International student recruitment conference 2023: Sustaining growth, maintaining quality

Aatreyee heads the Mobility portfolio at the British Council in India and South Asia and has over 10 years-experience at the British Council across Communications, Cultural Relations and International Education marketing. She leads across the Study UK and GREAT campaigns, Scholarships, Alumni and student recruitment and influencers in India and South Asia supporting institutions and government on inward and outward mobilities.    

Professor Agnes Nairn is Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Engagement at University of Bristol and  Distinguished International Visiting Faculty at NMIMS, Mumbai.  Previous she was Dean, Hult International Business School in London and Marketing Professor, EMLyon Business School in France.  She researches the commercial world’s impact on vulnerable populations.

She has joined over 30 international multi-stakeholder projects with public, private and third sector organisations ranging from UNICEF, UN, and Brazilian Justice Ministry to Unilever, Coca-Cola and EU Commission.  She is currently engaged in a new Africa-led charter for a radically transformed model for Global North-Global South research partnerships. 

Andy has been in post as Assistant Director for External Affairs at Universities UK International (UUKi) since 2019, and he leads UUKi’s campaigns, marketing and communications activity, and events programme.

He recently led his team to win ‘Best Issues and Crisis Campaign’ at the PR Week Global awards in 2022 for UUKi’s #WeAreTogether campaign, and ‘Best Education Campaign’ at the CIPR Excellence Awards in 2023 for UUKi’s #TwinForHope campaign.

Andy also sits on UniQuest’s international advisory board and prior to his current role, spent several years in senior marketing, student recruitment and alumni relations roles at the University of Southampton and Royal Holloway, University of London.

Anne Marie Graham is Chief Executive at UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs), leading the organisation to achieve its vision that every international student who comes to the UK has a positive experience. Prior to this, she was Director of Chevening, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's flagship global scholarship scheme at the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Previously, Anne Marie was Head of Outward Mobility and Assistant Director, Programmes at Universities UK International, where she led on several significant programme and projects promoting international mobility, including scholarships, TNE and outward mobility. At the National Centre for Languages, she directed the development of new national standards in translation and interpreting, in support of the UK Government's Routes into Languages programme. Anne Marie is a member of several high-level sector advisory boards and was recently appointed a Commissioner on the International Higher Education Commission, informing recommendations for a new International Education Strategy.

Bobby has worked in higher education since August 1999 when  he began working in the Access and Admission Department at the  University of Luton (now University of Bedfordshire). He moved to  the International Office at Luton in December 2000 and remained there until August  2002 when he moved to Wales as an International Recruitment Officer at the  University of Glamorgan, now the University of South Wales.  In his time at the University of South Wales, he has held a number of positions  including Deputy Head of International Recruitment, Acting Director of the  International Office, and Head of Enquiries &  Admissions and International & EU Recruitment. 

In April 2017, Bobby was appointed to the post of International Director at the  University of Portsmouth and in December 2021 Bobby’s role was re-  designated to Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement) to reflect his  expanded responsibilities for global engagement.

Outside the University of Portsmouth Bobby, serves as an Executive Committee  member of the British Universities' International Liaison Association (BUILA) where  he was originally elected to represent Wales on the Committee in December  2009.

Committed to the view that internationalisation should be at the heart of the university experience, George has been central to Teesside University’s transformation into a leading global student destination. A believer in the value of partnerships, George oversees relationships between the University and many global organisations and as a member of UniQuest’s Advisory Board, George has been able to further his dedication to innovation in HE. Having worked in universities for over 15 years George brings a passion for promoting the UK on the global stage and supporting the interests of HEIs within the sector and beyond.

Charley joined Universities UK International in December 2021 working on UUKI’s policy and global engagement work around international student recruitment and outward student mobility. She has worked in international higher education since 2007, in roles covering international student recruitment, partnerships, and outward mobility. From 2017 to 2021 she was a member of the BUILA executive team and Chaired the China Regional interest Group.

Emma Skelton is currently the Associate Head of Client Success, UK and Europe at IDP Connect. Her team is responsible for ensuring UK and Ireland institutions achieve the best results across IDP’s products and services.

Prior to her role at IDP, Emma worked at the British Council where she led engagement on International Education issues with the UK parliament, government and sector bodies, including mobility and student recruitment. She is passionate about the possibilities of technology for enhancing the international student experience.

Harry Anderson is a Policy Manager at Universities UK (UUK), the mission group for the UK’s higher education sector. He lead’s UUK’s work in relation to be immigration policy as well as work to promote free speech and academic freedom. Through this work, he regularly engages with officials from across the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), the Department for Education, as well as with colleagues from across the higher education sector. Prior to joining UUK, he covered higher and further education policy for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Lily Rumsey has worked in higher education since 2009 and has held positions across several facets of the globalisation agenda and is currently Director of Global Engagement at the University of Loughborough.

Lily is currently studying for her EdD at the University of Nottingham investigating the Saudi student experience and the role of UK HE institutions. She loves exploring new countries, eating new food and prides herself on her perfected art of ninja tourism.

Paul Blomfield has been MP for Sheffield Central since 2010 and will be standing down at the next election. He set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Students which he co-chairs with Lord Karan Bilimoria and which campaigned for the International Education Strategy. He is also Chair of the APPG for Students and Secretary of the APPG for Universities, and a former Chair of the APPG on Migration. He was Shadow Brexit Minister from 2016 to 2020 and now serves on the Health and Social Care Select Committee.   

Rachel is the Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement (UK and Europe) at IDP Connect. Prior to this role, Rachel was Director of International Recruitment, Partnerships and Mobility at the University of York in the UK. She joined the University having previously headed up the Recruitment and International office at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Rachel's remit is international recruitment, partnerships and student mobility.

Prior to Strathclyde, she spent seven years with Navitas, where she worked in roles in both Edinburgh and Melbourne. Before choosing the path of international recruitment, Rachel worked in advertising, PR and alumni relations in Edinburgh. 

Ruth Arnold is Executive Director External Affairs for International Education provider Study Group. She is a Senior Advisor to the National Indian Students and Alumni Union, served on the International Working Group of the Student Futures Commission and has given evidence to Parliament on the public benefit of international education. 

She was previously Director of Public Affairs at The University of Sheffield, and has advised a number of UK university executive teams and charities on a consultancy basis. 

In 2020 she received the ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ PIE Award for her work as a cofounder of the #WeAreInternational campaign.

Jo served as Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation under three different Prime Ministers between 2015-2019 and before that as Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit.

Jo today maintains a number of roles across the education system, including as Visiting Professor at King’s College, London; Member of the Council of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology and Fellow of Birkbeck, University of London. 

He is also Chairman of Access Creative College, the largest independent provider of further education for the creative industries, and Chairman of the House of Lords Special Inquiry into 11-16 Education.

Having started my journey as an international student to the UK 16 years ago it now feels like I am being able to give back. I have been working with in the UK HEI sector for 12 years now and my first role with Brunel as an Alumni Ambassador for India in 2010, followed on to becoming their Regional Manager (South Asia) in 2011 and I was covering this role being based in New Delhi, India

In August 2021, I made the move to the UK to work with the team on campus and very pleased to share that I was fortunate enough to have a double promotion from Deputy Head ISR to Head ISR in 2 months. Brunel is very proud of an extremely diverse international student population, and we are home to students from India, China, Canada, USA, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran, Thailand, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, France, Saudi Arabia and many more...

Apart from my work I am an avid traveler, enjoy reading non-fiction novels , watching movies, and explore different culinary experiences across the world.