-to-face support and advice at a National Health Service (NHS) Careers Fair, attended by over 700 people in Crawley, UK, last month.

Alina Davodova, UK ENIC Senior Information Officer (Refugee Services), and Tom Proffitt, Information Officer, spoke with some 300 attendees, explaining how we can support them with recognition of their qualifications, and providing advice to those with missing or partial documentation.

The event was organised by the NHS, in partnership with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Indeed, attracting people from many different countries.

‘We spoke to individuals from Afghanistan, Iran and Ukraine, and to job-seekers from Central Asia and West Africa,’ said Alina Davodova.

‘We also took opportunities to engage with our partners in the sector, including organisations and charities such as RefuAid, the Refugee Council, and a variety of NHS trusts which have an interest in supporting applicants and candidates with recognition of their foreign qualifications.

‘Talking with stakeholders served to reinforce our significance in both the domestic and international education environment. It was great for us to use our Arabic and Russian language skills, as well as our country expertise, to offer quality guidance. 

‘Overall, attending the event was incredibly successful in terms of raising awareness of UK ENIC’s work, and how we continue to contribute social value through our refugee services,’ Alina added. 

Members seeking guidance on recognition of refugee qualifications - for example in respect of applicants who have incomplete documentation - can email us on [email protected]. Members with access to our online Member Enquiry Service can use that facility to get advice on a refugee’s overseas qualifications.

UK ENIC is able to assess qualifications, obtained outside of the UK, which are nationally recognised in the country of origin at the time of award, via our Statement of Comparability service. This includes school, vocational and higher education awards. 

We also offer advice and resources to organisations dealing with refugees - admitting institutions, refugee welfare organisations, local authorities etc. The evaluation and verification of qualifications and skills of refugees presents particular challenges, especially if there is missing or incomplete documentation. 

UK ENIC has played a leading role in international initiatives on refugee recognition, such as the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR). We also delivered the year-long ‘Syrians in Jordan’ project, which engaged with over 1,000 refugees. The SIJ scheme provided recognition statements containing information about the levels of qualifications and skills of Syrian refugees living in Jordan, and gave guidance on work and study opportunities available. 

This work has provided insights and experience in how recognition in cases of partial or missing documentation can be practically achieved and managed.

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UK ENIC was part of a four-strong UK delegation, as a work programme to implement the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education (GRC) was agreed in Paris. 

A year after the GRC entered into force, the first extraordinary session of the Intergovernmental Conference of the States Parties to the Convention took place at the UNESCO headquarters on 7 March. Delegates unanimously agreed a work programme focusing on:

• Further developing the draft operational guidelines to facilitate the GRC’s implementation
• Developing a draft recommendation on the relationship between the GRC and the other regional conventions
• Research and capacity building activities, and
• Advocacy and communication to promote understanding and awareness of the GRC.

The UK delegation in Paris comprised: Anne Anderson, Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO; Maxim Polya-Vitry, UK Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, British Embassy Paris; Pamela Wilkinson, International Education, Department for Education; and Chris Lyons, UK ENIC Head of External Engagement. 

‘Through international agreement and collaboration, the Convention will make it easier for people to use their qualifications to work, live or study around the world,’ said Chris Lyons. ‘The adoption of the work programme at the Paris meeting represents a significant step towards removing barriers to mobility. 

‘There was a very strong sense among our UK delegation of a positive and productive team effort, with UK ENIC providing support, technical expertise and recognition insights on the work programme where it was needed. 

‘Looking ahead, UK delegates were particularly keen to be a part of a proposed open working group that will focus on the draft operational guidelines. It will help shape the GRC’s implementation, with UK ENIC expertise playing a key role as discussions progress more to technical matters around the GRC and recognition in practice,’ Chris Lyons added.

The Global Convention establishes universal principles for fair, transparent and non-discriminatory recognition of higher education qualifications, and qualifications giving access to higher education and offering avenues for further study and employment. With provisions on non-traditional learning modes, the Global Convention also facilitates the recognition of qualifications, prior learning and transnational education. In addition, it promotes the recognition of refugees’ qualifications, even in cases where documentary evidence is lacking. These are all areas in which UK ENIC has been proactive for some time, creating and providing relevant services and quickly responding to developments as they occur. 

By ratifying the Global Convention, countries commit to strengthening international cooperation in higher education, raising its quality at home and worldwide, and helping make academic mobility and the recognition of qualifications a reality for millions around the world. The Global Convention entered into force in March 2023 and, as of March 2024, 28 States have ratified it. 

