Investigating the Geographies of Selling a UK Higher Education

Of late we have witnessed the rapid development of the international student mobility literature, however this research has often been written from the perspective of the students themselves, focusing on their motivations for overseas study. It is not unsurprising that this has gone hand-in-hand with the unprecedented growth in international student numbers over the last three decades in particular. There are now extensive international knowledge networks which offer prospective students the opportunity to study (almost) anywhere they wish, provided they have the capital to do so. It has been shown that these international students can contribute significantly to the local economy, as well as offering an additional funding source for the universities themselves (see Brown et al. 2010; Madge et al. 2009; Gribble 2008). Competition for their recruitment is therefore a big business and yet there has been little research conducted into the role of international education agents in promoting overseas education and encouraging international students in the selection of their universities. This paper seeks to redress this imbalance by investigating the preliminary findings from interviews conducted with university international office staff and their subcontracted education agents to show how they use geography and place as a USP for prospective international students.