Turkey and International Education

Last night, at dinner, I engaged in conversation with the Australian Ambassador to Turkey, Ian Higgs and one or two other knowledgeable people including in particular Murat Ersavci, the former Turkish Ambassador to Australia and his wife Zeynep. Murat and Zeynep are old friends with whom we are staying in their apartment in Ankara. Also present was Ilker Ersil (iersil@vokaliz.com) the Managing Director of Vokaliz, a cultural management organisation. Incidentally, I found a shared interest in choral singing with both Ilker and the Ambassador.

All expressed concern that whilst the odd academic and international representative from Australian higher education came through Ankara from time to time (Ian Young, Vice Chancellor of ANU) arrives next week) there seemed to be little interest amongst Australian institutions in recruiting from the Turkish market in a cohesive way. A few years ago I raised in a plenary session of the Australian International Education Conference, the prospects in Turkey on the grounds that universities needed to diversify their market countries to accommodate variability in market conditions, especially as for various reasons numbers and market share fell away in one or more countries.  My suggestions were dismissed rather peremptorily by the so-called experts.  Turks, the said were only interested in immigration.

In support of my view on the market, I read in a Turkish agents report that teenagers 'make up 30% of Turkey's population, two times higher than the EU average. In 2010, over 1.5 million students took the National University Placement Exam and only 327,869 students were placed in a four-year university in Turkey. Turkish students are [therefore] looking to foreign institutions for admission.'

As indicated, however, more detailed study is required.

I think they were wrong, patently so in respect of fondness for immigration to Australia - a point made nicely by Ian in a short speech of introduction to the evening. I think that at least the Turkish market deserves a fresh look.  I was encouraged in this view by Ian.

There is now a wider context: 2015 is the one hundredth anniversary of the first landings of Anzac troops at Gallipoli.  A series of cultural celebrations are planned throughout the year by the Embassy. Australia is determined that the celebrations should be about more than Gallipoli.  No doubt, a decent group of Australian  international educators may be interested in visiting the country in 2015, which combined with the celebrations might not provide an impetus for a university education exhibition. By organising such an exhibition, IDP would be making a singular contribution to the celebrations and broadening their focus.

No doubt more ground work on the character of the market is needed by I have been impressed by the economic and social progress achieved in Turkey. Whilst the number of universities in the country has increased so too has the burgeoning middle class, all with the ambition for a higher education.  The children of domestic staff now aspire for a university education as we found upon enquiry.  There will be the usual areas of interest such as commerce and business but I suspect that some specialist areas, where capacity in Turkey is probably still limited, might also be prospective for recruitment.

I have made a number of contacts here in Turkey and I am prepared to continue to explore the market.  No doubt, there will be private agents keen to work with me but I emailed Andrew Thomson, the chief executive of IDP, to say thought I should, out of loyalty, test his interest first.