From student housing to digital financing solutions to virtual internships, international students now have a plethora of tech-enabled services catering to their needs, simplifying their global educational experience.
From student housing to digital financing solutions to virtual internships, international students now have a plethora of tech-enabled services catering to their needs, simplifying their global educational experience.
From student housing to digital financing solutions to virtual internships, international students now have a plethora of tech-enabled services catering to their needs, simplifying their global educational experience.
Differences in requirements for foreign students across destination countries exist. To work or access government programs in Canada – where data as of December 31, 2022 from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show an all-time high of 807,750 valid study permits – international students requires a nine-digit number known as a Social Insurance Number (SIN), which can be applied for online or in person.
Across countries, however, various services power the international student journey.
Digital loans and financing
One of the most significant barriers to obtaining a foreign degree is financing. Even before the pandemic, foreign students often found themselves tangled in a web of financial requirements, hefty tuition costs, and expenses associated with living abroad.
The post-pandemic era has brought with it a surge of digital platforms offering tailor-made financial solutions. Solutions from companies like MPOWER Financing, Prodigy Finance, and Leap Finance have evolved to assist foreign students in their financial challenges, using unique credit algorithms to assess risk and providing loans without collateral or a co-signer.
With transparent interest rates, online application processes, and seamless disbursement systems, these services eliminate the need for cumbersome paperwork and tiresome bank visits. By focusing solely on international students, these platforms are custom-built to understand and cater to their needs through an efficient and streamlined process.
Student housing
For any student traveling abroad, securing accommodation can be as daunting as securing an admission. Traditional methods often involved liaising with real estate agents, visiting multiple properties, and wading through tedious rental agreements. Now, tech platforms have emerged, offering foreign students accommodation solutions at the touch of a button.
The school’s international education center or corresponding international student office usually offers housing support for international students. Additionally, they can serve as a conduit and referrer to other offices and departments that can provide additional help. Among the most helpful for these students is their college or university’s housing portal, as well as popular social media and classifieds websites such as Kijiji, Realtor.ca, and Facebook Marketplace in Canada.
Start-ups like HousingAnywhere and Uniplaces offer digital marketplaces where students can browse, book, and even pay for their accommodation online. These platforms often come with verified listings, virtual tours, and reviews from past tenants, ensuring students find a secure and suitable place. What’s more, they frequently offer additional services like utility setups, relocation guides, and local community events, turning an otherwise daunting process into a holistic, stress-free experience.
Casita, an all-in-one platform for student accommodation showcasing over one million rooms across 62 destinations, partners with multiple marketplaces and platforms to serve a growing base of international students worldwide. It has main hubs in Thailand, India, and Egypt, along with offices in the United States and satellite centers in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
While heavily affected by halted student mobility from the pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions, Casita pivoted through highly diversified source markets and added more room stocks, going from 350,000 to 1 million rooms during the pandemic. Since then, the company has seen a huge uptake in lead generation and booking volumes.
“The owners and operators of student accommodation assets we have on our website have done a fantastic job in guiding students through providing clear COVID policies, providing fantastic refund and cancellation terms, and overall flexibility. That really demonstrates that this is a very resilient sector compared to retail or office space and has laser-sharp focus on student safety and convenience,” said Leigh Pulford, Chief Marketing Officer at Casita.
Through its alliances with platforms, Casita seeks to push its room stock through API integration and optimum university or city based search criteria, ensuring that students see room options as close to their school as possible and within their price points.
Virtual internships
A foreign education isn’t merely about academics; it’s also about gaining experience, networking, and employability. Traditional internships, where students had to be physically present, posed both logistical and visa-related challenges during the global health crisis.
Enter virtual internships, which distills the idea of companies tapping into the diversity, global perspectives, and unique skill sets that international students – wherever they are physically located – bring to the table. Platforms like Virtual Internships and Forage offer students opportunities to work with global companies without the constraints of geographical boundaries. Not only do these platforms provide students with real-world experience, but they also offer mentorship, networking events, and soft-skill training sessions.
Furthermore, these virtual internships are often project-based, allowing students to showcase their skills and receive feedback. For employers, it becomes a testing ground, and for students, it’s an opportunity to make an impression and secure potential job offers.
An evolved landscape
Whether it’s a phone plan to provide them with a local number to stay connected with friends and family or a local bank account for daily spending and bills payment, international students face an ever-expanding range of choices in services, making it a bigger challenge to make informed decisions on their own.
Nigerian education consultant Curtis Ohikhuare cites, for instance, the competitive application process, high tuition cost, and the lack of information on scholarships and financial aid as common hurdles among international applicants.
He advises them to maintain a strong academic record, demonstrated leadership skills, community service involvement, and a personal statement that highlights their unique qualities and experiences. A letter of recommendation from teachers, mentors, or employers also helps.
The rapid shift to digital, however, doesn’t come without added responsibility for providers. Fraser Cargill, director of global partnerships and recognition at Australia-based assessment and certification firm PeopleCert, pinpointed their advantage since they already have an established online platform since 2014, which allowed them to smoothly shift to online testing.
While this shift saw a surge in demand, it also revealed the hurdles of remote testing, mainly security. Capitalizing on technology, PeopleCert has upped its security measures to maintain test integrity. Post-pandemic, there’s a surging trend of integrating work-based qualifications in higher education, an area where PeopleCert is actively expanding.
“It’s our own end-to-end solution, so we don’t buy in anyone else’s technology. As a result, when the pandemic hit test centers and our training partners had to close down, we were able to move everything online,” Cargill said.
On the rise, however, is at-home testing, which poses its own set of challenges. Cargill explained: “At-home testing online is not the same as delivering in a center. You’ve got way more challenges and we’ve experienced those over the years. Our systems are fairly robust but those were also challenged.”
“I think for test takers it’s a good experience to take a test at home. However, I think a lot of them don’t recognize when you’re doing a high-stakes test it has to be in a high-stakes secure environment. Therefore the technology that you need to invest in to put in place to ensure that is significant,” Cargill added, assuring that they are investing heavily in the last 12 months in new security technology.
In the fast-changing space post-pandemic, PeopleCert is finding an increased demand for work-based qualifications into higher education institutions.
“I think the rising cost of education, particularly international education, makes it very expensive to study overseas,” Cargill said. “Students are rightfully demanding a better return on investment. They’re looking ahead. Am I going to get a job if I study here? Am I going to get a job in my sector? Is this going to help me with my career?”
