The Study in initiatives are marketing and braning tools states make use of when promotiong their tertiary sectors abroad.

Joseph Nye introduced the concept of “soft power” in the late 1980s. For Nye, power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get the outcomes you want.

To what extent are nation-states exercising soft power via their “Study In” initiatives? These are policy initiatives designed to encourage and enhance student mobility.

Student mobility can be either take the form od credit mobility (i.e., in the Erasmus Programme) or degree mobility (AKA “degree seeking students“).

In order to foster these activities, an increasing number of states invest in their internationalisation agencies (e.g., Education New Zealand), or in quasi-governmental agencies (e.g., the British Council), which deliver a wide array of services, from visa assistance, to scholarship schemes.

In this context, the “Study in” initiatives are designed to foster the interest of international students and educators on a country’s higher education opportunities. And ultimately to nurture a country’s soft power.

Often the “Study in” initiatives are in charge of organising the national pavilions c/o the most important internationalisation conferences, such as NAFSA, APAIE, and EAIE.

A non-exhaustive list of such actions may include:

Italy

Study in Italy The website is run by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, interestingly, is not associated to any student fair-like sort of action, which is left to Uni-italia. It offers useful insights on scholarships, visa procedures, credential recognition. As well as an updated list of BAs and MAs available c/o the Italian HE system.

The Netherlands

Study in Holland. Run by the Nuffic, the platform provides information about practical matters (visa, housing, insurance) as well as academic options available in the Netherlands.

Malaysia

Study Malaysia was launched as back as 1998 by the Ministry of Education. This initiative provides a search function for the available courses in that country, lists scholarships available, and features a well-designed on line application tool.

Study in New Zealand is run by Education New Zealand, and helps prospective students finding information about scholarships, study option, amployment option for graduates, as well as a well-designed “how to apply” section.

Germany

Study in Germany, which is co-ordinated by the DAAD, is one of the most complete informative and promotional websites. Besides the “traditional” scholarship and course finder option, the website sports an intellingent section about other features. These include: the costs of living, services for disable students, and a “10 step guide” to studying in Germany which looks informative indeed.

Australia

Study in Australia. A governmental initiative curiously managed by the Australian Trand and Investment Commission (Austrade), to remind us the relevance of revenues granted by foreign students’ fees and expenditures. “It is possibile to search for courses, institutions and scholarships, read about studying and living in Australia, watch stories from students, and [of course] learn about Australian higher education” (1).

Other initiatives

Other relevant initiatives are Study in Japan, Study in Canada, and Study in Sweden.

 

(1). E. Sartor, The Promotion of Italian Universities, Lambert Publishing, 2019, p. 24.

 

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