Attendees at the Paris event included:

• Stig Arne Skjerven, Special Envoy / Deputy Permanent Delegate to UNESCO and President of the Bureau of the Global Recognition Convention
• Borhene Chakroun, Director, Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, UNESCO Education Sector and Interim Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning
• Simona-Mirela Miculescu, President of UNESCO General Conference
• Ms Stefania Giannini , Assistant Secretary General for Education

In addition, many representatives from across the ENIC-NARIC centres were in attendance, either within the States Parties or as observers.

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A seminar on 'Internationalisation of Higher Education', organised jointly by British Council India and the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA), took place in Delhi, India, last month.
 
Representatives of some of India’s policy-making bodies and HE institutions engaged in two days of discussions, along with a range of international guests, including senior UK HE representatives.
 
Fabrizio Trifiro, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and International Quality Reviews at Ecctis, (see 'APAIE' story elsewhere in this newsletter) contributed to a session focusing on the quality assurance, accreditation and recognition aspects of internationalisation. It was chaired by Mary Stiasny, PVC International University of London, and including the former Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).  

‘Having been involved for the past two decades in debates around internationalisation with a focus on the UK, it was fascinating to take part in this event which looked at internationalisation from the perspective of one of the largest sending countries of international students,’ said Fabrizio Trifiro. ‘India is strategically and proactively considering how to internationalise its HE sector, including by leveraging in-bound transnational education (TNE) to attract more international students to India, as well as working to retain Indian students in the country.

‘The event saw a range of interesting and detailed discussions about the fitness for purpose of the current HE policy environment in India, the main challenges India faces in making progress towards its internationalisation ambitions as set out in the National Education Policy, general trends in international HE, and how cooperation with the UK could be strengthened going forward,’ he added.

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The ThinkTNE Forum 2024, the British Council East Asia’s flagship event focusing on quality and excellence in transnational education (TNE), took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
 
Leading education experts from the UK and East Asia attended the one-day event to discuss top priorities and challenges in the development and delivery of TNE.
 
Fabrizio Trifiro, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and International Quality Reviews at Ecctis, chaired a session entitled ‘Keeping up with the Competitors,’ which reflected on the current state of play of Malaysian HE internationalisation, taking stock of the past and looking at future directions.

‘There were many very interesting reflections on the positive impact of TNE over the years on the development of the Malaysian HE landscape, including through knowledge transfer and capacity development, supporting the establishment of new universities,’ said Fabrizio Trifiro.

The ‘Keeping up with the Competitors’ session considered how the country’s government and institutions might be able to retain the country’s competitive advantage and to achieve its ambition as the regional education hub. 

ThinkTNE comprises research and reports on TNE as well as a number of education policy events, covering a wide range of TNE topics, such as quality assurance, student experience, academic and talent development, employer engagement and country-focused issues. Its aim is to create a platform for TNE providers in the UK and East Asia for continuous strategic engagement and effective collaboration. 

Malaysia was one of the very first countries in the world to open up to transnational education delivery. With a history of over 25 years in TNE, the country has well-developed policies and systems in place for different models of delivery.

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As a growing element of international education, transnational education (TNE) creates a number of recognition challenges for many countries, and so UK ENIC takes a strong interest in TNE delivery.

Fabrizio Trifiro, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and International Quality Reviews at Ecctis, the Employee-Owned Trust company which operates UK ENIC on behalf of the UK Government, has attended a number of TNE-focused events in recent weeks which may be of interest to our members. Some are featured in this newsletter.

The Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference was held in Perth, Australia, in early March. 

Fabrizio Trifiro facilitated and presented at a session entitled ‘Internationally Local: Ensuring quality transnational education for a strong student experience’, which looked at how to support the growth of quality TNE.

'This is an exciting time for TNE, and it was really interesting to hear perspectives from fellow panellists Chris Bandy (Acumen), Guy Perring (i-graduate) and Hayley Shields (Edified) about the great work they do,’ said Fabrizio Trifiro. Areas of discussion included:

• how the TNE student experience compares to the home campus student experience
• how to differentiate and enhance the experience of TNE students taking full account of the local context of delivery
• the importance of having a good grasp of local regulatory and policy environments to run sustainable TNE, and
• the value of considering exit strategies from the start, with the interests of students at the forefront. 

‘I look forward to continuing to engage with those involved in TNE from across the globe, to help create a cross-border TNE community of practice, benchmarking institutional practice around key areas of TNE activity,’ added Fabrizio. 

‘These include governance arrangements, comparability of academic standards, enabling learning environments, responsiveness to local contexts of delivery, and managing student expectations. 

