Professor Tim Lenton accepting the ‘Research Project of the Year Award’ on behalf of the University of East Anglia at the Times Higher Education Awards.

INTO Scotland partner Glasgow Caledonian University was officially recognised as provider of the best international student experience in the UK at the prestigious Times Higher Education Awards held on Thursday 23 October. Another INTO partner, The University of East Anglia also won an award for best research project on tipping elements in the earth’s climate system.

The annual THE Awards recognise and celebrate achievements of universities and the people who work in them and the 2008 Awards were held at London’s Grosvenor Hotel.

Glasgow Caledonian University took the ‘Outstanding Support for Overseas Students’ award, sponsored by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, from short-listed finalists Herriot-Watt University, Loughborough University, University of Essex, University of Glasgow and University of Sheffield.

Importantly, the judges for the international student support  category were independent benchmarking and research service, i-graduate, and once again the award was judged using data from the International Student Barometer which tracks decision-making, perceptions, expectations and experiences of international students.


Lynn McQuire, Head of Glasgow Caledonian University’s International Office,
receiving the ‘Outstanding Support for Overseas Students’ award.

The category ‘Research Project of the Year’, sponsored by Sage, went to the University of East Anglia for climate-system tipping elements. Judges for this category were the Times Higher Education Panel and the shortlist included London School of Economics, London South Bank University/Wimbledon School of Art, Queen Mary, University of London, University of Leicester and University of Strathclyde.

INTO University Partnerships Ltd and Oregon State University (OSU) have announced a groundbreaking joint venture designed to double the enrolment of international students at the West Coast university by 2014.

This new approach to internationalisation in the US higher education sector will enhance the student experience for all students studying at OSU. The partnership will offer innovative academic pathway programmes and benefit from INTO’s marketing and recruitment infrastructure that covers more than 40 countries, enabling OSU to manage the quality and diversity of an enlarged international student population.

The agreement with OSU is expected to be formalised in September 2008 with the first students beginning their studies in September 2009.The university will retain complete control over academic standards to ensure that students are academically and linguistically well prepared for university study. All current staff will continue to be employed by the university.

The university plans to open a new, state-of-the-art international student centre, including both teaching and residential facilities, to be completed by the autumn of 2010.

Andrew Colin, INTO University Partnerships chairman said: “This project is the first of its kind in the United States. We are proud to be working with Oregon State University in a joint venture that will provide a template for US universities to address the challenges and opportunities afforded by an increasingly mobile international student market.”

Launched in the UK in 2006, INTO has centres in Manchester, at Glasgow Caledonian University and at the universities of East Anglia, Exeter and Newcastle. Over the next five years INTO plans to invest up to £1 billion in facilities and infrastructure, building a network of 25 partnerships with higher education institutions around the world. OSU represents the first partnership outside the UK with further partnerships planned in North America, Australia, China and Europe over the next five years.

INTO Centres provide international students with the academic and English language preparation required for entry to universities, as well as an immersion in American or British culture to help them gain the most from their overseas experience.

The Provost of OSU, Dr Sabah Randhawa, commented: "This is a deeply embedded, long-term partnership that presents us with a unique opportunity to extend our global reach. It also addresses our strategic goals of building a broad and well-prepared international community at OSU, and creating a learning environment that provides cultural and global enrichment for all university students."

INTO forges long-term, deeply embedded joint ventures with leading universities, delivering resources and assets to support its partners’ internationalisation strategies. INTO offers universities access to a dedicated international student market research unit, global reach through its extensive marketing infrastructure, innovative programmes and student-focused services, investment in new facilities if required, and membership of a growing, international alliance of leading universities. The INTO alliance is an integrated academic community that understands the future shape of global higher education and the aspirations of international students.

INTO programmes prepare international students for undergraduate and graduate study at universities by giving them intensive training and support alongside university level academic coursework in their chosen subjects. Students who successfully complete their programmes and meet all the entry requirements can then progress on to the second year of specific undergraduate courses.

OSU is a ‘land grant’ institution renowned for its academic strength, offering nationally top-ranked programmes in agriculture, forestry, oceanography, engineering, public health, biochemistry, food science, zoology and ecology.

As of 2007, international enrolments at OSU accounted for 5% of a student population of nearly 20,000. The joint venture plans to double the international student population to 10% by 2014, initially offering pathways to undergraduate and graduate programmes in business, engineering, sciences and the liberal arts.

