Over 450 delegates from across the UK and across the globe, arrived in Belfast today (Thursday, Dec 8) for an education marketing conference.
Taking place at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, this is the first time the SIEM (Services for International Education Marketing) conference will have been held in Northern Ireland, aiming to support UK Education institutions in their international work.
Run by the British Council, SIEM operates in 65 countries, providing services for international student recruitment, market intelligence, and enabling the development of working relationships with institutions overseas.
Highlights of the two-day programme include speaker Simon Anholt, an independent policy advisor — who has worked with Heads of State and Heads of Government of more than fifty countries over the last twenty years; and Robin Bew, the Managing Director (CEO) of the Economist Intelligence Unit, who will be discussing the global economic outlook.
Speaking about the conference was Jonathan Stewart, Deputy Director, British Council Northern Ireland.
He said: “It’s great to have such an international delegation here in Northern Ireland to showcase our education institutions to the world, reinforce our reputation for invention and innovation but also, throughout the week the delegation will get to experience contemporary Northern Ireland.
“This week's conference will provide useful insights into understanding the importance of the UK brand in international education marketing as well as how UK institutions can stand out from the crowd in markets like India and China . Hopefully, through events like this, we can further deepen our international partnerships and enable more opportunities for student recruitment.”
As part of this year’s conference, the British Council will be promoting the UK as one of the world’s best study destinations through a new website, Study UK: Discover You, which is designed for international students making decisions about where to study.
Follow the conference through Twitter with the hashtag #SIEM2016.
For more information on British Council Northern Ireland, visit http://nireland.britishcouncil.org or for the SIEM conference: http://siem.britishcouncil.org.