Go! Pasia - Cloud Storage · PDF fileGo! Pasia Asian market entry and development strategy of...

Das Swajan

Go! Pasia Asian market entry and development strategy of Poznan University of Economics

Go! Pasia Strategia wejścia i działania Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Poznaniu na rynku azjatyckim

Master Thesis

Supervisor: Prof. dr hab. Marian Gorynia

The thesis was defended on:

October 07, 2014

Field of study: International Economic Relations Specialization: International Business Faculty: International Business and Economics

Poznań 2014

Recommended Citation:

Das, S, 2014, Go! Pasia: Asian market entry and development strategy of Poznan University of Economics, Master Thesis, Poznan University of Economics, Poznan, Poland

Or

Das, S, 2014, Go! Pasia: Strategia wejścia i działania Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Poznaniu na rynku azjatyckim, Praca Magisterska, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu, Poznań, Poland

Content List Introduction and Thesis Overview Introduction...................................................................................................5

Thesis Background........................................................................................6 Thesis Problem and Motivation....................................................................6

Thesis Objectives and Questions..................................................................7 Delimitation..................................................................................................7

Methodology.................................................................................................7 Report Structure............................................................................................8

Literature Review..........................................................................................8 Source Material.............................................................................................9

Chapter One: Transformation 1.1 Globalization...................................................................................10

1.2 Internationalization.........................................................................11 1.2.1 Internationalization Rationales.......................................................13

1.2.2 Approaches to Internationalization.................................................15 1.2.3 Internationalization Strategy...........................................................16

1.3 Europeanization..............................................................................18 1.4 Commercialization..........................................................................20

1.5 Ukrainization..................................................................................21

Chapter Two: Push-Pull Factors 2.1 International Students ....................................................................25 2.2 International Students’ Decision Making Process ........................25 2.3 Factors Influencing International Students’ Destination Choice....25

2.4 Key Issues.......................................................................................31

Chapter Three: Success Factors 3.1 University Marketing......................................................................34 3.2.1 University Marketing Strategy.......................................................35

3.2.2 University’s International Partnership………………….………...37 3.3 Business School Marketing Mix……...……………….………….39

3.4 Key Issues.......................................................................................41

Chapter Four: Go! Pasia 4.1 Go! Pasia Overview…………………………….….……………..43

4.2 Market Segmentation and Naming………….……………………44 4.3.1 Market Overview – TechnoPole…………….……..……………..46

4.3.2 Market Overview – ASEANPole……………….…...……………49 4.3.3 Market Overview – DesiPole………………………….………….51

4.3.4 Market Overview – MidPole…………………………....………..54 4.3.5 Market Overview – SovietPole…………………………….……..58

4.4 Market Competition……………………………………….……...59 4.4.1 Competitors at National Level…………………………..…….….60

4.4.2 Competitors at European Level…………………………………..60 4.5.1 Identifying Uniqueness at Country Level…….…………………..69

4.5.2 Identifying Uniqueness at City Level……….……………...…….70 4.5.3 Identifying Uniqueness at Institutional Level………………...….71

4.5.4 Identifying Uniqueness at Programme Level………………….....73 4.5.5 Positioning Statement…………………………………….……....73

4.6 Positioning Strategy……………………………………….……...73 4.6.1 Implementation Phases....…………………...……………………74

4.6.2 Implementation Approaches ………………...……….…………..75 4.6.3 Implementation Strategies…………………….……………….…75

4.7 Summary……………………………………….…...…………….86 Thesis Conclusion.........................................................................................................88

Bibliograpghy...............................................................................................................90 List of Tables................................................................................................................97

List of Figures..............................................................................................................98 Annex..........................................................................................................................100

Page | 5

Introduction and Thesis Overview

Introduction

The unavoidable contemporary issue, globalization, is the outcome of technological

revolution (Altbach & Knight 2007). The rise of different influential institutions made the

fact disclosed that the world is flat (Friedman 2005) and it is influencing the universities to

go across the national borders through market competition (Yang 2002; Czarniawska &

Genell 2002; Nicolescu 2009). Maximizing the outcomes with limited resources tendency

adopted by national governments within the context of economic globalization has reformed

social institutions, including universities (Ivy 2001; Hemsley-Brown & Goonawardana 2007;

Belanger et al. 2002; Mazzarol et al. 2003). Thus, seeking out a competitive strategy is

prompted for modern universities not just to serve local or regional communities but to

international arena in greater extent (Pimpa 2003; Lockwood & Hadd 2007). As a result, the

higher education is seen highly internationalized than before and continues its expansion

across the world (Teichler 2004) and it will remain as a central force for most countries

(Altbach & Knight 2007).

Through the way of internationalization, the universities across the world begin competing

with each other irrespective of their motives. When European and American universities are

mislaying their legendary reputation, universities from Australia, New Zeeland, Canada,

Russia, Japan and Korea are experiencing substantial growth in international student

enrollment (OECD 2013a). Besides that, China is targeting to host 500,000 international

students by 2020 (Sharma 2012). But in Europe, excluding Great Britain and Germany; to

some extent Norway, Sweden and Finland; most countries are suffering to gain the

competitive edge. EU’s contemporary strategy to regain its lost reputation is the formation of

ERASMUS Program, Bologna Process and Lisbon Treaty have expedited the

internationalization process but in wider extent it has made the universities rather

regionalized (Agoston & Dima 2012; Knight 2008). Thus, individual countries and respective

universities are adopting higher education marketization strategy in order to increase their

service export revenue (OECD 2004). In some countries, universities are even forced to

transform their activities in respond to pressures from political and commercial groups

(Czarniawska & Genell 2002).

Page | 6

Thesis Background

The case of Poland is still under observation in term of Higher Education

internationalization and marketization, although it has a long history of quality education

dating back to 14th century. The country’s rapid transformation started in last decade of the

last century just after collapsing the centralized economic system. All most every sector had

to go through this process. The reformation of the whole education system was a top priority

for government. There participating in global competition was beyond the country’s

possibility.

Through the massive changes and implementation of European standards over last two

decades, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education is now stepping out of its national

boarder in order to participate in global market competition (Czarniawska & Genell 2002).

The launch of central educational web portal studyinpoland.pl for studies in English in 2008

(Łukaszczyk 2013); and promotional campaign ‘’Ready, Study, GO! Poland’’ in 2012 in co-

operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foundation for the development of the

Education System and the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland are two

recent examples. Now, the government has set a target to host 5% foreign students at Polish

universities by 2020 (Łukaszczyk 2013).

Thesis Problem and Motivation

Implementation of European Standard in higher education system has expedited the pace

of Polish universities’ internationalization process. Countries prestigious business schools

like Warsaw School of Economics and Kozminski University have gained the global

reputation by being among the top European Business Schools ranked by Financial Times

and have 564 and 750 foreign students respectively.

Poznan’s popularity among foreign students is highly noticeable. City’s classic university

- Adam Mickiewicz has more than 1,000 and Medical University 900 foreign students. When

it comes to technical and business studies, the number of foreign students is way below the

satisfactory level, 92 and 124 respectively at the respective universities – Poznan University

of Technology and Poznan University of Economics.

Despite being the country’s one of the top reputed business schools, Poznan University of

Economics (PUE) or Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu (UEP) has yet to pull the

demand among international students like its counterparts. Furthermore, it is still way behind

to advocate the internationalization process fully and prefers to emphasis on regionalization

strategy (Zukowski 2012). No or few cooperation with Asian universities is also noticeable.

These factors have motivated the author to focus on PUE.

Page | 7

Thesis Objectives and Questions

The thesis has two main objectives. The first objective is to discuss why the international

students are important for Poznan University of Economics. And second objective is to

develop a strategy for the university to attract foreign students at its campus. By aligning with

the goals, the author has proposed following questions:

1. Why the international students are important for PUE?

2. How the university can attract foreign students at its campus?

Delimitation

The study is conducted to identify the importance of international students at PUE and to

suggest a potential strategy in order to attract more students, thus, most of the activities of

this thesis work are focused on discussing the university’s policies, strategies and the concern

bodies only related to studies in English programmes and international students only. In this

report, the author has incorporated his own experience at this university and no empirical

research has been conducted among other foreign students to justify his opinions.

Methodology

To answer the question ‘why’ and ‘how’, the qualitative method has taken under

consideration. To answer the question – why the international students are important for a

university, theoretical approach has been considered. It involves with discussing journal

articles in related field and conceptualizing the key issues and finding the importance of

international students at a university. The following issues are discussed-

Effect of globalization and its influence on universities

Urge to reform universities activities in response to globalization

Effect of demographical changes on universities

To answer the question – how the PUE can attract foreign students at its campus, three

approaches have been considered. Those are:

Firstly, identifying the factors that influence international students while choosing a

particular study destination. For this purpose, related journal articles are reviewed

Secondly, discussing the potential activities that a university can undertake in order to

successfully marketing its offers among a target group. The methodology is same like

the initial approach, reviewing related journal articles

After conceptualizing the potential issues and possible activities through an in-depth

review of related journal papers in first and second steps, finally, a tentative

marketing strategy has been developed. Brief overview of activities are:

Page | 8

o Initially, after choosing a potential market, it has been segmented into five

different markets

o After that, each individual market’s behavior is discussed and potential

competitors have been identified

o After that for developing a marketing strategy, at country, city and then institution

level uniqueness have been identified

o Finally, a tentative market positioning strategy has been recommended

The in-depth methodology of the final steps would have described in respective chapter.

Report Structure

The first chapter of this report represents the brief overview of transformation of higher

education institutions in the world, in Europe and in Poland; and the development of global

education industry. It shows how globalization influences the universities’ operational

activities.

The Second chapter of this thesis focuses on identifying the factors that influence

international students for going overseas; and their decision making process while choosing a

particular country, then a city and finally, a particular institution for their future study

destination.

The third chapter identifies the potential activities that a university can adopt in order to

successfully marketing its offerings. It describes the key factors while marketing the

offerings, universities’ international cooperation and marketing mix. The factors are

identified through reviewing the journal articles in related field of studies.

The final chapter of this report will present the practical goal of this thesis work–

recommending a potential strategy that the university can adopt to attract more foreign

students at its campus. It includes PUE’s target market and its segmentation, market

behavior, competitors, unique factors, market positioning approaches and strategies.

Literature Review

The movement of the international students is not new. But over the last few decades the

enormous growth in the students movement inspired the author to identify the factors that

influence the international students to move out of their home country and factors that attract

to choose a host country (Bodycott 2009; Chen & Zimitat 2006; Chen 2006; Chen & Zimitat

2006; Chen 2006; Cubillo & Cerviño 2006; Joseph et al. 2012; Maringe & Carter 2007;

Mazzarol & Soutar 2002; Pimpa 2003; Rudd et al. 2012; Srikatanyoo & Gnoth 2002; Wang

2007; Wilkins et al. 2012; Yang 2007; Cubillo & Cerviño 2006).

Page | 9

As the higher education is no longer considered as a public responsibility rather private

goods (Cai & Kivisto 2013; Agoston & Dima 2012; Bunzel 2007); seen as a multi-million

dollar industry (Gomes & Murphy 2003; Heaney & Heaney 2008; Chen & Zimitat 2006;

Mazzarol 1998); and students as the customer (Svensson & Wood 2007; Cai & Kivisto 2013;

Agoston & Dima 2012; Lockwood & Hadd 2007), researchers have proposed to use service

marketing strategy in order to attract more foreign students and increase the service export

revenue of an institution (Beneke 2011; Binsardi & Ekwulugo 2003; Bonnema & Van der

Waldt 2008; Bowden 2011; Czarniawska & Genell 2002; David & Martina 2011; Gajic

2012; Hagedorn & Zhang 2011; Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka 2010; Ho & Hung 2008; Judson

& Taylor 2014; Mazzarol 1998; Joseph et al. 2012; Nadiri 2006; Nicolescu 2009; Wedlin

2008).

The in-depth review of literatures is presented in the respected chapters.

Source Material

The main sources are – journal articles, university’s printed documents including self-

assessment report, strategy for the year 2013-2020; websites– Poznan University of

Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Kozminski University, Study in Poland and

Financial Times. The thesis related literatures are collected from Google Scholar and the

university’s electronic library. The main databases are - EBSCO databases, Emerald, OECD

iLibrary, SAGE Journals, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink and few more. Furthermore, the

statistics of tertiary level mobile students are collected from UNESCO Institute for Statistics

database.

Page | 10

Chapter One: Transformation

1.1 Globalization

The common used terms in academic world globalization and internationalization are

often confusing, although the phenomena in terms of rationales, objectives and effects are

closely interrelated. To make it simple, we can interpret the globalization as the social

process that goes beyond the national boundaries; its concepts extended to separation and

overlapping the domains those are seen as the fundamental process of integration that

transcend national borders and affects the flow of knowledge, people, values and ideas

eventually (Yang 2002). Agoston & Dima (2012) expressed the similar view noting it as the

flow of technology, knowledge, people, values, ideas that cross national borders. Knight

(2008) defined the globalization as ‘‘the process that is increasing the flow of people, culture,

ideas, values, knowledge, technology, and economy across borders and resulting in a more

interconnected and interdependent world’’. In the context of higher education, Altbach &

Knight (2007) defined the globalization as ‘‘the economic, political, and societal forces

which are pushing the 21st century higher education toward greater international

involvement’’.

The impacts of globalization are enormous regardless of sector. Scott (2000) claimed that

the universities are probably facing the fundamental challenge in its long history due to the

impact of globalization. He identified three main reasons – I) universities’ close association

with its national cultures; II) the impact of development of communication and information

technology which demand standardization of teaching and the emergence of cross-cultural

research activities and networks; and III) National government’s minimalistic in terms of

public expenditure is reducing the universities’ traditional and main source of income.

Knight (2008) recited the five key elements of Globalization from her previous work

(2006 and up dated in 2008), namely – I) the knowledge society; II) information and

communication technologies; III) the market economy; IV) trade liberalization; and V)

changes in governance structures, which (Table – 01) shows the impact of each element on

higher education and its corresponding implications for the international dimension of higher

education.

Page | 11

Table 1: Impact of globalization on Higher Education internationalization Elements Impact on Higher Education Implications for the International Dimension

of Higher Education Knowledge Society Increasing importance is attached to the production and use of knowledge as a wealth creator for nations

A growing emphasis on continuing education, lifelong learning, and continual professional development; creates a greater unmet demand for post-secondary education. The need to develop new skills and knowledge results in new types of programs and qualifications. Universities’ role in research and knowledge production alters, becomes more commercialized.

New types of private and public providers deliver education and training programs across borders—e.g., private media companies, networks of public/private institutions, corporate universities, multinational companies. Programs become more responsive to market demand. Specialized training programs are developed for niche markets and professional development and distributed worldwide. The international mobility of students, academics, education/training programs, research, providers, and projects increases. Mobility is both physical and virtual.

ICTS - Information and Communication Technologies New developments in information and communication technologies and systems. New delivery methods are used for

domestic and crossborder education, especially online and satellite-based forms.

Innovative international delivery methods are used, including e-learning, franchises. Satellite campuses require more attention to accreditation of programs/providers, more recognition of qualifications.

Market Economy Growth in the number and influence of market-based economies around the world. The commercialization and

commodification of higher education and training at domestic and international levels increases.

New concerns emerge about the appropriateness of curriculum and teaching materials in different cultures/ countries. New potential develops for homogenization and hybridization.

Trade Liberalization New international and regional trade agreements develop to decrease barriers to trade. Import and export of educational

services and products increases as barriers are removed.

The emphasis increases on the commercially oriented export and import of education programs; international development projects continue to diminish in importance.

Governance The creation of new international and regional governance structures and systems. The role of national-level education

actors both government and nongovernment is changing. New regulatory and policy frameworks are being considered at all levels.

Consideration is given to new international/regional frameworks to complement national and regional policies and practices, especially in quality assurance, accreditation, credit transfer, recognition of qualifications, and student mobility.

Source: Knight (2006: updated 2008) [as cited in Knight 2008, p.6]

1.2 Internationalization

In contrast to globalization, internationalization of higher education is the way of a

country’s respond to the impact of globalization, simultaneously, upholding the better interest

of the respective nation (Yang 2002) and accordingly restructure the country’s educational

Page | 12

system (Knight 2008). Yang (2002) claimed that internationalization is not a newly emergent

topic or phenomenon; it dates from very ancient history. For a university, he continues,

internationalization means the awareness and operation of interactions within and between

cultures through its teaching, research and service functions, with the ultimate aim of

achieving mutual understanding across cultural borders. For a national higher education

system, internationalization refers to dialogue with those in other countries. It is also seen as

an addition to the traditional commitment of universities to learning, and as an exchange of

knowledge (Qiang 2003).

According to Scott (2000), ‘‘globalization represents an extended and more intensive form

of internationalization. He acclaims for a linear relation between the two concepts.

Internationalization of universities represents a public phenomenon which is directly linked

to the diplomatic, cultural and economic objectives of a state, respectively to the academic

goals of the university – which might consists in curricula internationalization, students’

diversification, development of joint research projects etc.’’. To support the intense

relationship between the globalization and internationalization, Knight (2008) remarked,

“Internationalization is changing the world of higher education, and globalization is changing

the world of internationalization”. Using terminology in international education has also a

responsive manner to globalization. Table 2 presents commonly used the different

terminology related to the international dimension of higher education as cited by Knight

(2008) from her previous work (2005).

Table 2: Commonly used terminology in International Higher Education New Terms (Since 1990s) Existing Terms Traditional Terms Generic Terms Globalization Borderless education Crossborder education Transnational education Virtual education Internationalization “abroad” Internationalization “at home”

Internationalization Multicultural education Intercultural education Global education Distance education Offshore/overseas education

International education International development cooperation Comparative education Correspondence education

Specific Elements Education providers Corporate universities Liberalization of educational services Networks Virtual universities Branch campus Twinning and franchise programs Global Education Index

International students Study abroad Institution agreements Partnership projects Area studies Double/joint degrees

Foreign students Student exchange Development projects Cultural agreements Language study

Page | 13

Source: Knight (2005) [as cited in Knight 2008, p.2]

Knight (2008) examined different types of actors in different levels involved in promoting,

providing and regulating the international dimension of higher education. The rationales

derived for several reasons. Firstly, the wider aspect of internationalization including vast

programmes and activities has brought new actors in play. Secondly, these activities require

numerous polices and regulations at different levels, such as domestic, regional and

international level. Thirdly, differential boundaries among the levels are becoming narrowed

and weaken.

Table 3: Different types of actors and their roles in internationalization of Higher Education Type of Actor

Government departments or agencies Non- (or semi-) governmental

organizations Professional associations or special interest

groups Foundations Educational institutions and providers

Level/Scope National Bilateral Sub-regional Regional Interregional International

Role Policymaking Regulating Advocacy Funding Programming Networking Disseminating information

Typical Activities Scholarships Academic mobility Research Curriculum Quality assurance Science and technology


1.2.1 Internationalization Rationales

Yang (2002) claimed that the assessment of rationale for internationalization is

problematic. His rationale for internationalization lies in an understanding of the universal

nature of the advancement of knowledge. While knowledge is often contextual, the

advancement of human knowledge that is based on the common bonds of humanity is

arguably a global enterprise. According to him, universities are, therefore, by nature of their

commitment to advancing human knowledge, international institutions.