‘At the conference, I also met with our counterpart agency in Australia, the National Information Centre at the Australian Government Department of Education, to discuss common challenges in TNE, including online learning, and possible areas of co-operation.’ 

APAIE aims to advance education through enabling greater cooperation between institutions; to enrich and support international programs, activities and exchanges; and to promote the value of international education within the Asia-Pacific region. APAIE aims to connect Asia-Pacific higher education organisations with the rest of the world, and devotes itself to the principles of mutual respect, diversity and collective progress. 

The 2025 APAIE conference is due to be held in Delhi, India.

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UK ENIC’s close involvement with The Association of International Credential Evaluation Professionals (TAICEP) has taken a further step forward.

Chris Lyons, UK ENIC Head of External Engagement, has taken up the role on the TAICEP Board as Vice President for Resources and Knowledge Management. The committee, which he is now helping to oversee, develops new credential evaluation resources, as well as organising and maintaining existing ones. 

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the TAICEP 2024 annual conference, which will this year take place in Quebec, Canada, with the theme: ‘Fairness & Equity in Credential Assessments: What do these mean, are they important, & how to achieve?’ 

TAICEP brings together credential evaluation professionals from across the world, and the combined expertise reflects the diverse international membership.

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UK ENIC provided face-to-face support at a Resettlement Job Fair in Gloucester, UK, last month.

Organised by Gloucestershire County Council, the event - attended by nearly 100 people - aimed to assist Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers. It also attracted many other people living locally who came along to discuss various aspects of potential routes into employment.

Katherine Huang, UK ENIC Head of Migration Services, and Alina Davodova, Senior Information Officer, spoke with over 40 people on the day, explaining how we can support them with qualification recognition, and providing advice to those with missing or partial documentation.

‘Those we spoke with were really interested to hear about what we do and how we can help them,’ said Alina Davodova. ‘They were pleased to learn that there are ways for them to have their qualifications recognised to help them into employment. 

‘Some of those who came along had already had qualifications recognised by UK ENIC, and were asking for advice on how and where they can use our Statements of Comparability.’

A number of other local support organisations were also on hand to offer advice and support, including the Department for Work and Pensions, Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

‘It was a very impressive effort on the part of all the organisations involved. As with similar events we have attended it was clear to all that UK ENIC plays an important role in helping refugees and asylum seekers to convert their qualifications into meaningful career prospects as part of a truly international workforce,’ added Alina.

Members seeking guidance on recognition of refugee qualifications - for example in respect of applicants who have incomplete documentation - can email us on [email protected]. Members with access to our online Member Enquiry Service can use that facility to get advice on a refugee’s overseas qualifications.

UK ENIC is able to assess qualifications, obtained outside of the UK, which are nationally recognised in the country of origin at the time of award, via our Statement of Comparability service. This includes school, vocational and higher education awards. 

We also offer advice and resources to organisations dealing with refugees - admitting institutions, refugee welfare organisations, local authorities etc. The evaluation and verification of qualifications and skills of refugees presents particular challenges, especially missing or incomplete documentation. 

UK ENIC has played a leading role in international initiatives on refugee recognition, such as the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR). We also delivered the year-long ‘Syrians in Jordan’ project, which engaged with over 1,000 refugees. The SIJ scheme provided recognition statements containing information about the levels of qualifications and skills of Syrian refugees living in Jordan, and gave guidance on work and study opportunities available. 

This work has provided insights and experience in how recognition in cases of partial or missing documentation can be practically achieved and managed.

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We know that some members find it helpful to have information relating to our individual statement services, especially if they are advising people about applying for statements. 

The latest data, which forms part of our managed customer satisfaction programme, shows that in the final quarter of 2023, 94% of our individual applicants were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the level of evaluation or assessment they received.

Our overall NetPromoter score consistently averaged 74, which is considered ‘world-class service’. Reflecting on sector benchmarks, it is notable that other organisations within Professional Services scored 51 on average, while those in Education scored 50, so our satisfaction ratings far exceeded those of others operating in sectors in which we work.

‘These figures are very positive, but we are actively guarding against complacency,’ said Andy Barnfield, UK ENIC Head of Individual Services. ‘We continue to work hard to maintain and improve the service we provide to individual applicants and to our members. 

‘For example, we recently improved guidance and clarity of information on our website and FAQs, and have enabled additional chat functionality directly from applicants’ accounts. This allows applicants to quickly access our customer service team to ask any questions they have, minimising the number of times they need to contact us to resolve any issues.  

‘We also work proactively with organisations which signpost applicants to us, so they always have up-to-date information and clarity about the range of services we offer,’ Andy added. 

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The British Council and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) School Education Conference took place in New Delhi, India last month. 