The US remains the destination of choice for international students, with American institutions hosting more than 580,000 in 2007. The top five countries of origin were India, China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.*

ends

*Source: Atlas of Student Mobility/Institute of International Education

Notes for editors

INTO Centres are joint ventures with partner universities, established with the aim of preparing international students for undergraduate and graduate study by giving them intensive English language training alongside academic preparation.

Students who successfully complete their programmes and meet all the entry requirements are assured a place on their chosen undergraduate or graduate programme.

INTO launched in February 2006. In addition to OSU, INTO has joint venture partnerships in Manchester, at the Universities of East Anglia, Exeter, Newcastle and in Scotland at Glasgow Caledonian University.

INTO plans to invest up to £1 billion in the higher education sector as the company continues to build its network of partnerships in the UK and overseas over the next five years. Each INTO partner university defines, assures and is responsible for the academic content and standards. INTO’s vision, along with its university partners, is to create a sector-leading student experience that attracts and welcomes the international student community, enriching the campuses and creating cultural diversity.

INTO partnerships do not fall into the category of privatisation. The company establishes joint venture partnerships with universities, with shared board and management responsibilities and provides marketing infrastructure, working closely with its partners’ International Offices. When appropriate, new living and learning facilities are created for each joint venture, rather than publicly-owned assets being transferred away from pubic ownership. INTO centres can run alongside existing university pathway operations or integrate them within a single unit.

OSU was founded in 1856 as the Corvallis Academy and is one of only two US universities designated a land, sea, space and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions.

Contact

Gerry Halliday gerry.halliday@into.com.uk
+44 [0]20 7486 9909

David Jobbins david.jobbins@candlestar.co.uk
+44 (0) 20 8600 7552
07770 452047

Settling into a foreign country,learning the language and getting to grips with cultural subtleties are among the issues that confront overseas students at UEA.

But thanks to the invocations of a feng shui consultant, they will not need to worry about being assailed by the four winds. In an unusual topping-out ceremony for UEA's new £30m international student centre, Raymond Catchpole called upon the spirits of land, water and air to protect them. The ceremony - which, to the despair of fans of a particular spirit, also involved the pouring out of a significant amount of whisky - celebrated the near-completion of the INTO-University of East Anglia Centre.

The centre, to be run by INTO, a national organisation that is building similar centres at 10 UK universities, will include a restaurant, library, teaching rooms with 600 spaces, internet café and en suite accommodation for 415 students. It is UEA's next move in the battle to secure the cash cow that is overseas students, who pay much higher fees than UK undergraduates. The centre, which offers tailored foundation and diploma courses to prepare students for undergraduate courses, is an unusual insurance policy for the university. For by providing the students with the training needed to thrive at UEA, its bosses are lessening the chances of them dropping out and costing the university money.

Andrew Colin, chairman of INTO, said: “The knowledge business is an international business. There's no such thing as a great local university. They have to be international. Having international students introduces different cultures and experiences. And, because of the fees they pay, higher education would be much more expensive for everybody if it wasn't for the overseas students.” He added that the
international education market was “hugely competitive”, and universities were up against countries including the US, India, China and Malaysia. "Students at UEA are really well prepared for undergraduate study. It will prepare them for the demands of a western university education.”

Mr Colin said there was “simply no question” that the focus on attracting overseas students detracted from UEA's task of widening access to higher education for UK students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. He said the two issues were “completely separate”. UEA has 1,631 international students from more than 120 countries.

The new facility will take the figure beyond 2,000 each year. A UEA spokesman said: “Primarily the university is interested in the diversity that international students bring to the campus. The research the university undertakes is international and this can only be achieved with links overseas with partner universities leading to staff and student exchanges. International students contribute over £10m towards tuition fees each year to the university. This additional income allows the university to build better student facilities and this has helped to move UEA into the Top 20 UK universities list.” In the brochure for the facility, UEA vice-chancellor Prof Bill Macmillan tells prospective students: “Whether you are joining INTO for academic preparation or to raise your English language standards, you'll be studying and living

alongside our students. “That means you'll be enjoying all the same library, sports, social, arts and shopping services. Everything you need for success is here, with the exciting and historic city centre of Norwich just a few minutes away.”

The six-storey building, which is being financed and run by INTO and leased to UEA, will receive its first students in September. Reporter: Steve Downes