According to Altbach & Knight (2007), earning money is a key motive for all

internationalization projects of contemporary universities including the traditional ones with

Page | 14

financial problems. Additionally, they mentioned that the traditional nonprofit universities

also entered into the international market. They wish to enhance research and knowledge

capacity and to increase cultural understanding. Many universities are located in countries

where governments cut public funding and encouraged international ventures to generate

their service income. Again, many countries recruit international students to earn profits by

charging high fees.

Four main reasons those are highly influential for universities to internationalize their

operational activities (Altbach & Knight 2007; Knight 2008; de Wit 2011b; de Wit 2011a;

Agoston & Dima 2012). Those are -

1. The political reasons mainly involve with national perspective. Internationalization of

higher education and international education engage with countries’ external policies.

It requires ensuring the national security and peace between nations, although, these

issues no longer carry the same importance as it did in the past

2. The economic arguments for internationalization of higher education have become a

dominant issue. The economic globalization influences the states to focus on

achieving and maintaining economic, scientific and technological competitiveness.

Training a country’s citizens properly and investing in applied research activities are

the ways of achieving these objectives

3. Academic arguments directly relate to the early history and development of

universities. The concept of “universal knowledge” in the very name of “university”,

engage with movement of students, teachers and researchers for years

4. Cultural and social motivation come from acquiring skills and expertise in cross-

cultural relations and communication which are required for personal development of

students, teachers, researchers and university employees. It extends the identity of an

individual from a local to international citizen

Knight (2008) represented more specific rationales from her previous work in two

different categories upon the emerging importance of two different levels, namely – national

level and institutional level. She argued that the four rationales of internationalization do not

define or clarify what constitutes, for example, political and economical rationale. Neither

those four rationales distinguish the rationale between the national and institutional rationale

which are getting higher importance on a regular basis. Her considered factors are presented

in table 4.

Page | 15

Table 4: Higher Education internationalization rationales National level Institutional Level

Human resources development Strategic alliances Income generation/commercial trade Nation building/institution building Social/cultural development and mutual

understanding

International branding and profile Quality enhancement / international

standards Income generation Student and staff development Strategic alliances Knowledge production

Source: Knight (2005) [as cited in Knight 2008, pp.26-31]

1.2.2 Approaches to Internationalization

An approach is not fixed. Approaches usually change during different stages of

development. Thus, there are many different approaches to addressing internationalization

process of higher education. Sometimes different countries or different institutions within a

country may hold a common interpretation of internationalization but their implementation

plan is more likely to be different because of different priorities and conditions. Knight

(2008) identified the approaches from the perspective of National or Sector Level and

Institutional Level. Table 5 shows the details.

Table 5: Approaches to Internationalization of Higher Education at National Level and

Institutional Level National or Sector Level Approach

Programs The internationalization of higher education is seen in terms of providing funded programs that facilitate opportunities for institutions and individuals to engage in international activities such as mobility, research, linkages, development projects, foreign language training, etc. Rationales The internationalization of higher education is presented in terms of why it is important for a national higher education sector to become more international. Rationales vary enormously and can include competitiveness, human resources development, strategic alliances, income generation, commercial trade, nation building, and social/cultural development. Ad hoc The internationalization of higher education is treated as an ad hoc or reactive response to the many new opportunities being presented for international delivery, mobility, and cooperation in higher education. Different national government departments or agencies are individually involved in specific activities but there is no coordinating mechanism. Policy The internationalization of higher education is described in terms of policies that address or emphasize the importance of the international or intercultural dimension in higher education. Policies can be set by a variety of sectors including education, foreign affairs, immigration, science and technology, culture, or trade. In many case, the policies are not developed into programs and thus remain a paper commitment to the international dimension of higher education. Strategic Internationalization of higher education is considered to be a key element of a national strategy to achieve a country’s goals and priorities, both domestically and internationally and includes a well-developed plan across a variety of govt. departments and agencies involving concrete policies and funded programs.

Page | 16

Institutional Level Approach

Activity Internationalization is described in terms of activities such as study abroad, curriculum, academic programs, international students, institutional linkages and networks, development projects, and branch campuses. Outcomes Internationalization is presented in the form of desired results such as student competencies, increased profile, and more international agreements, partners, or projects. Rationales Internationalization is described with respect to the primary motivations or rationales driving it. They can include academic standards, income generation, cultural diversity, and student and/or staff development. Process Internationalization is considered to be a process in which an international dimension is integrated in a sustainable way into the three primary functions of an institution: teaching/learning, research, and service to society. Ethos Internationalization is interpreted as the creation of a culture or climate on campus that promotes and supports international/intercultural understanding and focuses on campus-based or “at home” activities. Abroad/crossborder Internationalization is seen as the crossborder delivery of education to other countries through a variety of delivery modes (face to face, distance, e-learning, etc.) and through different administrative arrangements (franchises, twinning, branch campuses, etc.).

Source: Knight (2008), pp.31-33

1.2.3 Internationalization Strategy

The emerging importance of Higher Education Internationalization has been identified a

long ago and hundreds of research papers are publish on the issues but a complete format of

HE internationalization model is yet to expect. Most works are conducted on an ad hoc basis.

In due respect; only the prominent and well known Canadian researcher, Jane Knight, has

published some handful papers relating to the issues among few others. According to her

paper (2004) as cited by Knight (2008), the internationalization strategies are taken into

considered in three different levels, namely – I) Institutional/Provider Level; II) Sector Level;

and III) National Level. Institutional Level also divided into two different categories –

academic strategies and organizational strategies. The details are presented in Table 6.

Page | 17

Table 6: Internationalization strategies of Higher Education at Institutional Level Strategies at the Institutional/ Provider Level

Academic Strategies

Academic programmes Student exchange programs, foreign language study, internationalized curricula, area or thematic studies, work/study abroad, international students, teaching/learning process, joint/double degree programs, cross-cultural training, faculty/staff mobility programs, visiting lectures and scholars, link between academic programs and other strategies Research and scholarly collaboration Area and theme centers, joint research projects, international conferences and seminars, published articles and papers, international research agreements, research exchange programs, international research partners in academic and other sectors External relations: Domestic and crossborder Domestic: Community-based partnerships with NGO groups or public/private sector groups, community service and intercultural project work, customized education and training programs for international partners and clients Crossborder: International development assistance projects, crossborder delivery of education programs (commercial and noncommercial) Branch campuses, international linkages, partnerships, and networks Contract-based training and research programs and services, alumni Extra-curricular Student clubs and associations, international and intercultural campus events, liaison with community-based cultural and ethnic groups, peer support groups and programs

Organization strategies

Governance Expressed commitment by senior leaders, active involvement of faculty and staff, articulated rationale and goals for internationalization, recognition of the international dimension in institutional mission/mandate statements, and in planning, management, and evaluation policy documents Operations Integrated into institution-wide and department/college-level planning, budgeting, and quality review systems; appropriate organizational structures; systems (formal and informal) for communication, liaison, and coordination; balance between centralized and decentralized promotion and management of internationalization; adequate financial support and resource allocation systems Services Support from institution-wide service units, i.e., student housing, registrar at, fundraising, alumni, information technology; involvement of academic support units, i.e., library, teaching and learning, curriculum development, faculty and staff training, research services; student support services for incoming and outgoing students, i.e., orientation programs, counseling, cross-cultural training, visa advice Human resources Recruitment and selection procedures that recognize international expertise; reward and promotion policies to reinforce faculty and staff contributions; faculty and staff professional development activities; support for international assignments and sabbaticals


Strategies and strategic approach are at the core of success and sustainability of

internationalization at the institutional or provider level; but the concept of organizational

strategies are more likely policy making task which correspond to the tasks of Sector and

national level strategies (Knight 2008). It demands two additional terms, namely - ‘Polices’

and ‘Programs’ to describe the internationalization strategy as a whole. Table 7 shows the

details.

Page | 18

Table 7: Internationalization strategies of Higher Education at National, Sector and

Institutional Level Policy Programs

National Level Education and other national level policies relating to the international dimension of higher education, i.e., cultural, scientific, immigration, trade, employment policies

National or sub-regional programs promote or facilitate the international dimension of higher education. It can be provided by different government departments or nongovernment organizations and may be oriented to different international aspects, i.e., academic mobility programs, international research initiatives, student recruitment programs, etc.

Sector Level Policies related to the purpose, functions, funding, and regulation of higher education

Programs offered by and for the education sector specifically. It can be provided by any level of government or by public or private organizations

Institutional Level Policies that address specific aspects of internationalization and/or policies that integrate the international dimension into the primary mission and functions of institution and sustain it

Programs such as those identified in the section labeled ‘Academic Programs’ those are mentioned under ‘academic strategies’


1.3 Europeanization

An unexpected result of globalization is the growing importance of regions (Knight 2008).

Regional needs and networks have developed a new importance for such formation. The

development of regional-based organizations, consortia, and alliances are illustrating the

regionalization trend and that is consequently establishing a distinctive aspect in between the

internationalization and globalization.

Cooperation within Europe is the best known and, to some degree, the most successful

case of regional collaboration in the higher education sector. In response to globalization and

more precisely to grow the global competitiveness the European higher education sector is

increasingly setting up new agendas with its aim to become the world’s leading knowledge

economy (Van der Wende 2007). Knight (2008) claimed that Europeanization in higher

education is a deliberate and planned agenda of the European Union (EU) in order to

stringent it’s political and economic objectives; whereas, the European Commission (EC)

plays the major role to develop the policies (Van der Wende 2007).

Beginning in mid ‘70s, the educational policies in European Union were concentrated on

stimulating students and academics staffs’ mobility, increasing the cooperation at research

level and accelerating Europeanizing process of university education. To follow the pace, the

intra-European mobility programme, ERASMUS (European Community Action Scheme for

the Mobility of University Students) and common recognition of grading system, European

Page | 19

Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) were introduced in 1987 and 1989

respectively.

However, in the late 1990s, the awareness of global competition was raised in European

higher education sector. Despite of achieving success in enhancing intra-European mobility,

the negative scenario of extra-European mobility was realized. Consequently, Europe had

lost its position of being the number one destination of foreign students to the United States.

Additionally, it was losing too many of its own graduates and researchers to R&D positions

in the United States. Furthermore, the European degree structure became less efficient

because its graduates entered the labor market at an older age than the United States.

The issue of inefficient programme structure became a prime concern among the

educational policy makers. In 1997, the ministers from United Kingdom, Germany, France

and Italy raised the issue to harmonize the Degree Structure. Year later, the ‘Bologna

Process’ (3+2) was introduced in Europe. Initially, it was a bottom-up initiative because the

EC joined to the process later on. The EC, after gaining the power, quickly developed a wide

range of initiatives under what became the ‘Lisbon Strategy’.

The first phase of the Bologna process was focused on the intra-European convergence

and transparency agenda, for example, reformation of curriculum and degree structures. The

second phase was focused on enhancing the international competitiveness and attractiveness

of European higher education and its connections with other regions. Creation of the

ERASMUS MUNDUS program (in 2004) and the development of the European Higher

Education Area (EHEA) and the European Research Area (ERA) were the parallel outcome

of the Lisbon Strategy which aimed to make ‘Europe the most competitive and dynamic

knowledge economy in the world by 2010.’

Europeanization as a form of regionalization, there can be seen two slightly contradictory

directions (Agoston & Dima 2012). On one hand, in the field of university education,

regionalization can be defined as the cooperation process that can evolve up to regional

integration. This means bilateral cooperation and interaction on a horizontal plan and at all

the levels: between the national governments, between the universities from Europe or even

cooperation at regional level between European university consortia and third institutions. In

other words regionalization represents a version of internationalization at a smaller scale. On

the other hand, regionalization can be considered a consequence of the globalization process

which enforces a close cooperation between neighboring countries in order to achieve a

common competitive advantage which helps them to face the pressures that might come from

other parts of the world.

Page | 20

1.4 Commercialization

Teichler (2008) claimed that the academic environments were traditionally competitive

among the scholars who wanted to pursue lifetime academic career. The purpose was to

achieve outstanding individual performance. However, the present competitive scenario has

reshaped to an aggregative form – the university or the department as a whole because of the

changes in universities’ academic activities in response to globalization. Because of the

‘knowledge society’, ‘expansion of higher education’, ‘loss of trust in the academic

profession’ and ‘new public management’, according to him, role of universities has become

utilitarian; lost academic freedom; and relationship among scholars and Higher Education

institutions are predominated by the rules of market.

Now, the contemporary universities are seen as a site of knowledge production

(Czarniawska & Genell 2002) and a more truthful but humble description of universities

would be ‘‘organizations producing nothing but knowledge’’. It, therefore, seems safer to say

that universities produce research results and knowledge. Altbach & Knight (2007) argued

that the concept of free market stimulates the international academic mobility and sees the

international higher education as a commodity. These, reasonably, seal the higher education

as a private good, not a public responsibility any more. This ideology facilitates Nadiri &

Mayboudi (2010) to argue that if education is a commodity, students should be the customers

in the field of higher education. But Agoston & Dima (2012) directly claimed the students as

customer of educational services and in core of academic activities, and hence, one of the

main source of income for universities.

Now, the World Trade Organization (WTO) provides the regulatory framework to

encourage international trade in education and other service-related industries as part of fair

negotiation under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (Altbach & Knight

2007). Thus, the activity of Kaplan (owner of 57 colleges in the United States and also the

Dublin Business School in Ireland) seems to be pragmatic in respect to Commercialization of

higher education to Altbach & Knight (2007). According to them, though, quantifying the

financial scope of academic internationalization is hard to sum up but the figure is quite large

because the knowledge industries, especially higher education, often form a substantial part

of total economy of a country. This may diminish the controversy to adopt the concept of HE

Commercialization and specify the education is a multimillion dollar industry (Heaney &

Heaney 2008). But Federkeil (2008) argued that gaining the economical benefit is not all

about Commercialization of HE. Hence, it is better to say that the universities are competing

for students, staff, funding and last but not least, reputation.

Page | 21

Nevertheless, researchers like Hawkins & Frohoff (2010) are reluctant to mark the

students as customer. In that case, Nadiri’s (2006) argument seems more rational. According

to him, since there is a competitive environment in higher education sector, a university must

identify what is important for the students; inform them what the university is intending to

deliver; and deliver what the university promises.

1.5 Ukrainization

However, in comparison to the global trend, the internationalization, Commercialization

and other marketing activities and approaches are quite new to Higher Education sector in

Poland (Łukaszczyk 2013; Zukowski 2012). The unavailability of prominent research works

or academic papers on internationalization of Polish Higher Education in English are also

visible. Although, a report titled - Immigration of international students to Poland has

been produced by the National Contact Point to the European Migration Network in Poland

(PL NCP EMN) in 2013, compiled by Karolina Łukaszczyk, gives a minimum overview of

current circumstances of internationalization process in Poland. It rather highlights the rules

and regulation, scopes and rights of international students in Poland. Nevertheless, the

relevant issues from the report are presented here.

The urge for internationalization of Polish Higher Education comes from -

The consequences of the demographic crisis in Poland as it is seen that, in the

academic year 2013-2014, 125,000 less students enrolled in universities than previous

year (PAP 2014)

Willingness of individual universities to participate in international students market.

Establishing the Boym Universities Consortium1 in 2010 (Łukaszczyk 2013) in

order to enter on Chinese international students market is such an example

Until 2011, there were no internationalization activities initiated at state level apart from

adopting few Europeanization policies. Thus, for many years, few universities have been

acting as the main influential authorities in regards to the policy of international student

recruitment. They developed their own strategies for internationalization, promotion and

recruitment of international students, taking into account their individual needs of financial

and human resources. Later on, due to increasing the awareness of benefits associated to the

presence of international students in campus, many other institutions have jointed the flow.

1 Boym Universities Consortium consists of five universities: Kozminski University, University of Information

Technology and Management, Tischner European University, Technical University of Łódź and University of

Physical Education and Sport

Page | 22

In order to improve the efficiency and optimize the promotional related costs, Polish

universities often tend to have multilateral cooperation. The initiative of “Study in Poland”

programme is such as an example. In 2005, the project came into reality through the

cooperation of Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools and Education Foundation

‘‘Perspektywy’’. So far, it is one of the longest running projects promoting Polish higher

education and studying in Poland abroad. Currently 43 universities participate in the project

and use it as their marketing platform.

However, the initial priority of ‘‘Study in Poland’’ was focused on developing cooperation

with Ukraine. The outcome of this project is quite visible. Recently, the inflow of Ukrainian

students has reached to an extreme level in Poland. In total, 35,983 foreign students from 149

countries enrolled in 2013/2014 academic year (PAP 2014), out of which only Ukraine

accounts almost 15 thousands students - a share of 42% of all foreign students studying in

Poland. Recently, this phenomenon has been identified as the Ukrainization of Polish

universities by the concerned groups.

Nevertheless, the issue of internationalization of Polish higher education is becoming a

mainstream in the political debates in Poland. For the first time, the Polish president admitted

the interest of increasing the educational immigration during his visit in China in December

2011. In his statement, he encouraged Chinese students to come and study in Poland. To

signify the issue, the president was accompanied by 20 Polish university rectors in addition to

the Minister of Science and Higher Education. In March 2012, finally, the Ministry of

Science and Higher Education developed and began implementing the promotional campaign

of Polish higher education abroad. Now, the government is updating the recruitment criteria

of international students in Poland. A remarkable changes are noticed on international

students’ rules and regulation empowered by the government in May, 2014.

Recently, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education has also managed to initiate a

number of qualitative changes to support the internationalization process of Polish higher

education institutions. Creating the positive image of Polish higher education abroad through

the promotional campaigns; introducing Polish Accreditation Committee to evaluate the

degree of internationalization of studies; introducing the regulations on issuing joint diploma

with foreign universities, facilitating the foreigners to take Polish language exams are the few

to mention among such initiatives.

Page | 23

There is also a commercial organisation, named Think Poland2, working for

internationalizing the Polish higher education. They conduct numerous promotional activities

on the universities’ behalf by maintaining a multilingual web portal, thinkpoland.org, and by

participating actively in social media and face-to-face marketing. Through the cooperation

with recruitment agencies from several European, Asian, Australian and Middle East

countries, they recruit students for Polish universities.

