TARGET FOR THE NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT HAS EXCEEDED 100 THOUSAND
Fifth International Student Recruitment Workshop was hosted by DEİK/Higher Education Business Council on May 9, 2017, with the attendance of DEİK Board Member Rona Yırcalı and DEİK/Higher Education Business Council Chairman Dr. Mustafa Aydın. More than 130 people from 50 universities and institutions participated.
During his opening speech at the workshop, DEİK Board Member Rona Yırcalı expressed that Workshop findings and recommendations will contribute tremendously in the strategy of turning Turkey to an international center of attention for higher education. "The objective of DEİK/Higher Education Business Council's establishment was to increase the number of international students to 100 thousand by 2015 and we have achieved this goal by now. The new goal of the Business Council is to recruit more students from countries like China and India. In order to attract more international students, the business community, DEİK/Higher Education Business Council, related Ministries, public institutions and most importantly Council of Higher Education need to work closely" said Rona Yırcalı.
DEİK/Higher Education Business Council Chairman Dr. Mustafa Aydın expressed that the countries who sent out most students are China, India, Germany, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. 53% of the international students across the globe are from the Asian continent and 1 out of every 6 students is Chinese. "By 2025, China will continue to be the country that sends out most international students in the world. Turkey now aims at China, India and Saudi Arabia. 95% of the Chinese students studying abroad finance themselves by their own means" said Dr. Aydın. DEİK Business Council Chairman, stated that an independent publicity agency should be established with the joint efforts of the Business Council and Public. This agency should be used to elevate "Study in Turkey" brand. "According to OECD's 2014 statistics, approximately 4.5 million students study abroad and this number is expected to reach 8 million by 2025" said Dr. Aydın.
During the workshop Dean of İstanbul Aydın University's Faculty of Education Hamide Ertepınar made a presentation on the topic of "Factors that affect International Students' Choice of University and Country". According to the study, the number of international students studying abroad will exceed 8 million. Turkey's economic development, high standards of education and culture are the factors that influence students. The study was conducted among 850 international students are from 36 universities living in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Kocaeli and İzmir and are usually from Asia, Middle East and Africa.
After the opening ceremony, sessions on the topics of "Equivalence and Recognition", "Publicity and Branding", "Expectations from Public Institutions", "Harmony and Adaptation Process of the International Students" and "Universities' Liabilities to International Students" were held to discuss and find solutions.