Rebeca Cruz, K-12 Education & Development Manager, and Eleftheria Iakovidou, Senior Analyst, attended and presented at the two-day event, which focused on four strands:

• Teaching, learning and assessment methods
• Curriculum pedagogy and assessment for 21st Century skills
• Enhancing computational skills and digital technology in the classroom, and
• Integrating environment and climate change education, sustainability and mindfulness across all subjects. 

During the conference, Rebeca and Eleftheria held discussions with a range of stakeholders, including representatives from educational state boards from across India, teachers, headteachers and other school leaders, as well as representatives from various India- and UK-based organisations focusing on education, technology, climate change and sustainability education. 

‘The conference provided a terrific opportunity to meet and hear from various stakeholders in India, and to discuss how we can continue to provide expert support to the country’s ongoing education reform process,’ said Rebeca Cruz.

The British Council and the CBSE have been working together to jointly create programmes and resources that support institutional and systemic development across schools in India. This collaboration has helped create and build a wide range of educational tools and resources, including those that drew on the expertise of UK and Indian professionals and agencies.

The aim of the December conference was to encourage positive conversations, learn from each other, share knowledge, expertise, and skills with educators, school administrators, policy and decision-makers from the Government in India and other South Asian countries.

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UK ENIC has published a new resource to support members with the verification of qualifications from key markets to help counter education fraud. 

Links to verification services, and options for over 850 higher education institutions in Australia, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, South Africa and Zimbabwe, are included in the Directory of Verification Sources. [PDF; login required]

The publication includes a range of online resources such as databases, lists and repositories, and contact methods including online forms, email enquiries and postal enquiries. It also includes details of third parties responsible for verification, in cases where responding to verification requests has been delegated to an external organisation. 

The ability to confirm authenticity of qualifications has become an increasingly important counter-fraud measure. However, verification services vary between countries and institutions, and are not always widely promoted. This publication is the result of an initial research project carried out by UK ENIC to identify and catalogue verification resources from key countries.

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We took part in a 'Supporting Professional Migrants’ virtual conference, which discussed the role of professional bodies in supporting professional migrants to enter employment in the UK. 

UK ENIC's Zara Green presented at the event, hosted by Professional Associations Research Network (PARN). She outlined our Statement of Comparability and the services provided for refugees, and how professional bodies can shape their guidance to support refugees through the recognition and registration process. 

Professor John Willott, Leeds Beckett University, and Will Pritchard, Services Manager, PARN, also presented at the conference, which was chaired by PARN’s Robert Pitts. The event also included presentations on research carried out into the support currently provided to refugees by professional bodies, and how further guidance could be provided. This led to a wide-ranging open discussion about the issues raised by speakers.

PARN is a not-for-profit membership organisation for professional bodies. Offering expertise, experience and perspective on key issues in the sector, PARN develops research, provides bespoke services, networking opportunities, events and training for the professional body sector.

In addition, it also promotes professional bodies’ contributions to society and supports professional bodies with bespoke consultancy in areas such as strategy, governance and CPD.

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We are pleased to introduce Tracy Ferrier, who joined us this month as UK ENIC Interim Managing Director.
 
Tracy previously oversaw the delivery of the Skills for Prosperity programme in nine countries, on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). She has a wealth of relevant experience spanning international education, qualifications and standards, including a decade at the British Council as the Global Head of Skills.

‘I am delighted to take up the challenge of leading UK ENIC, with the aim of further strengthening the excellent services we provide, and lifting the ways in which we serve our members to even greater heights,’ she said. 

‘I’ve already set about the task of engaging with my new colleagues, members and other UK ENIC service users to listen to their thoughts and reflections.’

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Colleagues from Ecctis, the Employee-Ownership Trust (EOT) which operates and manages UK ENIC, have this year supported more than 1,200 people living in and around its UK headquarters in Cheltenham, thanks to its charity work.

Earlier in 2023, the global organisation enhanced its corporate social responsibility work by providing staff with paid time off throughout the year to volunteer at three local charities and non-profit organisations.

Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees, Caring for Communities and People, and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust were chosen after a company-wide vote, fitting in with Ecctis’ ethos as an EOT – which means staff have a meaningful say in how the business is run and operated.

Up to the end of November, Ecctis colleagues had undertaken 56 volunteering sessions, totalling 138.5 hours and reaching 1,217 individuals living in the community.

Most recently, staff have supported events including painting a community pantry, as well as supporting a drive for donations of food and other items in the run-up to the festive season. 

Ecctis is also donating in kind, providing for free its specialist expertise to further support the development of the charities, alongside financial donations and grants.