Right now, there are many actors and stakeholders in Poland showing enormous interest to

develop the national policies for attracting more international students, especially the

followings are the most important ones -

Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW)

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN)

Ministry of Health (MZ)

Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MPiPS)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ)

Ministry of the Interior (MSW)

Bureau for Academic Recognition and International Exchange (BUWiWM)

Local authorities

Public and non-public universities

Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland, Conference of Rectors of

Vocational Schools in Poland

Central Council for Science and Higher Education

Polish Accreditation Committee

Foundation for the Development of the Education System

Students' Parliament of the Republic of Poland, National Representation of Doctoral

Students

Other organizations

Until recently, in the view of national and institutional level, foreign graduates played the

role of ‘‘ambassadors of Polishness’’ but at present, the perspective has shifted from prestige-

related aspects to financial ones. International students are now seen as the possible source of

generating incomes for universities and also a potential solution to country’s demographic

town turn and its effect on labour market. However, Poland has yet to develop a single

2 Think Poland has a network of local and foreign offices in countries such as Australia, Ukraine, India, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Greece and Turkey

Page | 24

strategic document to address the issues related to admitting international students, although,

relevant recommendations and suggestions have been included in many documents like -

Human Capital Development Strategy, Migration Policy of Poland, Directions of Poland’s

Promotion by 2015, Government Programme for Cooperation with the Polish Community

and Poles Abroad, Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme 2012-2015 and few

more.

To summarize the concept, it is obvious to say that universities cannot avoid the impacts

of globalization and thus, reformation has become an inevitable phenomenon (Heyneman

2010). Thus, the operational activities are required to be adjusted in accordance to the

international standard. Furthermore, universities’ existence largely depends on its financial

viability. This signifies the importance of international students at a university. And in order

to participate in global market competition, universities cannot ignore the necessity of

marketing activities.

Page | 25

Chapter Two: Push-Pull Factors

2.1 International Students

According to OECD (2013b, p.1), ‘‘international students are those who have crossed

borders for the purpose of study’’. In the report, OECD mentioned that according to

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the OECD and EUROSTAT, the students who are not the

residents in the country of their study or the students who receive their education in another

country are called International Students. The notion ‘foreign student’ relates to student’s the

citizenship. This is why the international students are considered as the subset of foreign

student and often various institutions use the data on foreign students when the data on

international students are not available.

2.2 International Students’ Decision Making Process

Taking a decision to study abroad, for many students and their families, is a most

signification and costly decision they would ever take (Mazzarol 1998) because this is a

lifelong capital investment for them (Srikatanyoo & Gnoth 2002). The students’ decision

making process is highly sophisticated and has three distinctive stages (Mazzarol & Soutar

2002; Srikatanyoo & Gnoth 2002). Primarily, the student must decide to study in a foreign

country; secondarily, select the host country; and finally, selecting an institution.

2.3 Factors Influencing International Students’ Destination Choice

The international students’ decision making process is linked with ‘push-pull’ factors

(Mazzarol & Soutar 2002). Taking a decision to study abroad is the influence of ‘push’

factor. And selecting a country and then considering an institution come under the ‘pull’

factor. Students in under or less developed countries, especially in Asia and Africa, have

limited access in their higher education sector which push them out of country for their

higher education. In their empirical study on students from Indonesia, Taiwan, China and

India, Mazzarol & Soutar (2002) described that the mains ‘push’ factors which influence the

students are–

o having a perception that overseas education is better than the local one

o having higher entry barriers at local universities

o unavailability of the desired study programme

o a desire to gain better understanding of western culture; and also having a desire of

migration after the graduation

Page | 26

On the other hand, the ‘pull’ factors that influence the international students to choose a

particular host country and then an institution are–

o students’ awareness or knowledge of the host country

o parental influence while deciding a host country (Pimpa 2003)

o students’ social links or friends and relatives’ recommendation for a particular host

country

o alumni influence

o geographical proximity or closeness to students’ home country

o cost of study – fees, living, travelling and other opportunity costs

o scope of work

o students’ safety issues- racism and other discrimination, local environments– weather,

life-style and climate

In addition to these ‘pull’ factors, Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) suggested that the

students’ decision also influenced by institutional reputation of quality education;

institutions’ link or partnership with the students’ known institutions; word of mouth or

alumni influence; number of enrolled students at the institution; and recognition of students’

home country qualifications.

Srikatanyoo & Gnoth (2002) claimed that institution’s country image is the main

influential factor when students take a decision for their future study destination. They

mentioned that a positive (negative) country image creates positive (negative) beliefs towards

an institution and its programme among the students. They also mention that an institutional

image matters. According to them, country image and institutional image are interlinked.

Like the country, a successful brand can change its country image too through aggressive

marketing activities among the consumers. According to them, the quality of an institution’s

particular programme vary from year to year, class to class, student to student, lecturer to

lecturer and so on. It signifies that the quality of education can be different in institutions and

same way in different countries. Their conceptual model of country image that influence

students decision has five propositions. Binsardi & Ekwulugo (2003) found that lower tuition

fees can attract more foreign students at UK Universities as the country is facing gradual

decline in foreign student’s inflow. The respondents in their study ranked the factor on top

than other issues.

Cubillo & Cerviño (2006) proposed a theoretical model in which they have showed that

students’ purchase intentions affected by students’ personal reason, country and city image,

institution image and programme evolution. Their conceptual model is an extension of

Page | 27

Srikatanyoo & Gnoth (2002) conceptual model (see figure 1). Personal reasons and City

image are their additional proposal. They argued that city image is the environment where the

service would be produced and consumed. The physical environment in a city holds the

facilities that require while studying. And personal reasons direct to the students’ future

career aspects and the influence of their family, relatives, friends and teachers’

recommendations.

Figure 1: A Model of International Students’ Preference

Source: Cubillo & Cerviño (2006), p.7

Maringe (2006) empirical study on 387 students from Southampton, England showed that

the most important factors for students are ‘programme’ and ‘price’ related issues. Another

empirical study of Maringe & Carter (2007) found that African students’ overseas decision

making also has the similar effect of Mazzarol and Soutar’s (2002) ‘push’ factors. Their

study was carried out on UK context. They have proposed six elements model. Where the-

Push factors

o students’ home country’s political, economical and Higher Education (HE)

capacity

Key influencers

o friends and family influence

Page | 28

o internet based information

o private agencies

o direct contacts

o school staffs

o British council

o media

Pull factors - country level

o international recognition of HE qualification

o high quality HE experience

o safe environment

o easy application process

o international HE experience

Pull factors – institutional and course level

o course availability

o post qualification employment data

o post qualification progression data

o institutional research/teaching profile

o labour market data

o accommodation cost and availability

Risk and anxieties

o financial risk

o opportunity risks

o family and socio-cultural risks

o legal administrative risks

Experiential dissatisfies

o information inadequacies

o financial uncertainties

o post registration marketing deficiencies

Yang (2007) found the similar push factors like Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) in his

empirical research on Chinese mainland students’ motivational factors to choose Australia as

their study destination. The primary reason was having the better perception of foreign

education than the local one and the secondary factor is the difficulties in gaining entry into

the local universities. However, gaining westernized experience was the Chinese students’

least preference in their study which is contrasting Mazzarol & Soutar (2002) findings.

Page | 29

Although students’ future perspective complies the same with them like high skill migration

opportunity in Australia after graduation is one of the main factors that attract the students.

The other factors in M. Yang’s study that influence Chinese students to choose Australia for

their overseas study destination are:

o English-speaking country

o World-class education system

o Climate

o Lifestyle

o Improve English skill

o Good reputation

o Qualification is recognized in China

o Easy and quick visa application process

o Part-time jobs

o Lower level of crime and discrimination

o Lower cost of living and tuition cost

o Parents, relatives or friends’ recommendation

o Education agent’s recommendation

o Relatives and friends living or studying in Australia

o Future migration opportunity

Bodycott (2009) conducted another empirical research on mainland Chinese students and

their parents. His study has found that educational exhibition/fair and friends and relatives are

the most important factors for them to decide a foreign study destination. For both students

and parents, the important source of primary information is the educational fairs those are

conducted by private organizer and regional governments throughout the year. The crowed

are pulled through the media coverage and print media advertisement. The parents are also

interested to attend various seminars where they can directly interact with the institutions’

representatives which have direct influence while deciding a study destination. His study

results, however, were different than the previous results which are mentioned here earlier.

He found that higher quality education was the main push factor for the students which

would provide them international and intercultural experience; while immigration and future

employment prospectus and economical factors are less important. The parents’ push factors

are beyond the educational experience. The economical growth in mainland China enables

the prosperous future for the Chinese in their home country. Parents think that study abroad

would bring their children long-term social and economical benefits. According to his

Page | 30

finding, following factors were most important for the students while choosing a study

destination –

o Onsite accommodation

o Range of programs available

o English-speaking environment

o Language and academic support services

o General facilities – buildings and grounds

o International education experiences during courses

o Relatives or friends studying in the area

o Social and emotional support services

In his study, factors that were rated not important by students are:

o Knowledge and awareness of the institution, its reputation, and general knowledge of

the destination country

o Tuition fees, living expenses, travel cost and social cost

o Geographical proximity to mainland China

o Immigration prospects after graduation

o Future employment prospects

On the other hand, parents rated the following factors which are less important unlike the

previous studies –

o Employment prospects

o Migration possibilities

o Proximity to home

o Scholarships

o Cost of tuition

Another empirical research conducted by Rudd et al. (2012) on Chinese students’

decision making process for UK business schools found that the country image and the

reputation of the British education are the highly influential pull factors (Binsardi &

Ekwulugo 2003). Other influential factors are the western culture, university facilities, school

image and city image. For them getting a UK visa is much easier compare to other countries.

Half of the interviewees expressed that they considered friends recommendation while

making the decision. Interesting factor was the family influence. Only one third of the

respondents mentioned that their family helped them to take the decision which highly

contradicts with Bodycott’s (2009) findings where the parents play an important role while

deciding the students’ study location.

Page | 31

The recent OECD (2013b) report showed that the main pull factor are the tuition fees,

study language and the country’s immigration policy matters most while deciding where to

study. Although the country’s reputation of higher education and the quality programme play

significant roles for international students.

2.4 Key Issues

After analysing the most prominent journal articles in the related field, following issues

are found out –

Country’s adverse political and economical conditions push students to go abroad

High entry barriers and unavailability of desired programme(s) in local institutions

push students out of country

Students perceive that international qualification is better and bring them a prosperous

career

Experiencing westernized culture increase a country’s attractiveness

Family, relatives, friends or teachers have influence on students’ decision

Some students like to earn money while studying and also some like to settle down in

western countries after graduation

Students’ global awareness and information gained through media and internet sources

have significant influence on students’ decision

International reputation of a country’s higher education attract international students

A country’s easier immigration procedures, lower living cost, higher social safety-

issues like low or no racism and discriminations, better environments like lifestyle

and familiar weather and climate increase a country’s attractiveness

Job facilities during study and migration possibilities after study attract foreign

students in a country

Geographical proximity and the presence of relatives or friends in that country increase

the students’ psychological attachment

The level of socio-economic development affects a country’s image

Higher safety and security, social facilities and lower living cost increase a city’s

attractiveness

International atmosphere and educational environment can bring more foreign students

in a city

Availability of job has an influence towards the attractiveness of a city

A close distance from other developed cities or countries increase a city’s

attractiveness

Page | 32

An institution’s prestige, global or national ranking, academic reputation and high

profile teaching staffs attract foreign students at a university

An institution’s wider range of programmes offered in English pulls the demand

among foreign students

International students consider facilities like access in modern technology, onsite

accommodation and others while making the decision

Partnership and cooperation with foreign universities and offering scholarship to

international students increase an institution’s recognition

Alumni can bring international students through recommendation

Attending educational fairs in foreign countries and direct contacts from university’s

representatives or staffs create the association

A program’s international recognition increases the university’s reputation

International students consider a particular programs’ quality

Wide range of program’s specialization and wide range of offered courses increase a

programme attractiveness

Programs’ suitability to current job market increases the demand

Lower tuition fees, simpler admission procedure and acknowledging foreign

qualification increase the programme attractiveness

The above mentioned factors have enabled the author to identify 52 factors that influence

international students’ decision making process. These 52 factors are divided into two

categories- ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. The push factors are categorized into two levels –

Country Level and Personal Level. The pull factors are categorized into four levels – Country

Level, City Level, Institutional Level and Programme Level. However, the factors or the

levels are not listed in any particular order.

Push Factors – Country Level

1. Political and economical conditions

2. Home universities’ entry barriers

3. Unavailability of desired programme

Push Factors – Personal Level

1. Higher quality of foreign education

2. Future career prospectus

3. Experiencing western culture

4. Working while studying

5. Migration after graduation

6. Family influence

7. Others’ recommendation

8. Global awareness

9. Internet based information

10. Media influence

Page | 33

Pull Factors – Country Level

1. International recognition

2. European country and culture

3. Socio-economic development

4. Cost of living

5. Easier immigration process

6. Scope of work during study

7. Future migration possibility

8. Safety issues

9. Environments – weather and lifestyle

10. Geographical proximity

11. Presence of relatives and friends

Pull Factors - City Level

1. Social facilities

2. Safety and security

3. Cost of living

4. International atmosphere

5. University environment

6. Working possibilities

7. Proximity

Pull Factors – Institutional Level

1. Institution prestige

2. Ranking position

3. Academic reputation

4. Wide range of programme

5. Programme offered in English

6. High profile teaching staff

7. Accommodation facilities

8. Technological facilities

9. International partnership

10. Scholarship offer

11. Alumni influence

12. Direct contact

13. Presence in educational fair

Pull Factors - Programme Level

1. International recognition

2. Quality programme

3. Programme specialization

4. Wide range of courses

5. Programme suitability

6. Simplified admission process

7. Tuition fees

8. Foreign qualification recognition

Page | 34

Chapter Three: Success Factors

3.1 University Marketing

Dramatic growth in service sector in developed countries has witnessed another significant

emerging industry in 1980s and 1990s (Nadiri 2006) is the International Education which

contributes, in some countries, larger amount than the country’s most important exporting

products in national economy (Mazzarol 1998). Because of its intangible nature, marketing

education to the targeted communities was ignored in earlier days (Mazzarol 1998). Later on,

classifying the education as a marketable service in similar way like any other service

marketing (Russell 2005; Wang 2007) has brought a new dimension in education sector

(Knight 2008) and emphasizes are given to maximize the service export revenue along with

others which diminish the argumentative factor whether the higher education is a marketable

service or not.

Ivy (2001) suggested that the universities should create a distinctive image in the market

place. His study found that the universities in UK and South Africa are conducting aggressive

marketing communication just to maintain a positive image among the prospective

communities. The empirical study of Binsardi & Ekwulugo (2003) on international students

studying in UK found the reason why the UK is struggling to maintain its growth in

international students enrolment at British universities like it’s counterparts- the USA and

Australia in spite of having such a world reputed promoting agency- the British Council.

Their finding claims that the UK competitors’ are marketing their higher education

aggressively in their target market. According to Nadiri (2006), in order to I) build a good

image of the institution, to improve the satisfaction level among the institutions’ students and

stakeholders II) gain the competitive advantage over the counterparts and III) increase the

market share universities should employ marketing activities. Hemsley-Brown &

Goonawardana (2007) claim that institutions are competing with each other for international

students because of increasing student mobility globally, diminishing university funding and

government backed-up recruitment campaigns which are necessarily influencing universities

to build an effective institutional brand.

However, Nicolescu (2009) argued that in one hand, higher education is still seen as a non-

profit sector in most countries and this is why applying marketing concept in higher

education does not function like it does for business sector; on the other hand, education is a

service and therefore, related service marketing concepts can apply to higher education in

Page | 35

spite of having peculiarities. His theoretical review on applicability of the marketing concepts

in higher education concludes with partial agreement, although it requires more in depth

research work as he mentioned concept like higher education branding is still at its

pioneering stage.

3.2.1 University Marketing Strategy

Mazzarol (1998) surveyed 315 education institutions from Australia, Canada, New

Zealand, the UK and the USA and found that universities-

Undertake carefully managed branding and positioning strategy to develop the

institutional image in international market

Develop quality courses and programmes in order to be distinguished in market and

gained the competitive advantage over the competitors and

Form strategic alliance with foreign institutions which increases the universities’

market coverage in abroad and enables to use the partners’ resources and reputation

locally.

Figure 2: University Positioning Strategy Source: Lowry & Owens (2001), p.29

Lowry & Owens (2001) suggested establishing a distinguished position in the market in

order to enhance an institution’s ability to maintain and increase enrollment. According to

them, an effective positioning increases a university’s competitive advantage. Failing to

position according to the students’ need will weaken a university’s competitiveness. They

Page | 36

propose to form an advisory committee which would represent the university and then to

appoint an advertising or marketing agency which would work in cooperation with the

advisory committee in order to adopt the university’s positioning strategy. Their suggested

positioning process (see figure 2) should start with an initial research among the prospective

students’ community and reviewing the articles, journals and other media those rank the

universities to find out the university’s present image. The following process is to identify the

desired target market and to determine the desired positioning. Then the university should

develop a positioning strategy by comprising the marketing variables (4Ps – product, price,

place, and promotion) and executing though proper communications. Finally, the university

should evaluate the strategy, although they mention that it is a long term process and the

result may not be satisfactory in short term evaluation.

Maringe (2006) claimed that students adopt a consumerist approach while choosing an

institution for their Higher Education. He argued that neither an institution can be best at

everything nor it can meet all demands of applicants. Thus, an institution needs to identity its

main strength and then positions it in appropriate market. Positioning, according to him,

involves three elements-

developing an institutional brand or image

deciding on market segments to serve and

developing a communication strategy that highlights the institution’s capability to

deliver

Bonnema & Van der Waldt (2008) suggested using market segmentation strategy in

university’s marketing communication activities. They mentioned that using single message

for all targeted communities is no longer application because different student group has

different needs. Ho & Hung (2008) cited that using effective marketing strategy can attract

more students. They proposed using Sarvary and Elbarse’s (1995) concept which suggests

that after analysing the market environments, an institution should use three methods in order

to develop an effective marketing strategy. Those comprise-

segmenting the market

selecting the target market and

positioning the product in target market

David & Martina (2011) proposed to use integrated university marketing communication

strategy while the universities planning to develop the marketing strategy. Their proposed

model comprised with five elements (see figure 3), namely–

Advertising through university website and other social media

Page | 37

Personal promotion through education fair

Direct sales through offering the courses by e-mail

Public relation through press conference and annual report and

Sales promotion through road show and knowledge contest

Their study showed that university website is the mostly mentioned source of information

among the students.

Figure 3: Integrated marketing communications of a university

Source: David & Martina (2011), p.64

3.2.2 University’s International Partnership

Universities’ international partnership or international collaboration or strategic alliance

with foreign institutions is commonly understood as universities’ strategy to promote its

internationalization activities. It creates greater connectivity among universities’ staffs with

different backgrounds (Spencer-Oatey 2013). It also increases student mobility. Mazzarol

(1998) argued that strategic alliance with foreign partners gives competitive advantages to

universities. Because it enables them to gain benefits of economies of scale, get access to

partners’ distribution channels, capital and knowledge and reduce risk and competition in

local market. He mentioned that it is one of the most important success factors for promoting

universities in international market. However, there are very few available literatures on this

topic.

