Coinciding with the UK-East Asia Education Week 2024, the British Council East Asia Agent Conference 2024 was held in Kaula Lumpur on Monday 26 February. This hybrid event aimed to provide a platform for overseas education agents in East Asia to stay updated on region-specific information, enhance industry knowledge, and build a network of inter-regional collaborations in student recruitment.
Through the conference, participants were offered the opportunities to:
- Network with industry peers
- Discuss and share the latest industry innovations
- Gather information on developments on Study UK and developments in the UK education sector
- Learn about the UK Agent Quality Framework (AQF)
- Enhance their business practices through sharing and learning best practise with other practitioners
- Hear from industry leaders on ideas, information and inspiration for success
- Network with UK institutions to explore for partnership opportunities
The event saw significant participation, with a total of 324 individuals attending both in-person and online. Representatives from the UK and 18 other countries and territories were present, including senior officials from prominent agent associations such as the Beijing Overseas Study Service Association (BOSSA) in China, the Hong Kong International Education Consultants Association (HKIECA) in Hong Kong SAR, the Japan Association of Overseas Studies (JAOS) in Japan, the Korea Overseas Study Association (KOSA) in South Korea, and the International Education Consultants Association (IECA) in Taiwan.
Among the attendees, 214 agents from 163 organisations and 97 representatives from 60 UK higher education institutions joined the event. The conference programme consisted of 5 plenary sessions and 2 interactive panel discussions, featuring 18 speakers representing the UK higher education sector and the East Asia agent industry. An award ceremony was also held to celebrate the success of the UK AQF in the region.
The event received a coverage on a major International Education specialist publisher in the UK and generated significant buzz on social media, with agents, sector leaders, BUILA, and their members sharing the news widely.
The post-event summary report with the key take-away points from the conference will be published on the British Council Agents and Counsellors Training and Engagement Hub in April. Members will receive a notification from the British Council as soon as it’s available.
Programme at a glance
Details on the conference programme will be shared with participants in February.
Plenary speakers for the East Asia Agent Conference 2024 can be found here.