Page | 38

According to Chan (2004), universities create strategic alliance for many reasons but most

importantly and often they link up with other institutions for being able to compete in higher

education market globally. He argued that massification and marketization of higher

education have brought severe competitions among the universities for funds, students and

faculties; and this is the impact of globalization of market.

Ayoubi & Al-Habaibeh (2006, p.391) mentioned that universities’ international

partnership objectives are becoming mostly business driven. Their investigation on four

member universities of Russell Group3 from United Kingdom found that they aim to achieve

six main objectives from international partnership-

Exchanging students

Developing collaborative programs and joint degrees

Recruiting fees-paying students

Conducting joint research

Exchanging staff

Developing overseas teaching programs

Creating strategic alliance may be quite easy, according to de Wit (1998) [as cited in

Chan 2004, p.38], but the success stories are very few. However, Spencer-Oatey (2013,

p.246) mentioned that universities commonly face a) negotiating common goals b) managing

communication c) negotiating different pedagogic viewpoints and d) transnational students

support challenges while forming a strategic alliance. The key success factors of an

international collaboration, according to Prichard (1996), van Ginkel (1998) and de Wit

(1998) [as cited in Chan (2004), pp.38-39], are-

The mission and objectives should be clearly defined and realistic for both short and

long term. Partners should have clear sense of partnership, committed towards their

mutual goals and advantages should be equal for all members

Partners should be chosen carefully and must be aware of cultural and other difference

among them while working together to achieve a mutual objective

While working together, partners must choose a project leader who has got expertise in

related field and can lead throughout the task

3 The Russell Group represents 24 leading UK universities which are committed to maintaining the very best

research, an outstanding teaching and learning experience and unrivalled links with business and the public

sector.

Page | 39

In a project, the leader must recognize the discrepancies of each partner and

decentralize the task accordingly

Before taking any task in hand, all partners must understand the required time and

resources to realize such project

Having regular updates and keeping constant among the partners are key factors of an

alliance and thus, it should be maintained strictly

3.3 Business School Marketing Mix

According to Ivy (2008), marketing mix is the organizational framework or a set of

controllable marketing tools that a firm considers to meet or satisfy its customer demand in a

target market. The university must do every possible thing to influence the demand of its

offerings. Traditionally, 4P marketing mix model (product, price, place and promotion) is

used for tangible goods. But for intangible products or services, 7P model (product, price,

place, promotion, people, physical facilities and process) is adopted for satisfying the

customer needs.

Figure 4: The Business School 7P Marketing Mix Source: Ivy (2008), p.294

Ivy (2008) claimed that using traditional marketing approach or the 7Ps models (product,

price, place and promotion people, physical evidence and process) for service sector like

education may require an alteration while marketing the business education. He proposed

new 7P business school marketing mix (see figure 4). Three of his proposed elements are

covering the traditional marketing mix, namely- Price, Promotion and People. The new ones

Page | 40

are- Programme, Premiums, Prominence and Prospectus. His study found that the most

important marketing mix is a programme element which is followed by prominence element.

He divided the traditional promotion element into two areas– standard mass media

advertising which stays as the ‘promotion’ element in his new 7P; and the hardcopy

promotional material like university prospectus or leaflet and direct mail posted to the

prospective students are leveled under the ‘prospectus’ element. The price element remains

unchanged, although people element has a little addition like face-to-face teaching in addition

to traditional one’s personal contacts. He claims that the premium is the least important

element, although, lack of these facilities can diminish the attractiveness of a school because

prospective students consider these are the standard facilities of an institution.

Programme. The most prominent element is the programme which is the ‘product’

element in service marketing mix. The variables are the ‘range of major’ that a university

offers to study and the ‘range of electives’ that a study programme offers to choose. These

two variables are closely interrelated. The ‘programme duration’ is the third variable.

Premiums. Incentives or additional special values that come with a particular offering are

considered under the premiums element. The included variables under this element are –

availability of on-campus accommodation, total number of credits for the degree,

international student exchange opportunities, computer facilities, residential requirements of

the degree and the class size.

Prominence. This element is closely related to the university’s image. The variables are-

academic staffs’ reputation, league table ranking and on-line information. The university’s

website plays the main role to communicate its staffs’ profile and status related news quickly.

Price. The price element of the business school marketing mix includes the variables like

tuition fees, flexibility of tuition fees payment, flexibility of tuition approaches and

programme duration.

People. The people element is unlikely to the traditional service marketing mix. This

element includes the variables like- providing face-to-face tuition, personal contact with

prospective students and open days and information evenings.

Promotion. The business school marketing mix includes traditional press media

promotion, publicity and electronic marketing variables under the promotion element.

Prospectus. The hardcopy promotional material like university prospectus or leaflet and

direct mail posted to the prospective students included under the ‘prospectus’ element in

business school marketing mix.

Page | 41

3.4 Key Issues

After analysing related journal articles, following factors are found important for a

university to attract international students at its campus-

Developing market oriented study programmes. This would increase university’s

competitiveness

Developing a positive institutional image in market. It can be gained through the

following process-

identifying university’s main strength

segmenting the markets and choosing the appropriate one(s)

developing an effective positioning strategy

University needs to develop a Business School Marketing Mix

The marketing communication should be done through the line (TTL)- both in

commission paid medias such as electronic and print media and non-commissioned

based medias such as institution’s own web site, attending educational fairs,

maintaining alumni network, participating in various social events

Developing a dynamic university website. It plays a vital role while marketing the

products

Increasing strategic alliance with foreign institutions. It increase the university’s

market share

In recently published ‘Strategy of the Poznan University of Economics for the years 2013-

2020’ showed that the PUE’s strategic house consists of four strategic pillars, namely-

Education, Research, Functioning and Environment (PUE 2013). It also contains numerous

issues like university’s main challenges, vision, mission, objectives, tasks sheet and few

more. Issues those are related to this project work are–

University’s Main Challenges

Counteract to the drop in income from teaching

Fight off strong competition from outside institutions

Internationalize studies

Ensure the university’s financial safety

Foster a ‘team spirit’ in the context of promotional activity at the university faculties

and departments

Plan and budget promotional activities taking into account the expected benefits,

effect-evaluation mechanisms and pre-testing opportunities

Page | 42

University’s Vision

Prioritizing the opportunity to access sources of finance

Counteracting to the declining number of university applicants

University’s Main Objectives

Maintain financial stability

Improve the competitiveness of the university’s price offer

Develop a portfolio of studies in foreign languages

Make marketing communication more attractive and better tailored to target groups

In the university’s strategy for the year 2013-2020, financial issue is a prominent factor.

As the fee-paid international students is a potential source for universities to maintain its

financial stability, thus, it again answers to question- why the PUE needs to attract more

foreign students at its campus. And in response to accept the challenges and to meet its

objectives, the university must change its operational activities.

Page | 43

Chapter Four: Go! Pasia

4.1 Go! Pasia Overview

After analysing the university’s operational activities and its ongoing strategy, it is

observed that the PUE has yet to acknowledge the importance of international students at its

campus, more specifically – the Asian students. In addition to that the University has yet to

focus on partnering with business schools from Asia. OECD (2013b) report showed that

more than 52% of total international students come from Asia. The scenario is not different at

PUE either. In 2013/2014 academic year, PUE has 60 international students at its English

programme and 55% of them are from Asia (see table 8). But in University’s strategy for the

year 2013-2020, there are no specific policies to conduct any kind of marketing activities in

Asian countries. These have motivated the author to develop a market entry and development

strategy for PUE in those countries under the ‘Go! Pasia’ title.

Table 8: Foreign students at English Programme in 2013/2014 Academic Year

Asia Africa Europe America Country Student Country Student Country Student Country Student Azerbaijan 1 Egypt 1 France 1 USA 2 Bangladesh 4 Nigeria 9 Germany 5 Uruguay 1 China 3

Moldova 2

Ethiopia 1 Ukraine 6 Georgia 1

India 7 Iran 1 Kazakhstan 1 Lebanon 1 Pakistan 5 Russia 1 Turkey 7 Total 33 10 14 3

Source: Center for Studies in English, PUE

Go! Pasia is the author’s self proposed term for this project work. It can be interpreted as

‘Go! Poznan to Asia’. Under this marketing strategy, initially, the whole Asian market has

been segmented under five different markets; provided a detail overview of each market; and

identified potential competitors in those markets. Then university’s uniqueness has been

Page | 44

identified for marketing its offerings in target markets. And finally, a tentative market entry

and development strategies have been proposed.

In order to provide the market overview and present a list of competitors, data are mostly

collected from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), Oslo based Masterstudies Marketing

Group’s web portal masterstudies.com and Paris based Eduniversal’s web portal eduniversal-

ranking.com, Poland based educational web portal studyinpoland.pl, Warsaw School of

Economics’ (SGH) web portal sgh.waw.pl, Kozminski University’s web portal

kozminski.edu.pl and Poznan university of Economics’ web portal ue.poznan.pl. Here, the

data may show some dissimilarity with the facts and figures presented in this report earlier,

because UIS does not include the data of international students whose study period is less

than a full academic year.

4.2 Market Segmentation and Naming

The whole Asian continent is segmented under five different markets. While segmenting

the markets, counties’ geographical proximity and economical and socio-cultural conditions

have taken into consideration. The markets are- TechnoPole, ASEANPole, DesiPole,

SovietPole and MidPole.

Figure 5: Number of students went overseas from target markets in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

The author has used self-proposed name for each market. Each name has two parts. The

first parts are based on the countries’ economical advancement; countries’ membership in an

association; collective name of the region; former economic and political system of countries;

and countries’ geographical location in world map. And to keep a connection with the PUE,

second part of each market’s name contains the demonym for the people of Poland – Pole.

Page | 45

Due to the comforting reason, Pole is chosen over Poznanian, although, using Poznanian

would be more relevant to the project work.

Figure 6: Number of students came in Poland from target markets in 2012

Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

TechnoPole countries are from the East part of Asian continent. The countries are China,

Japan and South Korea. In addition to that, Taiwan is also considered as an individual

country and incorporated under this market segmentation. These countries are

technologically advanced and have cultural similarities.

ASEANPole countries are Malaysia and Vietnam from the Southeast part of Asia. Both

countries are the member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and have

many common interests in economic activities.

DesiPole countries are India, Nepal and Pakistan. These South Asian countries share

similar culture. The term ‘Desi’ is a Sanskrit word which means country and widely use for

the people, culture and products of South Asia. Thus, naming this market as DesiPole seems

relevant.

SovietPole has two former Soviet countries from Central and Northern Asia- those are

Kazakhstan and Russia. Both the countries use Russian as their official language.

MidPole market consists of four countries from Western Asia. Those are Iran, Iraq, Saudi

Arabia and Turkey. Arabic is the commonly spoken language among these countries except

Page | 46

Turkey. Due to the countries’ geographical location, they are also known as Middle East

countries.

Figure 7: Student from Target Markets at PUE’s English Programme in 2013/2014 academic year

Source: Author’s own work based on data collected from Center for Studies in English, PUE

Including Russia under SovietPole market and Turkey under MidPole market may raise

some arguments in term of those countries’ geographical location. Thus, it is better to

mention that both countries are located over two different continents. In Turkey, about 67

million (out of 76.67 million) people and 38 million (out of 143.5 million) people in Russia

(source: Wikipedia4) live in Asian parts; thus, the author seemed it reasonable to include both

countries under this project.

4.3.1 Market Overview – TechnoPole

TechnoPole countries are one of the highest contributors of international students in global

market. In 2012, China, Japan and South Korea sent 851,790 students abroad for higher

education. The average annual growth rate (AAGR) of these countries, in term of sending

students overseas, is more than 13% for the period of 2001-2012 and more than 10% for the

period of 2008-2012.

4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_countries_by_population

Page | 47

Table 9: Outflow of students from TechnoPole Countries (2001-2012) Country / Time China Japan South Korea

2001 165,250 57,150 73,682 2002 224,100 63,953 85,819 2003 312,380 64,993 91,515 2004 365,518 61,508 97,032 2005 403,128 64,291 100,895 2006 406,881 59,172 104,858 2007 429,958 55,361 109,996 2008 459,495 50,856 118,083 2009 516,940 45,417 127,237 2010 568,184 40,348 127,034 2011 650,335 35,744 127,929 2012 694,365 33,751 123,674

AAGR (2001-2012) 13.1% -4.8% 4.7% AAGR (2008-2012) 10.3% -10.2% 1.2%


Among these countries, China contributes the highest number of the international students

in global market. For Chinese Higher Education sector’s inability to meet the local demand,

each year thousands of students are sort of forced to go overseas. As of 2006, 47% of total

students who were seeking for admission at universities either had to discontinue their higher

studies or go abroad because of institutions’ limited capacity (Wang 2007). Thus, Chinese

students’ outbound movement seems normal and will remain the same for years to come.

In 2012, 694,365 students went overseas from China (see figure 5). Among the Chinese

students, most attractive study destinations (outside of Asia) are United States, Australia,

United Kingdom, France and Canada (see figure 8); however, neighboring country Japan

hosts almost one-seventh of the total students. Countries like Ukraine (4,341) and Belarus

(1,341) also attract a significant number of Chinese students each year.

Figure 8: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from China

Page | 48

Source: UIS (2014a)

In recent years, Japan hosts more international students than it sends out; and going

overseas tendency among the Japanese students is decreasing tremendously. However, in

2012, a total number of 33,751 students went out of country for their tertiary level education

(see figure 9). America, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Germany are the top five

study destinations for Japanese students. Other popular countries from Europe are Italy,

Switzerland, Hungry and Austria.

Figure 9: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Japan

Source: UIS (2014a)

The demand of foreign degrees among the Korean students has remained steady. It is the

third highest contributor of international students in world market. America, neighboring

country Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France and New Zealand are

the most popular countries among Korean students. In recent year, Hungry is also becoming a

popular study destination for them (247 students in 2012).

The data on Taiwanese students are not available in UIS database; however, according to

PAP – Science and Scholarship in Poland, 413 Taiwanese students have taken admission at

Polish universities in 2013/2014 academic year, but the number were much higher in

previous year - 468 students (PAP 2013; PAP 2014).

Page | 49

Table 10: Inflow of students in Poland from TechnoPole Countries (2001-2012)

Country / Time China Japan South Korea

2001 34 18 15 2002 39 16 9 2003 37 16 23 2004 51 19 39 2005 169 27 30 2006 306 28 43 2007 422 31 45 2008 191 34 40 2009 319 36 3 2010 405 37 31 2011 524 47 46 2012 549 55 61

AAGR (2008-2012) 26.4% 12.0% 10.5% Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

Gradually, Poland is also becoming a popular study destination among the Chinese

students. In 2012, 549 students came to study in Poland (see figure 6). The tendency of

Chinese students’ inflow shows that Poland’s EU membership has a positive impact on their

growth rate. A year after EU integration, the inflow went up by more than threefold. In

compare to the growth rate of Chinese students’ overseas movement in world, Poland’s

figure is highly impressive. For the period of 2008-2012, their overall AAGR was 10.3%,

whereas, it was two and half times higher for Poland– 25% (see table 9 and 10). Although,

there is a negative growth rate of Japanese students’ outbound movement overall, the case of

Poland is different. The country is experiencing a constant growth of Japanese students’

inflow each year.

4.3.2 Market Overview – ASEANPole Malaysia and Vietnam both are emerging economies in world. Because of having a

constant economic growth rate each year, these countries are struggling to meet the demand of skilled workers in country. Back in 1980s, the Malaysian government realized that the country would need to develop its higher education sector immediately. At that time, it could educate only six percent of its total population at tertiary level because of its inadequate facilities. Then the government took a strategic move and let foreign universities entering into the country by partnering with local institutions (Padlee et al. 2010). Once the country reached to a satisfactory level, the government took another important decision- making Malaysia as an educational hub in the region. The country had set a target that it would host 100,000 international students each year by 2010. Within a short period of time, Malaysia gained huge popularity among Asian international students, mostly because of the USA’s

Page | 50

negative movement towards Asian countries, especially Muslim nations, after September 11 (Sirat 2008). It let the Malaysia to realize 60% of its target. Now, the country is hosting more international students than sending out each year.

Because of the country’s geographical proximity, Australia and New Zealand and other Asian countries like Indonesia, Japan, India and Korea are among the most popular study destinations for Malaysian students. The quality education of America, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany also attract a significant number of Malaysian students each year. In recent years, nevertheless, Czech Republic (368 students in 2012) is also becoming a popular study destination because of its low tuition fees.

Table 11: Outflow of students from ASEANPole Countries (2001-2012)

Country / Time Malaysia Vietnam 2001 39,437 9,851 2002 41,642 12,201 2003 44,060 14,893 2004 43,477 17,038 2005 42,578 20,805 2006 44,183 23,334 2007 47,838 28,016 2008 51,469 36,518 2009 55,076 43,949 2010 54,724 47,272 2011 55,037 52,028 2012 55,579 53,802

AAGR (2001-2012) 3.1% 15.4% AAGR (2008-2012) 1.9% 9.7%


On the other hand, Vietnam’s vulnerable higher education system is struggling to meet the

national demand of qualified labour force. As a result, the country is sending a huge number

of students abroad every year for higher education. Due to the historical relation, America is

the top favorite overseas study destination among those students. Other English speaking

nations like United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand also attract a significant number of

Vietnamese students each year. In recent years, surprisingly, Czech Republic, Ukraine and

also Hungry are gaining the popularity among the Vietnamese students (766, 352 and 159

students respectively in 2012) too.

Page | 51

Table 12: Inflow of students in Poland from ASEANPole Countries (2001-2012) Country / Time Malaysia Vietnam

2001 1 156 2002 1 133 2003 1 148 2004 1 161 2005 1 225 2006 2 226 2007 5 198 2008 38 208 2009 62 183 2010 110 192 2011 132 144 2012 160 166

AAGR (2008-2012) 35.9% -5.6% Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

For a long peoriod of time, Poland could not attract students from Malaysia. However,

2008 onwards, the country is hosting a vast number of Malasian students every year (see

table 12). On the other hand, Poland has a long history of hosting Vietnamese students

because of the country’s past political background.

4.3.3 Market Overview - DesiPole

The existence of quality education system in Indian subcontinent can be traced down since

the ancient period- at least 500 years Before the Christ; and the history of world class

university ‘Nalanda’ goes back to 5th century. The university was in operation for about 800

years and accommodated 10,000 scholars and 2,000 teachers before being destroyed by the

Turkish invader Bakhtyar Khilji in 1193. However, the modern education system was

inaugurated by Britain in 1818.

Their colonial period gradually transformed the Indian people’s thinking pattern over two

centuries (starting from second half of 18th century until 1947) and realized them the

importance of higher education, although, initially it was limited in the elite class only.

At present, alongside China, India is the other rapidly growing economy in Asia and

Pakistan is an emerging country. And to keep its economy at a sustainable level, higher

education sector is becoming a major concern in both countries. However, insufficient

funding, limited capacity and two different views of central and regional governments are

restraining the potential growth of Indian higher education sector. Furthermore, country’s

vast population is a major obstacle for central government to provide equal opportunities

Page | 52

(Altbach 2009). Thus, to meet the public demand, private institutions are gradually becoming

the main stream in India; and the privileged class is sending their children overseas. For a

long period of time, India is the second highest contributor of international students in world

market (see figure 5).

Table 13: Outflow of students from DesiPole Countries (2001-2012)

Country / Time India Nepal Pakistan 2001 74,502 4,748 16,128 2002 100,522 6,278 20,262 2003 119,158 7,100 21,647 2004 134,082 7,625 23,177 2005 146,267 9,307 24,048 2006 145,773 11,307 25,633 2007 161,741 15,818 27,785 2008 183,910 19,477 30,427 2009 203,497 24,579 34,439 2010 209,018 27,275 37,681 2011 204,249 29,348 39,274 2012 189,472 29,184 37,962

AAGR (2001-2012) 8.5% 16.5% 7.8% AAGR (2008-2012) 0.7% 10.1% 5.5%


Because of the country’s software based supremacy and willingness to get scholarship and

other educational benefits, America and Germany have become the fortune land for Indian

students. And the United Kingdom is still enjoying its colonial legacy from a parallel

position. Australia, Canada and New Zealand attract only those Indian students who have a

very rich family. Among middle class students, thus, countries like Russia and Ukraine are

becoming a thoughtful destination for higher studies (see figure 10).

Figure 10: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from India

Page | 53

Source: UIS (2014a)

On the other hand, Nepal requires a massive development at its higher education sector.

Among many obstacles, the country is mainly having the lack of resources and qualified

academics; and suffered by frequent changes in education polices and political

transformation (Bhusal 2011). Additionally, there are no private institutions at tertiary level.

All these factors are pushing thousands of Nepalese students out of home each year.

In 2001, only 4,748 Nepalese students went overseas for higher education but in 2012, the

number raised to 29,184 with an AAGR of 16.5% (see table 13). It shows the demand of

foreign degrees is increasing in Nepal rapidly. Although, India is attracting one sixth of the

total students, a significant number of Nepalese students goes to rich countries like America,

Australia and United Kingdom too. Other popular destinations from Europe are Finland and

Germany and Japan from Asia.

In Pakistan, the scenario of higher education system is almost similar like India.

Additionally, the country lacks of quality teaching staffs (Memon et al. 2010; Memon 2007)

and going through an instable political situation. All these issues are pushing the Pakistani

students out of country for a better future. Among them, United Kingdom is the most favorite

study destination. Other popular countries are Canada, Australia, Sweden and Germany from

Europe, UAE and Saudi Arabia from Middle East, Malaysia from Southeast Asia and

Kyrgyzstan from Central Asia.

Table 14: Inflow of students in Poland from DesiPole Countries (2001-2012) Country / Time India Nepal Pakistan

2001 22 0 21 2002 24 0 10 2003 28 1 7 2004 104 0 16 2005 196 3 19 2006 176 32 67 2007 270 26 37 2008 370 126 78 2009 355 66 75 2010 343 45 54 2011 280 67 70 2012 252 82 56

AAGR (2008-2012) -9.6% -10.7% -8.3% Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

Polish universities have yet to get the popularity among DesiPole students. The country was almost unknown to South Asian students until Poland’s EU integration. Its example is highly visible among the Indian students. In 2003, only 28 students came to study in Poland but the number raised to 104 in 2004. Since then the growth rate has remained constant.

Page | 54

Similar phenomenon is noticeable among Nepalese students too. Until 2004, just one student (in 2003) studied at a Polish university. But the number went up to 32 in 2005 and 82 in 2012 (see table 14). The scenario is not different for Pakistani students either.

For PUE, it is highly recommended to focus on Indian market immediately. Because of the country’s insufficient infrastructure and resources, it cannot produce required skilled labour forces locally. Thus, India will be depending on foreign degrees for a long period of time and PUE needs to exploit this opportunity. Besides that, if Poland’s country image is compared with Ukraine, it will have all the competitive advantages in terms of social, political and economical conditions; and yet the Ukraine has ten times more Indian students than Poland in 2012 (see figure 11).

Figure 11: Outflow of students from India to Ukraine


4.3.4 Market Overview – MidPole

The long reputation of Persian education system goes back to third century. But in

contemporary, the country’s higher education sector is in turmoil. Under the previous

government, country’s higher education system went through extensive transformation

(Kadivar 2014; Farhady et al. 2010). It had experienced political influence to recruit faculty

members, suspending highly skilled teaching staffs, discrimination in students’ recruitment

and last but not least, Islamisation of whole education system. Nonetheless, the current

government has taken number of initiatives to revive its quality and earlier glory.

Iranian students’ movement is mainly directed towards the developed countries like USA,

UK, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia and Sweden. Yet, countries like Hungary, Ukraine

Page | 55

and Azerbaijan are attracting a huge numbers of Iranian students lately (947, 905 and 783

students respectively in 2012).

Table 15: Outflow of students from MidPole Countries (2001-2012)

Country / Time Iran Iraq Saudi Arabia Turkey 2001 20,469 5,067 11,082 50,116 2002 20,907 5,060 12,152 53,490 2003 21,721 5,268 11,369 53,348 2004 23,061 4,284 11,692 53,551 2005 24,613 5,474 12,384 53,402 2006 23,989 6,877 13,750 35,404 2007 28,614 7,967 20,291 37,218 2008 32,245 9,287 25,178 41,906 2009 39,142 10,541 31,900 47,766 2010 44,144 12,574 43,367 49,688 2011 49,552 13,121 51,657 51,189 2012 51,549 14,465 62,535 51,487

AAGR (2001-2012) 8.4% 9.5% 15.7% 0.2% AAGR (2008-2012) 11.7% 11.1% 22.7% 5.1%


Although the country had a huge potential, Saddam Hussein’s rise had diluted Iraq’s

higher education sector in all aspects through political influences (Harb 2008). The country’s

invasion in Kuwait in 1990, first, brought an impose on UN sanction in Iraq which made the

higher education sector isolated and pooper; and foreign invasion in Iraq in 2003, later on,

did the rests- destroying numbers of universities and killing numerous academics and many

of them were forced to flee overseas. These have left the country’s higher education sector

with nothing but a quest for reformation. Gradual increase in number of students’ foreign

movement is a sign of such quest (see table 15). They usually prefer to go towards

neighboring counties and most importantly, low cost countries. Jordan attracts highest

number of Iraqi students and hosted 2,959 students in 2012; other two popular destinations

are United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. India also hosts a significant number of students

from Iraq each year (957 students in 2012). In recent years, Belarus and Romania are

becoming a popular study destination too. In 2012, 145 students came to study in Belarus and

138 students in Romania. However, the USA and the UK are reluctant to recruit Iraqi

students. In 2012, UK hosted 1,251 students and USA far less - only 784 students.

Saudi Arabia’s history of higher education sector is rather new - only for last six decades.

The country’s first university was established in 1957. Before discovering the oil in 1938, the

country was poor and had only 700 students at 12 schools. According to Simmons and

Simmons (1994) [as cited by Alamri (2011)], this number went up to 42,000 students at 365

schools shortly. At present, the country has 23 public universities (Alamri 2011). The Saudi

Page | 56

government’s quest of having internationally skilled labour force has recently established a

program, called King Abdulla Scholarship Program, under which thousands of students go

abroad to pursue their higher education in well developed countries. In the case of female

students, the government also bears all costs for male guardians to accompany them during

their study period. Presently, the country is the fourth highest international students’

contributor in global market (see figure 5). And in contrast to Iraq, America, United

Kingdom and Australia are the top three study destinations for Saudi Arabian international

students (see figure 12). Government’s royal scholarship program mainly motivates Saudi

students to choose those countries.

Figure 12: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Saudi Arabia Source: UIS (2014a)

In compare to other MidPole countries, Turkish higher education system is much more

internationalized. Since 2004/2005 academic year, Turkish students enjoy the privilege of

going overseas through ERASMUS programme of European Union. A total number of

14,412 students went on this exchange programme in 2012/2013 academic year (EC 2014);

yet the country is sending a huge number of full time students abroad every year. Among

them, Germany is the most popular country in Europe. Besides other most developed

countries like America and United Kingdom, Austria and France, emerging EU member

countries like Bulgaria and Hungary are also attracting a huge number of Turkish students

recently. Ukraine, remarkably, is also a popular study destination for them (see figure 13).

Page | 57

Figure13: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Turkey

Source: UIS (2014a)

The popularity of Polish higher education is staggeringly increasing among the Saudi

Arabian students. For the period of 2008-2012, an AAGR of Saudi students in Poland was

more than 55% (see table 16). This is the highest percentage of growth rate the country has

ever experienced from any Asian countries. Additionally, the growth rate of Turkish students

is also highly impressive.

Another noticeable issue is the inflow of MidPole students in Poland has gone up mainly

after the country’s integration with European Union. In 2004, there were only 25 students

from MidPole countries but it went up to 48 in next year and 122 in following year. The

number has reached to 954 in 2012. This phenomenon urges that Poland should capitalize its

EU membership for attracting more foreign students in the country.

Table 16: Inflow of students in Poland from MidPole Countries (2001-2012) Country / Time Iran Iraq Saudi Arabia Turkey

2001 8 6 0 1 2002 6 6 1 3 2003 11 4 0 7 2004 7 7 1 10 2005 14 14 4 16 2006 48 18 9 47 2007 66 35 25 67 2008 39 46 42 89 2009 49 66 64 133 2010 65 89 145 158 2011 95 92 267 290 2012 118 87 388 361

AAGR (2008-2012) 27.7% 15.9% 55.6% 35.0% Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

Page | 58

4.3.5 Market Overview – SovietPole By being the economical and political centre of the former Soviet Union, Russia,

especially Moscow, had an experience of students migration flood both from inside and

outside of the union. Still the country is one of most popular study destination among many

of post-Soviet countries (see figure 14). However, after collapsing the union, Russia and so

does the Kazakhstan had to go under a massive transformation in every sector including the

higher education (Heyneman 2010; Telegina & Schwengel 2012). Since then, both the

countries have taken numbers of initiative to modernize its education system. For example, to

mark up with the international standard and to be a part of the European Higher Education

Area, Russia and Kazakhstan have signed the Bologna Declaration in 2003 and 2010

respectively (Telegina & Schwengel 2012; Yergebekov & Temirbekova 2012). But still both

the countries are sending a huge number of students abroad for tertiary level education and

the number is growing each year (see table 17).

Table 17: Outflow of students from SovietPole Countries (2001-2012)

Country / Time Kazakhstan Russia 2001 23,339 29,832 2002 27,411 34,701 2003 25,726 36,977 2004 27,658 37,661 2005 29,388 39,258 2006 28,196 41,528 2007 30,467 43,304 2008 46,816 44,611 2009 36,048 47,532 2010 39,608 50,148 2011 42,686 51,432 2012 43,039 51,171

AAGR (2001-2012) 5.6% 4.9% AAGR (2008-2012) -2.1% 3.4%

Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on July 18, 2014)

Although the centralized administration system has gone a long ago, Russia is still a

famous study destination among Kazakhstani students. In 2012, almost three-fourth (29,865

students) of the country’s total outbound students went to Russia for higher education. Other

famous countries are Czech Republic, Germany and Poland (hosted 979, 694 and 384

students respectively in 2012). Turkey and Malaysia are also the emerging study abroad

destinations for Kazakhstani students. On the other hand, Germany, France, United Kingdom,

Ukraine, Belarus and Finland are the most popular countries among Russian students in

Europe (see figure 14).

Page | 59

Figure14: Inbound and Outbound Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Russia

Source: UIS (2014a)

For a long period of time, Polish universities have a huge popularity among Kazakhstani

students. Even before joining the EU, Poland has been hosting around 400 Kazakh students

each year. For Russian students too, Poland’s EU membership did not bring any dramatic

changes (see table 18).

Table 18: Inflow of students in Poland from SovietPole Countries (2001-2012)

Country / Time Kazakhstan Russia

2001 409 289 2002 411 291 2003 430 346 2004 422 381 2005 447 452 2006 457 456 2007 449 488 2008 426 459 2009 397 494 2010 399 543 2011 369 476 2012 384 553

AAGR (2008-2012) -2.6% 4.7% Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 18.07.2014)

4.4 Market Competition

While targeting students from 'Go! Pasia’ countries, PUE will face competitions from both

within and outside the country. In this project, the author has considered only European

Page | 60

universities as the PUE’s competitors. To distinguish them, the competitors are segmented

into two different categories –

Competitors at National Level and

Competitors at European Level

4.4.1 Competitors at National Level

In Eduniversal’s ranking, PUE has got 3 Palmes5 of Excellence in 2012 (Eduniversal

2012). On the other hand, Warsaw School of Economics has 5 Palmes and Kozminski

University has 4 Palmes. Thus, these two business schools are considered as the PUE’s main

competitors at national level. Other competing universities are –

University of Warsaw - School of Management (Eduniversal Ranking – 4 Palmes)

Cracow University of Economics

Lazarski University

University of Economics in Katowice

Wrocław University of Economics

4.4.2 Competitors at European Level

Poland is an emerging European country in terms of attracting international students at its

universities. Thus, universities from highly developed countries like United Kingdom,

Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and other popular study destinations are not the PUE’s

competitors at the present, rather, considering universities from other emerging countries is

more rational. For this report, thus, to identify the PUE’s rival business schools at European

Level, 14 emerging countries have been chosen. Out of them, 12 are the EU member

countries – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal,

Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Other two European countries are Belarus and

Ukraine. Those countries’ competitiveness is examined on the basis of hosting total number

of students from PUE’s target markets.

TechnoPole Countries: The main competitors are –

For Chinese students: Ukraine, Spain, Belarus, Hungry and Czech Republic (see

figure 15)

For Japanese students: Hungry, Spain and Czech Republic (see figure 16)

For South Korean students: Hungry, Spain and Czech Republic (see figure 17) 5 Eduniversal rating Palmes of Excellence: 5 Palmes - Universal Business Schools with strong global

influence; 4 Palmes: Top Business Schools with significant international influence; 3 Palmes: Excellent

Business Schools with reinforcing international influence; 2 Palmes: Good Business Schools with strong

regional influence; 1 Palmes: Business Schools with considerable local influence

Page | 61

Figure15: Outflow of students from China to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 16: Outflow of students from Japan to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 17: Outflow of students from South Korea to 15 European countries in 2012

Page | 62

Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014) ASEANPole Countries: The main competitors are –

For Malaysian students: Czech Republic (see figure 18)

For Vietnamese students: Czech Republic, Ukraine and Hungry (see figure 19)

Figure 18: Outflow of students from Malaysia to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure19: Outflow of students from Vietnam to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

DesiPole Countries: The main competitors are –

For Indian students: Ukraine, Spain and Czech Republic (see figure 20)

For Nepalese students: Czech Republic (see figure 21)

For Pakistani students: Ukraine and Spain (see figure 22)

Page | 63

Figure 20: Outflow of students from India to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 21: Outflow of students from Nepal to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 22: Outflow of students from Pakistan to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Page | 64

MidPole Countries: The main competitors are – For Iranian students: Hungry, Ukraine and Belarus (see figure 23) For Iraqi students: Belarus and Czech Republic (see figure 24) For Saudi Arabian students: Hungry (see figure 25) For Turkish students: Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungry (see figure 26)

Figure 23: Outflow of students from Iran to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 24: Outflow of students from Iraq to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 25: Outflow of students from Saudi Arabia to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Page | 65

Figure 26: Outflow of students from Turkey to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

SovietPole Countries: The main competitors are – For Kazakhstani students: Czech Republic and Belarus (see figure 27) For Russian students: Ukraine, Czech Republic, Belarus and Spain (see figure 28)

Figure 27: Outflow of students from Kazakhstan to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 28: Outflow of students from Russia to 15 European countries in 2012 Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Page | 66

Table 19: Key competitors in target markets and their influence

Target Market Influential competitors in target market (1 = High & 5 = Low) Belarus Bulgaria Czech Hungary Latvia Spain Ukraine

TechnoPole China 3 .. 5 4 .. 2 1 Japan .. .. .. 1 .. 2 .. S. Korea .. .. 3 1 .. 2 ..

ASEANPole Malaysia .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. Vietnam .. .. 1 3 .. .. 2

DesiPole India .. .. 3 .. .. 2 1 Nepal .. .. 1 .. .. .. .. Pakistan .. .. .. .. .. 2 1

MidPole

Iran 3 .. .. 1 .. .. 2 Iraq 1 .. 2 .. .. .. .. S. Arabia .. .. .. 1 .. .. .. Turkey .. 1 .. 3 .. .. 2

SovietPole Kazakhstan 2 .. 1 .. .. .. .. Russia 3 .. 2 .. 5 4 1


Table 20: Most influential competitors in numbers of target market

Competitor Country

Competing position in target markets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Belarus 1 1 3 .. .. Bulgaria 1 .. .. .. ..

Czech Rep. 4 2 2 .. 1 Hungary 4 .. 2 1 .. Latvia .. .. .. .. 1 Spain .. 5 .. 1 ..

Ukraine 4 3 .. .. .. Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Figure 29: Inflow of Turkish students in Bulgaria Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Page | 67

Figure 30: Inflow of Kazakhstani, Malaysian and Vietnamese students in Czech Republic Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Table 21: Inflow of Iranian, Japanese, Saudi Arabian and South Korean students in Hungary Country /

Year Iran Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea

2005 382 13 4 13 2006 404 16 5 15 2007 496 25 8 27 2008 579 48 15 53 2009 666 95 48 45 2010 824 161 150 108 2011 901 188 195 202 2012 947 214 218 247


Figure 31: Inflow of Chinese, Indian and Russian students in Ukraine Source: Author’s own work based on UIS (2014b) data (extracted on 22.07.2014)

Page | 68

After analysing the data, it is noticeable that business schools from Ukraine, Bulgaria,

Czech Republic and Hungary are the main competitors for PUE. Among them, Ukraine is the

most popular study destination among the top two international student contributor countries.

Besides that, Russia which contributes the highest number of international students to Poland

among the targeted countries has pro-Ukrainian movement too.

Czech Republic and Hungary both is the number one competitor in four different markets

each and Bulgaria’s geographical proximity makes the country significantly popular among

Turkish students. Furthermore, Spanish business schools are also highly popular among most

of the PUE’s target markets.

Spain has numbers of top ranked business schools in Europe, thus, for the time being,

competing with Spanish business schools is not rational for PUE. Rather, the University

should observe and analyze the strategies of business schools from other four countries

intensively and adopt appropriate policies in order to divert the students to its campus. The

potential competing business schools at European Level are -

Business Schools from Bulgaria:

International University College, Sofia (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

University of Economics – Varna

Business Schools from Czech Republic:

University of Economics, Prague (Eduniversal Ranking - 5 Palmes)

Brno International Business School (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

CMC Graduate School of Business (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

Faculty of Business and Economics, Mendel University in Brno

Business Schools from Hungary:

Faculty Of Business Administration - Corvinus University Of Budapest

(Eduniversal Ranking - 4 Palmes)

Central European University - CEU Business School (Eduniversal Ranking - 4

Palmes)

International Business School (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

Faculty Of Business And Economics - University Of Pécs (Eduniversal Ranking - 3

Palmes)

Faculty of Economics - Corvinus University Of Budapest

Budapest Business School

Business Schools from Ukraine:

International Institute of Business (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

Page | 69

International Management Institute - MIM Kyiv (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

Kiev National Economic University (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

Kyiv Mohyla Business School (Eduniversal Ranking - 3 Palmes)

Lviv Institute Of Management Lim Business School (Eduniversal Ranking – 2

Palmes)

Kyiv School of Economics

Ternopil National Economic University

Wisconsin International University Ukraine

4.5.1 Identifying Uniqueness at Country Level

Until now, no research work has been conducted on factors that influenced international

students while choosing Poland as their study destination. Thus, identifying Poland’s country

image among the international students is quite difficult. However, by referencing to the

country level pull factors concept, the author has come up with following issues to identify

Poland’s uniqueness –

Like Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Hungary, all are EU member countries. All

these countries, more or less, have similar circumstances. Cost of living is way lower

than Western European countries

At present, Ukraine is going through political turmoil which might have created

negative country image among international students

Per capita income for Hungary and Poland is almost same. Czech Republic has the

highest and Bulgaria has the lowest per capita income among these countries

Poland’s has three times higher per capita income than Ukraine

During the study, working facilities for students are merely available in all these

countries

Apart from Ukraine, other environments and safety issues are at satisfactory level in all

the countries

Along with Czech Republic, Poland also has a well-developed rich neighboring

country- Germany

Both Czech Republic and Poland have long history of higher education dating back to

14th century

For being a neighboring country, Bulgaria has an advantage of attracting Turkish

students

Like Bulgaria, Ukraine also has a similar competitive factor for Russian students

Page | 70

Due to the country’s long reputation of quality education, Poland could stand alone among

the competitors unless Czech Republic would have the similar enriching history. For

distinguishing Poland, thus, author has played emperor and chosen the country’s glorious

economic growth rate during the recent global financial crisis as its uniqueness (see figure

32). It is the only EU member country which had a positive GDP growth rate in 2009. At

country level, the idea of using ‘Crisis-proof Country’ related information in positioning

statement can be considered.

Figure 32: EU 27 Countries’ Real GDP growth rate in 2009 Source: Author’s own work based on Eurostat (2014) data (extracted on July 28, 2014)

4.5.2 Identifying Uniqueness at City Level

Generally, a country’ capital city is the most attractive overseas study destination among

foreign students. Besides that, because of students’ geographical awareness from their

primary level education, a capital city often comes on top of mind while looking for

universities in a particular country. And four of the PUE’s competitors at national level

(Warsaw School of Economics, University of Warsaw – School of Management, Kozminski

University and Lazarski University) are located in capital city - Warsaw. Mentioning

Poznan’s competitiveness in terms of providing better facilities than the country’s capital,

thus, would be highly ambitious. And Competitors from other three regional cities (Cracow

University of Economics, Wroclaw University of Economics and University of Economics in

Katowice) might have equal pull factors at city level like Poznan.

Although, ‘The Capital City of Poznan’ has the lowest unemployment rate in Poland, it

would not make any difference to international students. The country’s Job Market has yet to

be foreigner-friendly. However, using Poznan’s proximity to German capital ‘Berlin’ can be

Page | 71

an influential city level pull factor, but it has a chance to raise criticism within the country if

patriotism issues are considered.

The rationale for using this factor, according to author, is that the Berlin is a well

recognized city in world and many students might not have heard of Warsaw but this German

capital. Thus, it is recommended to capitalize Berlin’s equity but in a cautious manner. For

attracting more foreign students at campus, PUE must not sabotage its national level

reputation and provoke the critics.

4.5.3 Identifying Uniqueness at Institutional Level

In Perspektywy’s ranking, PUE has come in second position among the business schools

in Poland, whereas SGH has ranked on top and Kozminski University has placed on third in

the year 2014. At national level, both PUE and SGH have almost similar prestige. However,

Kozminski and SGH both have international recognition and regularly appear in Financial

Time’s top European Business School ranking. In term of academic potential, both PUE and

Kozminski stand at a similar position, but in internationalization activities, Kozminski

outcast the PUE with a significant margin.

Figure 33: Warsaw School of Economics’ national level performance in 2014

Source: Perspektywy (2014)

Other pull factors at institutional level, most universities provide more or less similar

facilities. However, PUE’s technological advancement, strength of delivering classes by

using the modern technology in every classroom and availability of internet facilities at every

corner of university, can be a distinguished feature that no other university can claim by far.

Page | 72

Figure 34: Poznan University of Economics’ national level performance in 2014


Figure 35: Kozminski University’s national level performance in 2014


Although, differentiating PUE in term of institutional level image may seem quite hard,

but its national level ranking and technological advancement leave two options for author to

choose a positioning statement from – either ‘Country’s second best Economics University’

or ‘Electronic Campus’. Here, again the author has to play emperor and choose universities

ranking over ‘Electronic Campus’ for its positioning statement. However, a technological

facility is used while describing why the PUE is Second Best University in the category.

Page | 73

4.5.4 Identifying Uniqueness at Programme Level

The PUE has a tendency, in term of offering programmes in English, to be a follower in

the country. Offering specialization in International Business (IB) is a common academic

culture among the Polish business schools. Most universities are offering Finance too. In that

case, offering E-Business may seem contemporary and more market oriented. Likewise PUE,

Wroclaw University of Economics offers ‘Business Informatics’ too but only at Bachelor

level. Moreover, the PUE has yet to run both the Finance and E-Business programmes. In

addition to that, the IB’s quality is still questionable. Students have minimum scope to choose

an optional module. The only competitive factor, according to the author, is the tuition fees-

one of the lowest among business schools in Poland. However, using the university’s price

competitiveness in any form of communication may raise the question of its quality. Thus,

avoiding programme level competitiveness seems more appropriate.

4.5.5 Positioning Statement

After finding the uniqueness at different levels, the author has come up with following

positioning statement and its description:

Statement: Country’s second best Economics University

Description: Poland is the only EU member country that has survived recent financial

crisis. And Poznan University of Economics is the country’s second best Economics

University located in between Berlin and Warsaw. The University has reputed teaching staffs

in the field of business and economics; offers market oriented study programmes; delivers

courses by using modern technology in its every classroom; and provides high speed internet

facilities at every corner of its campus buildings.

4.6 Positioning Strategy

Plenty of academic articles are written on higher education internationalization,

marketization or commercialization; reasons of students’ international movement, factors

affect international students’ destination choice or many other topics related to international

study and student. But by far, no single article portraits a complete strategy for universities

foreign market development activities. Mazzarol et al. (2003), however, have identified the

universities’ foreign entry mode a decade ago. According to them, there are three waves of

higher education internationalization:

First wave is the usual model. International students are coming over the host country

Second wave is the forward integration. Universities are moving towards the foreign

markets through an alliance or coalition and offering ‘twinning’ programme

Page | 74

Third wave has two directions. One – establishing branch campus in foreign countries.

And other one is delivering the whole programme ‘on line’ by using information and

communications technologies

And only Lowry & Owens (2001) has developed the university’s positioning strategy but

only in the context of United States of America. While there is a lack of proper guideline, so

far, universities are using their own strategies to attract foreign students at their campuses.

Their main activities are attending fairs at students’ home countries, distributing university

leaflets and brochures, developing online study material by prominent faculty members,

developing attractive university web portal, sending direct mails, advertising in social media

or students’ touch points, establishing student recruitment office overseas, using recruiting

agents and few more.

Thus, to develop the PUE’s Asian market entry and development strategy, the author has

to depend on Mazzarol et al. (2003) and Lowry & Owens (2001) largely. In addition to that,

the author has also taken into consideration a recently published manual, named 88 ways to

recruit International Students, by a New York based consulting company on international

students’ recruitment at American colleges and universities- named International Education

Advantage, LLC [Source: Mayers & Waxman-Lenz (2012)].

4.6.1 Implementation Phases

By considering each target market’s importance, the author has proposed to divide the

implementation approach into three phases:

Prestiz Babies Prestiz Dogs and Prestiz Cats

Prestiz Babies are highly important countries which contribute the highest number of

students to Poland. The PUE needs to enter into those countries immediately. Seven countries

are considered at this prime level-

o Russia and Kazakhstan o China and Taiwan from TechnoPole market o Saudi Arabia and Turkey from MidPole market and o India from DesiPole market

Prestiz Dogs are semi important countries under ‘Go! Pasia’ strategy. Once the PUE

creates satisfactory awareness in Prestiz Babies countries, it needs to focus on Prestiz Dogs

countries. Three countries fall under this category-

o Malaysia and Vietnam and o Iran from MidPole market

Page | 75

Prestiz Cats countries are least important under this strategy. Although, they all have huge

potentials but the University may take a while to enter into these countries in compare to

others under this strategy. The countries are -

o Iraq from MidPole market o Nepal and Pakistan from DesiPole market and o South Korea and Japan from TechnoPole market

4.6.2 Implementation Approaches

Under this strategy, it is recommended to adopt the traditional model initially– hosting

international students at home. It requires minimum cost. Additionally, partnering with local

institutions in target markets is also recommended. The university needs to come up with a

proper strategy while creating partnership. Though, it involves cost but it will boost up PUE’s

awareness and increase the acceptance level among the international students. Furthermore,

from time to time, PUE can use those local universities’ infrastructure, influence and

reputation for its marketing purposes.

4.6.3 Implementation Strategies

To develop a successful positioning strategy, universities require applying its marketing

mix appropriately (Lowry & Owens 2001). Under this strategy, the author has used the

concept of ‘Business School 7P Marketing Mix’ proposed by Ivy (2008). However, under

few elements, it was necessary to incorporate and eliminate some variables while developing

the marketing mix for PUE. Thus, the author felt an urge to rename it as ‘Prestiz Mix’ (see

figure 36), because it solely focuses on PUE. The application of each element is described

here in details.

Figure 36: Marketing Mix of Poznan University of Economics Source: Author’s own work

Page | 76

Programme: The application of this element should be-

The university needs to introduce more programmes in English and offer them in both

semesters of an academic year. In first year, students learn basic courses at both

bachelor and master level. Thus, if the university reschedules the study modules, it

will be able to admit more students from two intakes

While naming a programme, PUE needs to apply branding tactics in order to

differentiate a programme from other universities’ similar programmes. It may sound

unreasonable to traditional universities or university managers, but in contemporary,

there is a market competition and one needs to stand out among the crowd. If other

universities are offering a programme with similar name, it instinctively falls under

the comparison list in students’ mind

The PUE needs to develop a separate webpage for each programme and if possible in

different languages. The page would contain the detail overview of a programme and

also its courses. Many students want to understand the outcome of each study module.

Additionally, the university needs to develop an electronic brochure containing all

information related to a programme and its courses, university facilities, overview of

the city and country; and make it available for downloading. Avoiding any file or

documents in MS Word format is highly recommended.

It is also recommended to develop a brochure at least in two different languages -

different brochure for different market. It should contain English as a common and a

highest spoken language from a particular market, for example, Chinese or Mandarin

for TechnoPole, Russian for SovietPole, Hindi for DesiPole, and Arabic for MidPole.

Apart from India, students from most countries of ‘Go! Pasia’ markets know English

but face difficulties to understand deeply while reading instructions (Mayers &

Waxman-Lenz 2012). Moreover, Polish universities require complex documentations

like legalization or apostille certificate on diploma and transcripts. These are

completely new to most Asian students because they are familiar with UK or USA

typed documentations. Although, universities provide required information,

understanding instructions in English often becomes problematic. Thus, reading a

document in students’ most familiar language becomes more effective.

Another important factor is taking decision - students can gather information related

to their potential overseas study destinations; but parents, in most cases, take the

ultimate decision because they are the ones who will bear all costs. And it is highly

Page | 77

possible that many parents from China and as well as from other countries have

minimum English skill. Thus, by being able to read a brochure in own language

would give a positive impression to any particular university.

In addition to the linguistic issue, the university must consider the cultural differences

while developing a brochure. Using a common image may not be suitable for all

markets because an image may have different views in two different countries, for

example, Russian culture is completely different from Saudi Arabian culture

Premiums: In addition to the details mentioned under ‘Programme’ element, the webpage

should also include other facilities with a particular study programme. According to the

author’s own experience, PUE’s website does not highlight a student’s potential facilities and

also ignores to claim its credits in many cases. The university needs to -

Mention the chance to be an exchange student at PUE’s partner institutions

Mention the chance to get a scholarship (ERASMUS). Many other Polish Business

schools highlight this scope on their websites

Mention the class size

Highlight accommodation facilities

Claim the benefit of its technological advancement

The PUE must resolve these issues immediately. The other highly important issues may

come under this ‘premiums’ elements are-

University should appoint English speaking staffs, at least the manager, at its

dormitories. Also, any kind of information should be given in both languages –

English and Polish

The university should provide a merit scholarship to foreign students like their

counterparts. It’s a motivational factor

PUE should offer scholarship (partial or full free tuitions) to one or two students at

Master level every year. Hundreds of websites are publishing information on available

scholarships for foreigners in different countries and millions of students are browsing those

web portals regularly. By doing this, the university would be able to create global awareness

at a minimum cost. Many unsuccessful students to get the scholarship would reconsider PUE

as their study destination because of its low tuition cost

Prominence: PUE has recently redesigned its website. Although, the newest one is much

better than the older one, still four idioms, according to the author’s professional experience

in advertising media, seem reasonable to mention (Alexander 2012) -

A great waste-master

Page | 78

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Putting lipstick on a pig and

Airing your dirty laundry on public

The web designer has managed all the possible activities to waste most important spaces

on homepage – both in Polish and English sites. Due to relevance of this report, the author

has found it rational to mention the problems in English version only.

Next to the University’s logo, the designer could use the empty space more

efficiently

The permanent placement of social networks button on middle-right position

hampers the fresh look of the entire site

In between the main picture and footer part, contents’ repetition has made the

homepage clumsy

In subsequent pages, if the sub-headings had placed aligning with the headings, it

would have shown the following navigation buttons without scrolling them down.

The homogeneous size of content boxes, in addition to that, increases the length of

scrolling down bar unnecessarily

In the body part, the area is divided into 50-50 ratio which fails to make the

contents important, rather, boxes looks more prominent. It could be 67-33 ratio

Popping up ‘News’ section in between a particular topic is highly confusing

Duplication of contents and lack of consistency are also highly noticeable

throughout the website

Absence of ‘return to homepage’ option from many sub-sites is also noticeable

The most important issue is tracing the faculty members down seem climbing the

Mount Everest during summer. Within the prominence element, reputation of

academic staffs increases the university’s image

Other important factor- the university’s ranking is nowhere mentioned on English

version of the site

Furthermore, the ‘Cooperation’ button is not incorporated in English version which

could provide information on university’s international presence and students’

potential destinations to go on an exchange programme

It is recommended that the university should immediately redesign its English version

website. And the considerable issues are –

Make the English version webpage as a default homepage. In many countries in

Asia, the internet speed is way slower than European countries. A test result of

Page | 79

PUE’s English version website at webpagetest.org shows that it takes 22.915

seconds in Chrome browser and 65.122 seconds in Firefox browser to load for first

view in Shanghai, China. On the other hand, Polish version takes a little longer –

22.972 in Chrome and 65.238 in Firefox. If students have to switch the page from

Polish to English, it will double up the time; while waiting, students may go for a

competitor’s website

Make the webpage more user friendly and appealing not only to the prospective

students but also to their parents, teachers and other counselors

Remove all unnecessary contents

Make the faculty members’ navigation button handy

Each faculty member’s profile should be elaborated with educational background,

specialties and achievements. Doctoral Seminar in English’s (DSE) web portal

could be the benchmark

Use thematic images related to university’s mission – PRESTIZ and must place the

university’s ranking somewhere in the picture

Upload important news which are relevant to international students and

communities but only within the picture section and provide a link along with it

Develop and incorporate a centralized platform like USOS of Adam Mickiewicz

University for students. Within this page, by signing in, students would be able to

access important pages like student’s profile, moodle, library, semester and class

schedule, e-mail from university and others

Issue individual email ID from the University (example –

[email protected] or [email protected]) to each student.

Issuing an e-mail ID would leverage the University to maintain its alumni database

more efficiently. Even after leaving the country, the students will retain this ID and

receive any particular information or birth day or naming day wishes from

university. And it is mentioned in many research paper that the alumni

recommendation is an effective tool to attract new students at a university

See figures 37-40 under annex for the revised design of English web portal

When this element is all about increasing the university’s image, the PUE should partner

with more universities from target markets. The prime motive could be conducting joint

research but at the same time, the PUE can also use the partner universities’ local influence in

those markets. After signing the contract, those universities are more likely to have media

coverage. It would develop the PUE’s image among local communities. From time to time,

Page | 80

the PUE can use those universities’ infrastructures as an information centre while promoting

its offerings in local markets. In addition to that, for having a chance to go on exchange

programme, students from partner universities would source more information about the

PUE. In marketing, association increases the awareness and brings a product on customers’

top of mind while taking a purchase decision.

Price: PUE use a discriminated pricing strategy like many other universities from within

and outside of Poland. Domestic students pay lower tuition fees than foreigners. Universities

usually adopt this policy to pull local demand but it also gives a negative impression to

students from other countries. Thus, Kozminski University’ pricing policy seems way better

than PUE and any other business schools in Poland. It charges same tuition and admission

fees for both domestic and foreign students. Additionally, Kozminski facilitates its students

to pay the tuition fees in five installments in one semester. This enables Kozminski to enjoy a

significant competitive advantage over the competitors. Although, PUE’s recent strategy is

considering giving discount for a onetime payment (PUE 2013), it is also recommended to

develop a flexible payment policy for the foreign students.

People: Internationalization means definitely not centralization of activities (Wang 2007).

But the PUE has merely understood such concept so far. Zukowski (2012) reported that the

university has only two foreign teachers; and staffs at the Center for Studies in English

department are all Polish.

Due to different educational backgrounds and teaching environments out of many other

reasons, foreign academic staffs bring diversified teaching methods at a university. But the

PUE’s teaching staffs have similar educational background, thus, one’s teaching style is

almost similar to others. Many of them also have limited capacity to use modern technology

efficiently. According to the author’s own experience, few teachers are also highly reluctant

to take off their faces from computer screen. And for being at a same place for years, many

staffs have developed behavioral autonomy. Few of them do not welcome any question from

students. Few of them have minimum intention to understand foreign students’ cultural

backgrounds, thinking patterns and communication styles. And the most important issue is

favoring local students over foreigners while grading. The university immediately needs

to motivate its teaching staffs for being more welcoming to foreigners. The PUE must

understand that every foreign student is a potential source of bringing more foreign students

at its campus.

Although the ‘people’ element under the Business School Marketing Mix is different from

traditional Service Marketing Mix, it requires interaction of university staffs while making

Page | 81

personal contact with prospective students in various education fairs, open days and

information evenings or email quarries. Thus, the author has used many variables of

traditional marketing mix along with the new ones.

According to author, the PUE needs to adopt following strategies-

Employing staffs with diversified cultural experiences or backgrounds

Appointing student ambassadors

Appointing recruitment agencies

Liaising with high school teachers and university lecturers

Staffs with diversified cultural Backgrounds: In any fair or seminar or even in mailing

communications, international students feel more comfortable with a representative who has

similar or close cultural background like them than others. In similarities, students feel

motivated to ask even minor information which sometimes sounds idiotic to any European

people. Students’ lack of global awareness and future uncertainty require them to source as

much information as possible. The more they are satisfied, the more will be the University’s

turnover. Thus, the PUE should immediately recruit few administrative staffs with Russian,

Chinese, Indian and Arabian or Turkish backgrounds at it Center for Studies in English and

marketing departments. Staffs must make a plan while responding to quarries by students –

who will interact with whom. It is always better to match the cultural similarity.

Student Ambassadors: At least one current student from each country should be recruited

as the university’s student ambassador. The university should train them with all necessary

information and branding them by providing PUE’s promotional materials like – t-shirts,

bags etc. While attending the fairs, they may accompany the university’s representatives. The

rationale is that these students have already been through all the possible obstacles that a

prospective foreign student may have to go through while going overseas. They know much

more and would provide better information than the PUE’s own staffs. Moreover, almost

every student has an account in different Social Network websites; and by being the

university’s ambassador, they would update their status and share photos with promotional

stuffs. These will create PUE’s awareness among their friend circles and it is highly possible

that many of them will turn into the PUE’s potential students.

The second group is university’s exchange students. Upon returning to their home

universities, they would share overseas study experience among their circles. PUE should

capitalize this potential by making them contract based ambassador – giving remuneration for

each student they would refer to University. While studying, earning some money for doing

almost nothing would motivate them to talk more about PUE wherever they go. More

Page | 82

communication means more chance to attract foreign students. Furthermore, many of the

undergraduate exchange students would return to PUE for their master level studies if the

university keeps a good contact with them.

Recruitment Agency: Other group who can assist PUE is the recruitment agencies from

both Poland and target markets. The University must create commission based partnership

with them. These agencies promote universities from different countries at their own cost.

Frequently, they advertise in local media. They also assist university representatives to

conduct seminars and participate in local education fairs. It is recommended to enlist them on

University’s website as the authorized agents.

Although, there is not enough research on recruitment agencies’ presence, activities and

effectiveness, universities from many countries use this service to increase the international

students’ pool at their campuses. Hagedorn & Zhang (2011) reported that 32 institutions from

Australia recruited 48,388 students in 2008 by using the recruitment agencies only; it

represents 55% of all international students at those universities. He also mentioned that for

the first time, a large number of Chinese students become aware of overseas universities with

the help of a recruitment agent and subsequently picks one for their further studies. The

scenario is almost same among the students from Indian subcontinent. The author had similar

experience while choosing an institution in United Kingdom. He also heard of similar

decision making process from numbers of students in London.

High School Teachers and University Lecturers: Contacting high school teachers in Asian

countries is a highly challenging task, although, university lecturers are approachable easily.

But if it is possible, this tool will benefit the University highly. In most cases, the prospective

undergraduate students have lack of international experience. They and their parents largely

depend on class teachers, relatives or recruiting agencies’ recommendation to choose a

potential study destination. On the other hand, prospective graduate level students are more

mature and highly informed and many of their friends are pursuing studies abroad. However,

still many students relay on university lecturers’ recommendation or at least consider their

advices while looking for an institution.

Promotion: Lowry & Owens (2001) argued that an extensive communication programme

is the key element while implementing a positioning strategy successfully. PUE’s any form

of communication should deliver a single positioning statement – ‘Country’s second best

Economics University’. The communication strategy must be integrated and consistent;

otherwise it will confuse the prospective students. Public relation, advertising, any kind of

promotional materials, brochures including the admission form should pass the same single

Page | 83

message. As well, all other variables under each element must be directed towards the same

objective.

The most dominant activities in positioning communication strategy are advertising at

Above the Line (ATL) level (advertising in television, press media, radio, outdoor activities

like posters and billboards; and the most recent one is advertising on internet). Advertising on

television, radio and billboards involves with high cost, thus, the author recommends PUE to

use the internet communication profoundly. It costs way lower than any other communication

tools. However, at the beginning, the university should not go for any sort of paid advertising

strategy. Once the initial activities are conducted and established successfully, PUE needs to

analyze the online visitors’ behavior. Then only it would be appropriate to make a decision

whether to go for paying advert or not.

The probable platforms are-

Sharing videos on: Youtube, Youku, Tudou, 56.com, Aparat, Dailymotion

Using Social networking sites: Facebook, VK, Qzone, Pengyou, Renren, Kaixin001

Search Engine Optimization for Google, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver, Daum, Yandex

Developing Wikipedia pages

Virtual university tour

Conducting Webinar

At Bellow the Line (BTL) level, the university needs to go for public relations, partnering,

and conducting cross-cultural competition. Partnering with students, foreign institutions and

recruitment agencies, teachers and lecturers have already been mentioned under different

elements. Here, the other group is government agencies. The university should establish an

understanding with Polish Consulates abroad and agreement with target markets’ Education

Ministries.

Rather than describing each level individually, the author has combined the whole

promotional activities (ATL and BTL level activities) and then divided the tasks for different

departments and people.

Center for Studies in English (CSE): CSE staffs are the coordinator of entire activities.

They will have to play Account Manager’s role. In addition to their coordinating activities

with other departments and people, they also need to perform the following activities-

Must respond to any quarries from prospective students immediately

Staffs have to write email, from time to time, to those students who have initiated

contact earlier and forward them electronic brochure

Page | 84

Being in touch with the student ambassadors on a regular basis and providing them any

sort of updates they need to be aware of

Organizing meeting with all international students from time to time- at least two times

in a semester. The objective is to know their comforts or discomforts or any other

issues. This meeting will let them feel more than just being a cash cow at the

University

Students:

The CSE should motivate student ambassadors and as well other international students

to write blog posts about the university and share on their social networking media

The department should also motivate them to maintain a University page in their

languages on those networking media and share University’s information and images

regularly

Although, it involves with some cost, the university should conduct webinars by using

the ambassadors in their native languages

Academic Staffs:

The university must inspire its teachers to write mini articles or blog posts on topics

related to their specialized areas and use the university’s name to sign off besides

their names

Motivating academic staffs to write some articles and papers on target markets’ trade

and business potentials with Poland. To avoid any risk, they can partner with

researchers from universities of those countries. The articles would bring a huge

media coverage for the university

For various purposes, for example – attending seminars or conference, academic staffs

visit foreign countries. The PUE should capitalize their tours and inspire them to

promote the University in those countries

Marketing Department: This department would be the key player under this strategy. They

will play the following roles –

Attending educational fairs and seminars in target markets

Developing contents for student ambassadors and University brochures

Developing mini videos on topics related to business and economics by using the

highly skilled academic staffs of University

Developing promotional videos by using the current international students and alumni.

In those videos, students must speak about PUE both in English and their native

languages. Inspire them to share it on their social networking media

Page | 85

Developing videos on ‘how to learn (business) English’ by using staffs from Language

department. Every day, thousands of people search for this kind of videos on Google,

YouTube or other media. All the videos must start and sign off with PUE’s name and

its positioning statement

Maintaining a database of the registered students for scholarship and sending them

electronic brochures or any study related information from time to time

Coordinating with IT people to develop the university’s Wikipedia pages in different

languages. The author has initiated some editing tasks in English version of PUE’s

Wikipedia page and as well developed an English page for the University Rector; but

those pages still require professional touch. In addition to that the University should

develop Wikipedia pages for its renowned teachers in different languages too

Maintaining contacts with all the partners like recruiting agencies, teachers and

lecturers

Conducting workshops or seminars with the local immigrants from ‘Go! Pasia’

countries. Their contact details could be attained from regional immigration offices.

This strategy will create University’s awareness among their relatives in back home

Contacting with consular and staffs at Poland’s foreign mission in target markets and

leaving some university brochures at embassy’s front desks

Many Ministry of Education in target markets provide scholarship to students for

overseas higher education, for example- Saudi Arabia. In some cases, particular

universities require ministry’s affiliation in order to host the students under such

schemes. Thus, PUE marketing staffs need to look for related information and tie with

the authorized bodies

IT (information technology) Department:

Optimizing popular search engines in order to boost up the University website’s

ranking

Uploading University’s promotional videos on different platforms. Depending only on

YouTube would not benefit the University because Chinese government and some

other countries, from time to time, impose censorship on many popular websites in

their countries

Updating University’s web portal regularly and remove unnecessary contents which

are out of date

Analysing the visitors’ demographics and suggesting necessary actions to marketing

and CSE departments

Page | 86

Conducting surveys among PUE’s international students as well the local students to

understand the website’s appearance, accessibility and other related issues

Designing thematic images and various campaigning applications

Coordinating with other departments upon necessity

Ad Hoc: Another effective tool to promote a university is conducting cross-cultural

project. Under the name of ‘Go! Pasia’, the University can host a cross cultural project

among the students from PUE and different business schools from target markets. The

objective would be to develop a foreign market entry and development strategy of an existing

or artificial company or product. The winning team would get a scholarship to study at PUE

for free or some sort of gifts. Dr. Anna Matysek, the faculty member of International

Economics and Business, has initiated ‘X-Culture’ project among the PUE students. She can

assist the University to develop this kind of project. Though, it requires an in-depth planning

and implementation strategy, the PUE would be able to create its awareness among

prospective international students significantly.

Prospectus: The variables under ‘prospectus’ element is already been mentioned in other

elements. The university has to post the printed brochures, leaflets or any other promotional

material to the prospective students and partners. Although, it involves cost, in China and

many other countries people still value printed documents higher than its soft version. Thus,

the PUE has to provide printed material to its recruiting and other partners from time to time

in order to distribute among the prospective students and their family members.

4.7 Summary

For maintaining the PUE’s financial viability, the University must attract more foreign

students and need to focus on Asian markets immediately. Though the University offers

business education, it has ignored international business activities of its own for last 5 years.

Recently, PUE is not able to perform at its full potential because of the country demographic

changes and people’s migration tendencies to other European countries, thus, it must need to

look for alternative sources in order to admit more students at its campus. ‘Go! Pasia’

countries are such potential sources.

By offering more market oriented study programmes and adopting the ‘Go! Pasia’

strategy, the PUE would definitely get benefit in term of admitting more foreign students.

However, while implementing the ‘Go! Pasia’ strategy, the University should form an

advisory committee who will constantly observe the strategic approaches, analyze the

performances and advice the essential changes.

Page | 87

An effective positioning strategy requires an in-depth market research. Although the

author has initiated possible research works within his limitations, ‘Go! Pasia’ still requires a

profound market research; especially the competitors at European Level are almost

overlooked because of the limited time period. A complete marketing strategy must have an

in-depth competitor analysis.

A strategy may not be successful within a short period of time. Thus, the University must

not be discouraged if the ‘Go! Pasia’ does not have an instant market response or have a

lower return than expected. The University should have a long term commitment to ‘Go!

Pasia’ and communicate the identical message with targeted communities repeatedly. It is

essential to remember that a university cannot change its image over the night because of its

sophisticated offerings.

Page | 88

Thesis Conclusion

In 2011, nearly 4.3 million students enrolled outside of their home country for tertiary

education (OECD 2013b). Over a period of two decades, the number has increased by more

than threefold. The average growth rate of international students’ movement is almost 6%

annually and the total movement of tertiary students is expected to be double by 2020

(OECD 2013b; PAP 2013; PAP 2014). Since the highest number of international students

chooses social science, business and law, it is expected that the Polish business schools are

also going to experience a huge inflow of foreign students shortly, specially, the Asian

international students because of the Poland’s competitive advantages in terms of low cost of

living and tuition fees. The proximity to other EU member countries has also increased the

country’s attractiveness.

The globalization is inevitable but internationalization of a university leaves many choices

(Altbach & Knight 2007). However, the PUE has a hybrid business and financial model -

combining elements of a state-run institution and a corporation (Zukowski 2012). And due to

the demographic down turn in Poland, most universities, including the PUE, are facing a

great challenge to maintain its financial stability (PUE 2013; PAP 2014). It identifies the

importance of attracting or hosting more international students at PUE.

Although the whole country is over-flooded by the Ukrainian students, PUE has seen mere

advantage of such flow. African country Nigeria contributes one and half times more students

than Ukraine to PUE and Asian countries contribute almost two and half times more students

than entire Europe. These signify the rationale of adopting ‘Go! Pasia’ strategy in order to

attract more international students at PUE. The University must understand that the

Europeanized internationalization activities can give the PUE academic and research benefits

but for financial benefit, it must focus on Asian countries parallelly. Africa is also an

emerging continent because Nigeria solely contributes the highest number of international

students, by far, to PUE. Beside Asia, thus, this continent could also be another source of

financing for the University. ‘Go! Pasia’ strategies can equally work for Africa too.

Throughout the study period, international students possess the sensitivity of being just a

visitor in foreign countries, thus, it requires them to seek for constant support from host

universities (Murphy et al. 2002). The foremost people with whom they aspire to have

friendly communication are class teachers and administrative staffs. Any sort of cultural

intolerance and discrimination, thus, cause dissatisfaction. PUE needs to focus on this issue

immediately. In addition to that, when students cannot have their pre-offered optional

Page | 89

modules, they feel deceived. The University should run as many optional modules as

possible. Furthermore, it must come up with more market oriented study programmes. PUE’s

main strength is in research, thus, the university should offer at least one research based study

programme. Although the Warsaw School of Economics offers ‘Quantitative Methods in

Economics and Information Systems’ at bachelor level, so far, no university offers Master of

Research (MRes) or Master of Science by Research (MScRes) in Poland and the PUE

must seize the opportunity.

As universities, as well as the societies, become greatly benefited from hosting

international students, many universities have changed their internationalization strategies;

and as well numerous academics and researchers have focused on understanding international

students’ social adjustment criterions (Chapdelaine & Alexitch 2004; Furnham 2004). They

suggested university employees to acquire prior knowledge of students’ cultural differences,

to understand their psychological and behavioural differences and to have the counselling

training in order to work with the foreign students efficiently (Jacob & Greggo 2001; Murphy

et al. 2002; Guidry Lacina 2002; Mahon & Cushner 2002; Guidry Lacina 2002). However,

till this date, most published works on international students and their facing difficulties in

host countries are conducted in America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

and few other European countries like Spain, Italy, and Netherlands. Thus, the circumstances

of international students may not be similar in Polish context. This urges for the similar

research works in Poland and at PUE.

Asian students have different ethnic backgrounds. They are well aware of American

culture because of vast media exposure or the British culture because of their long colonial

histories, whereas, knowing the Polish culture is an emerging issue to them. This brings (or

will bring) enormous difficulties during their adaptation period in Poland. Thus, it is highly

recommended to conduct the cultural studies on emerging communities in Poland and most

necessarily at PUE because of its offered business education. The University employees must

learn the cultural differences in order to interact with foreign students efficiently.

The PUE should establish a ‘PRESTIZ Club’ for international students. It may have

similar operations like the International Students Organisation of a university. The University

can use this club as its cultural research centre where the president would be in charge to

conduct research activities on different cultures; and from time to time, conduct seminars and

workshops for University staffs and students in order to create an international atmosphere at

campus. The PRESTIZ Club can also be responsible for conducting events relating to

international students at the University.

Page | 90

Bibliography

Agoston, S. & Dima, A.M., 2012. Trends and strategies within the process of academic internationalization. Management & Marketing, 7(1), pp.43–56.

Alamri, M., 2011. Higher education in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 11(4), pp.88–91.

Alexander, D., 2012. 3 idioms reveal the truth about University websites. Available at: http://www.4syllables.com.au/2012/12/university-websites/ [Accessed July 31, 2014].

Altbach, P.G., 2009. One-third of the globe: The future of higher education in China and India. Prospects, 39(1), pp.11–31.

Altbach, P.G. & Knight, J., 2007. The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3-4), pp.290–305.

Ayoubi, R.M. & Al-Habaibeh, A., 2006. An investigation into international business collaboration in higher education organisations: A case study of international partnerships in four UK leading universities. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(5), pp.380–396.

Belanger, C., Mount, J. & Wilson, M., 2002. Institutional image and retention. Tertiary education and management, 8(3), pp.217–230.

Beneke, J., 2011. Marketing the Institution to Prospective Students-A Review of Brand (Reputation) Management in Higher Education. International Journal of Business & Management, 6(1), pp.29–44.

Bhusal, T.P., 2011. Higher Education in Nepal: Issues and challenges. Available at: http://www.educatenepal.com/contributors/articles/higher-education-in-nepal-issues-and-challenges [Accessed July 19, 2014].

Binsardi, A. & Ekwulugo, F., 2003. International marketing of British education: research on the students’ perception and the UK market penetration. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 21(5), pp.318–327.

Bodycott, P., 2009. Choosing a higher education study abroad destination What mainland Chinese parents and students rate as important. Journal of Research in International Education, 8(3), pp.349–373.

Bonnema, J. & Van der Waldt, D., 2008. Information and source preferences of a student market in higher education. International Journal of Educational Management, 22(4), pp.314–327.

Bowden, J.L.-H., 2011. Engaging the student as a customer: A relationship marketing approach. Marketing Education Review, 21(3), pp.211–228.

Page | 91

Bunzel, D.L., 2007. Universities sell their brands. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 16(2), pp.152–153.

Cai, Y. & Kivisto, J., 2013. Tuition Fees for International Students in Finland: Where to Go From Here? Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(1), pp.55–78.

Chan, W.W., 2004. International cooperation in higher education: Theory and practice. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(1), pp.32–55.

Chapdelaine, R.F. & Alexitch, L.R., 2004. Social skills difficulty: Model of culture shock for international graduate students. Journal of College Student Development, 45(2), pp.167–184.

Chen, C.-H. & Zimitat, C., 2006. Understanding Taiwanese students’ decision-making factors regarding Australian International Higher Education. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(2), pp.91–100.

Chen, L.-H., 2006. Attracting East Asian Students to Canadian Graduate Schools. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 36(2), pp.77–105.

Cubillo, J.M.S.J. & Cerviño, J., 2006. International students’ decision-making process. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(2), pp.101–115.

Czarniawska, B. & Genell, K., 2002. Gone shopping? Universities on their way to the market. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 18(4), pp.455–474.

David, S. & Martina, R., 2011. Marketing Communications Mix of Universities-Communication With Students in an Increasing Competitive University Environment. Journal of Competitiveness, 3, pp.58–71.

EC, 2014. Number of out-bound students by country. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/statistics/ay-12-13/annex-1_en.pdf [Accessed July 20, 2014].

Eduniversal, 2012. Eduniversal ratings & rankings 2012. Available at: http://www.eduniversal-ranking.com/upload/previous/2012%20ratings%20&%20rankings%20results.pdf [Accessed July 24, 2014].

Eurostat, 2014. Real GDP growth rate - volume. Available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tec00115 [Accessed July 28, 2014].

Farhady, H., Hezaveh, F.S. & Hedayati, H., 2010. Reflections on Foreign Language Education in Iran. TESL-EJ, 13(4), pp.1–18.

Federkeil, G., 2008. Rankings and quality assurance in higher education. Higher Education in Europe, 33(2-3), pp.219–231.

Page | 92

Friedman, T., 2005. The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Furnham, A., 2004. Education and culture shock. Psychologist, 17(1), pp.16–19.

Gajic, J., 2012. Importance of Marketing Mix in Higher Education Institutions. Singidunum Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(1), pp.29–41.

Gomes, L. & Murphy, J., 2003. An exploratory study of marketing International Education online. International Journal of Educational Management, 17(3), pp.116–125.

Guidry Lacina, J., 2002. Preparing international students for a successful social experience in higher education. New Directions for Higher Education, 2002(117), pp.21–28.

Hagedorn, L.S. & Zhang, “Leaf” Yi, 2011. The use of agents in recruiting Chinese undergraduates. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15(2), pp.186–202.

Harb, I.K., 2008. Higher Education and the future of Iraq, Washington DC: US Institute of Peace.

Hawkins, A.G. & Frohoff, K.M., 2010. Promoting the academy-the challenges of marketing higher education. Research in Higher Education Journal, 7, pp.1–13.

Heaney, J.-G. & Heaney, M., 2008. Services branding strategies: using corporate branding to market educational institutions. Business Conference Papers, pp.166–176.

Hemsley-Brown, J. & Goonawardana, S., 2007. Brand harmonization in the International Higher Education Market. Journal of Business Research, 60(9), pp.942–948.

Hemsley-Brown, J. & Oplatka, I., 2010. Market orientation in universities: A comparative study of two national higher education systems. International Journal of Educational Management, 24(3), pp.204–220.

Heyneman, S.P., 2010. A comment on the changes in higher education in the former Soviet Union. European Education, 42(1), pp.76–87.

Ho, H.-F. & Hung, C.-C., 2008. Marketing mix formulation for higher education: An integrated analysis employing analytic hierarchy process, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis. International Journal of Educational Management, 22(4), pp.328–340.

Ivy, J., 2008. A new higher education marketing mix: the 7Ps for MBA marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 22(4), pp.288–299.

Ivy, J., 2001. Higher Education Institution image: a correspondence analysis approach. International Journal of Educational Management, 15(6), pp.276–282.

Jacob, E.J. & Greggo, J.W., 2001. Using counselor training and collaborative programming strategies in working with International Students. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29(1), pp.73–88.

Page | 93

Joseph, M., Mullen, E.W. & Spake, D., 2012. University branding: Understanding students choice of an educational institution. Journal of Brand Management, 20(1), pp.1–12.

Judson, K.M. & Taylor, S.A., 2014. Moving from Marketization to Marketing of Higher Education: The Co-Creation of Value in Higher Education. Higher Education Studies, 4(1), pp.51–67.

Kadivar, M.A., 2014. The Battle Over Higher Education in Iran. Middle East Research and Information Project. Available at: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero022014 [Accessed July 20, 2014].

Knight, J., 2008. Higher Education in Turmoil. The Changing World of Internationalisation. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Lockwood, R.C. & Hadd, J., 2007. Building a brand in Higher Education. Gallup Management Journal, 12.

Lowry, J.R. & Owens, B., 2001. Developing a Positioning Strategy for a University. Services Marketing Quarterly, 22(4), pp.27–42.

Łukaszczyk, K., 2013. Immigration of international students to Poland. National Contact Point to the European Migration Network in Poland.

Mahon, J. & Cushner, K., 2002. The overseas student teaching experience: Creating optimal culture learning. Multicultural Perspectives, 4(3), pp.3–8.

Maringe, F., 2006. University and course choice: Implications for positioning, recruitment and marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(6), pp.466–479.

Maringe, F. & Carter, S., 2007. International students’ motivations for studying in UK HE: Insights into the choice and decision making of African students. International Journal of Educational Management, 21(6), pp.459–475.

Mayers, L.C. & Waxman-Lenz, M., 2012. 88 ways to recruit International Students - A comprehensive survey of recruitment ideas and practices.

Mazzarol, T., 1998. Critical success factors for International Education marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 12(4), pp.163–175.

Mazzarol, T. & Soutar, G.N., 2002. “Push-pull” factors influencing international student destination choice. International Journal of Educational Management, 16(2), pp.82–90.

Mazzarol, T., Soutar, G.N. & Seng, M.S.Y., 2003. The third wave: future trends in international education. International Journal of Educational Management, 17(3), pp.90–99.

Memon, G., Joubish, M.F. & Khurram, M.A., 2010. Education in Pakistan: The key issues, problems and the new challenges. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 6(6), pp.672–677.

Page | 94

Memon, G.R., 2007. Education in Pakistan: The key issues, problems and the new challenges. Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 3(1), pp.47–55.

Murphy, C., Hawkes, L. & Law, J., 2002. How International Students can benefit from a web-based college orientation. New Directions for Higher Education, 2002(117), pp.37–44.

Nadiri, H., 2006. Strategic Issue in Higher Education Marketing: How University Students’ Perceive Higher Education Services. Asian Journal on Quality, 7(2), pp.125–140.

Nadiri, H. & Mayboudi, S.M.A., 2010. Diagnosing university students zone of tolerance from university library services. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 15(1), pp.1–21.

Nicolescu, L., 2009. Applying marketing to Higher Education: Scope and Limits. Management & Marketing, 4(2), pp.35–44.

OECD, 2013a. Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing.

OECD, 2013b. How is International Student Mobility Shaping Up? Education Indicators in Focus, (14).

OECD, 2004. The OECD Policy Brief: Internationalisation of Higher Education.

Padlee, S.F., Kamaruddin, A.R. & Baharun, R., 2010. International students’ choice behavior for higher education at Malaysian private universities. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 2(2), pp.202–211.

PAP, 2013. Report: over 29 thousand international students study in Poland. Available at: http://naukawpolsce.pap.pl/en/news/news,397976,report-over-29-thousand-international-students-study-in-poland.html [Accessed June 23, 2014].

PAP, 2014. Study: 23 percent more international students in Poland than a year ago. Available at: http://naukawpolsce.pap.pl/en/news/news,400100,study-23-percent-more-international-students-in-poland-than-a-year-ago.html [Accessed June 24, 2014].

Perspektywy, 2014. Business schools 2014. Available at: http://www.ranking.perspektywy.org/2014/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1:rankingi-2014-tabele&catid=2&Itemid=104&idRanking=50 [Accessed July 29, 2014].

Pimpa, N., 2003. The influence of family on Thai students’ choices of international education. International Journal of Educational Management, 17(5), pp.211–219.

PUE, 2013. STRATEGY OF THE POZNAN UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS FOR THE YEARS 2013–2020. Poznan University of Economics. Available at: http://ue.poznan.pl/data/upload/articles/20140214/336bde702315830214/strategia-en-internet-rozkladowki.pdf [Accessed April 27, 2014].

Page | 95

Qiang, Z., 2003. Internationalization of Higher Education: towards a conceptual framework. Policy Futures in Education, 1(2), pp.248–270.

Rudd, B., Djafarova, E. & Waring, T., 2012. Chinese students’ decision-making process: A case of a Business School in the UK. The International Journal of Management Education, 10(2), pp.129–138.

Russell, M., 2005. Marketing education: a review of service quality perceptions among international students. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(1), pp.65–77.

Scott, P., 2000. Globalisation and higher education: Challenges for the 21st century. Journal of Studies in International Education, 4(1), pp.3–10.

Sharma, Y., 2012. Foreign students are part of “soft power”, but targets are ambitious. Available at: http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120814135723490 [Accessed July 27, 2014].

Sirat, M., 2008. The impact of September 11 on international student flow into Malaysia: Lessons learned. IJAPS, 4(1), pp.80–95.

Spencer-Oatey, H., 2013. Maximizing the Benefits of International Education Collaborations Managing Interaction Processes. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(3), pp.244–261.

Srikatanyoo, N. & Gnoth, J., 2002. Country image and International Tertiary Education. The Journal of Brand Management, 10(2), pp.139–146.

Svensson, G. & Wood, G., 2007. Are university students really customers? When illusion may lead to delusion for all! International Journal of Educational Management, 21(1), pp.17–28.

Teichler, U., 2004. The changing debate on internationalisation of higher education. Higher Education, 48(1), pp.5–26.

Teichler, U., 2008. What does the “market” mean for university? The University in the Market, 84, pp.39–45.

Telegina, G. & Schwengel, H., 2012. The Bologna Process: perspectives and implications for the Russian university. European Journal of Education, 47(1), pp.37–49.

UIS, 2014a. Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Available at: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/international-student-flow-viz.aspx [Accessed July 18, 2014].

UIS, 2014b. International Student Mobility in Tertiary Education. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Available at: http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?queryid=172# [Accessed 7, 2014].

Page | 96

Wang, Z., 2007. Key Factors that Influence Recruiting Young Chinese Students. International Education Journal, 8(2), pp.37–48.

Wedlin, L., 2008. University marketization: The process and its limits. The University in the Market, 84, pp.143–153.

Van der Wende, M., 2007. European responses to global competition in higher education. In Symposium on Crisis of the publics. Centre for Studies in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley, CA. pp. 26–27.

Wilkins, S., Balakrishnan, M.S. & Huisman, J., 2012. Student Choice in Higher Education Motivations for Choosing to Study at an International Branch Campus. Journal of Studies in International Education, 16(5), pp.413–433.

De Wit, H., 2011a. Globalization and Internationalisation of Higher Education. RUSC. Universities and Knowledge Society Journal, 8(2), pp.241–248.

De Wit, H., 2011b. Trends, issues and challenges in Internationalisation of Higher Education, Centre for Applied Research on Economics and Management, School of Economics and Management of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences.

Yang, M., 2007. What attracts mainland Chinese students to Australian higher education. Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 4(2), pp.1–12.

Yang, R., 2002. University internationalisation: its meanings, rationales and implications. Intercultural education, 13(1), pp.81–95.

Yergebekov, M. & Temirbekova, Z., 2012. The Bologna process and problems in higher education system of Kazakhstan. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, pp.1473–1478.

Zukowski, M. (ED), 2012. Poznan University of Economics Self-assessment Report Zukowski, Maciej (ED), ed., Poznan University of Economics.

Page | 97

List of Tables

Table 1: Impact of globalization on Higher Education internationalization ……..……..…. 11

Table 2: Commonly used terminology in International Higher Education ………………... 12

Table 3: Different types of actors and their roles in internationalization of Higher Education

………………………………………………………………………………………….…... 13

Table 4: Higher Education internationalization rationales ……………………………..….. 15

Table 5: Approaches to Internationalization of Higher Education at National Level and

Institutional Level ………………………………………………………………………..... 15

Table 6: Internationalization strategies of Higher Education at Institutional Level ….…... 17

Table 7: Internationalization strategies of Higher Education at National, Sector and

Institutional Level …………………………………………………………………………. 18

Table 8: Foreign students at English Programme in 2013/2014 Academic Year ……......... 43

Table 9: Outflow of students from TechnoPole Countries (2001-2012) ………………..… 47

Table 10: Inflow of students in Poland from TechnoPole Countries (2001-2012) ……..… 49

Table 11: Outflow of students from ASEANPole Countries (2001-2012) ……………..…. 50

Table 12: Inflow of students in Poland from ASEANPole Countries (2001-2012) ……..... 51

Table 13: Outflow of students from DesiPole Countries (2001-2012) ………………….… 52

Table 14: Inflow of students in Poland from DesiPole Countries (2001-2012) ……...…… 53

Table 15: Outflow of students from MidPole Countries (2001-2012) ………………..…… 55

Table 16: Inflow of students in Poland from MidPole Countries (2001-2012) ………..….. 57

Table 17: Outflow of students from SovietPole Countries (2001-2012) ……………..…… 58

Table 18: Inflow of students in Poland from SovietPole Countries (2001-2012) …….…… 59

Table 19: Key competitors in target markets and their influence ……………………..…... 66

Table 20: Most influential competitors in numbers of target market …………………....… 66

Table 21: Inflow of Iranian, Japanese, Saudi Arabian and South Korean students in Hungary

…………………………………………………………………………………………...…. 67

Page | 98

List of figures

Figure 1: A Model of International Students’ Preference ……………………...………….. 27

Figure 2: University Positioning Strategy …………………………………………………. 35

Figure 3: Integrated marketing communications of a university ………………...………… 37

Figure 4: The Business School 7P Marketing Mix ………………………………...……… 39

Figure 5: Number of students went overseas from target market in 2012 ………………… 44

Figure 6: Number of students came in Poland from target market in 2012 …………..…… 45

Figure 7: Student from Target Markets at PUE’s English Programme in 2013/2014 academic

year …………………………………………………………………………….….……..… 46

Figure 8: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from China ……………..….………..… 47

Figure 9: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Japan ………………...……..…… 48

Figure 10: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from India ……………….………..…. 52

Figure 11: Outflow of students from India to Ukraine …………………………………..… 54

Figure 12: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Saudi Arabia ……….…..……… 56

Figure13: Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Turkey ………………..…..…….. 57

Figure14: Inbound and Outbound Flow of Tertiary-Level Students from Russia ……..….. 59

Figure15: Outflow of students from China to 15 European countries in 2012 …………..... 61

Figure 16: Outflow of students from Japan to 15 European countries in 2012 …….…….... 61

Figure 17: Outflow of students from South Korea to 15 European countries in 2012 …..… 61

Figure 18: Outflow of students from Malaysia to 15 European countries in 2012 ……..…. 62

Figure19: Outflow of students from Vietnam to 15 European countries in 2012 …….....… 62

Figure 20: Outflow of students from India to 15 European countries in 2012 ………….… 63

Figure 21: Outflow of students from Nepal to 15 European countries in 2012 ………..….. 63

Figure 22: Outflow of students from Pakistan to 15 European countries in 2012 ……….... 63

Figure 23: Outflow of students from Iran to 15 European countries in 2012 ……...……… 64

Figure 24: Outflow of students from Iraq to 15 European countries in 2012 …………...… 64

Figure 25: Outflow of students from Saudi Arabia to 15 European countries in 2012 …..... 64

Figure 26: Outflow of students from Turkey to 15 European countries in 2012 ………..… 65

Figure 27: Outflow of students from Kazakhstan to 15 European countries in 2012 …..…. 65

Figure 28: Outflow of students from Russia to 15 European countries in 2012 ………..…. 65

Figure 29 : Inflow of Turkish students in Bulgaria ……………………………….…….…. 66

Figure 30: Inflow of Kazakhstani, Malaysian and Vietnamese students in Czech Republic..67

Page | 99

Figure 31: Inflow of Chinese, Indian and Russian students in Ukraine ……………..…….. 67

Figure 32: EU 27 Countries’ Real GDP growth rate in 2009 ……………………………… 70

Figure 33: Warsaw School of Economics’ national level performance in 2014 ………..…. 71

Figure 34: Poznan University of Economics’ national level performance in 2014 ……..…. 72

Figure 35: Kozminski University’s national level performance in 2014 …………...…..…. 72

Figure 36: Marketing Mix of Poznan University of Economics ………………………..…. 75

Figure 37: Proposed layout for the Home page of PUE’s website …………………..…… 100

Figure 38: Proposed layout and contents for Study page of PUE’s website ………….…. 101

Figure 39a: Proposed layout and contents for Studies in English under Study page of PUE’s

website ………………………………………………………………..……………….….. 102

Figure 39b: Proposed layout and contents for Fields of Study under the Studies in English

page of PUE’s website ……………………………………………………………………. 103

Figure 39c: Proposed layout and contents for International Business programme under the

Fields of Study page of PUE’s website ………………………………………………..…. 104

Figure 39d: Proposed layout and contents for Master Programme Overview under the

International Business programme page of PUE’s website ……………………………..... 105

Figure 39e: Proposed layout and contents for Master Programme Course details under the

International Business programme page of PUE’s website ………………………………. 106

Figure 39f: Proposed layout and contents for Admission details under the International

Business programme page of PUE’s website ………………………………………….…. 107

Figure 39g: Proposed layout and contents for Download Brochure under the Studies in

English page of PUE’s website ……………………………………………………..……. 108

Figure 40a: Proposed layout and contents for Faculty Members page of PUE’s website .. 109

Figure 40b: Proposed layout and contents for Faculty details under the Faculty Members

page of PUE’s website ……………………………………………………………………. 110

Figure 40c: Proposed layout and contents for list of Professors under the Faculty page of

PUE’s website ………………………………………………………………………….… 111

Figure 40d: Proposed layout and contents for Professor’s profile under a particular Faculty

page of PUE’s website ………………………………………………………………….… 112

Page | 100

Annex

Figure 37: Proposed layout for the Home page of PUE’s website

Source: Author’s own work

Page | 101

Figure 38: Proposed layout and contents for Study page of PUE’s website


Page | 102

Figure 39a: Proposed layout and contents for Studies in English under Study page of PUE’s

website

Page | 103

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 104

Figure 39b: Proposed layout and contents for Fields of Study under the Studies in English

page of PUE’s website

Page | 105

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 106

Figure 39c: Proposed layout and contents for International Business programme under the

Fields of Study page of PUE’s website

Page | 107

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 108

Figure 39d: Proposed layout and contents for Master Programme Overview under the

International Business programme page of PUE’s website

Page | 109

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 110

Figure 39e: Proposed layout and contents for Master Programme Course details under the

International Business programme page of PUE’s website

Page | 111

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 112

Figure 39f: Proposed layout and contents for Admission details under the International

Business programme page of PUE’s website

Page | 113

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 114

Figure 39g: Proposed layout and contents for Download Brochure under the Studies in

English page of PUE’s website

Page | 115

Source: Author’s

own work

Page | 116

Figure 40a: Proposed layout and contents for Faculty Members page of PUE’s website


Page | 117

Figure 40b: Proposed layout and contents for Faculty details under the Faculty Members



Page | 118

Figure 40c: Proposed layout and contents for list of Professors under the Faculty page of

PUE’s website


Page | 119

Figure 40d: Proposed layout and contents for Professor’s profile under a particular Faculty



Page | 120

Go! Pasia - Cloud Storage · PDF fileGo! Pasia Asian market entry and development strategy of...

Documents

Transcript of Go! Pasia - Cloud Storage · PDF fileGo! Pasia Asian market entry and development strategy of...