BCIE - University Area

Mission Statement:

'To create a sustainable international student recruitment network for the promotion of a number of British, Canadian, Australian, USA and Dubai universities'

Target Regions:

• Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana
• South East Asia: Pakistan (Islamabad & Lahore)
• Plus recruitment within the UK
• Note: BCIE already has strong links in the above regions and this initiative has been designed around our strengths in these markets.

Background and Origin of BCIE:

BCIE Ltd was formed jointly by Nazmina Panju Dedynski and Dr Cliff Dedynski both of whom have experience working for the International Office at the University of Northampton. Cliff headed up the International Office for 10 years. Naz is originally from Kenya hence the establishment of the company in Kenya.

Branch offices:

We currently have 12 branch offices:

• Nigeria:

Lagos- Victoria Island, Ikeja (Opebi Road & Australia & USA Branch)
Ibadan
Abuja
Kano
Port Harcourt

• Ghana:

Accra 

• Kenya:

• Pakistan:

• UK Head Office

Target Numbers and Projections:

We have now been established for 15 years and currently we produce around 1500 students per annum into over 100 UK, Canadian, US and Dubai universities. Our plans are to increase our numbers and branch offices such that we are producing 1800 by September 2016. Our branch offices will continue to expand in Nigeria and Pakistan.

Financial Aspects:

Self Financing. Standard agency agreements to be negotiated with each partner institution.

Method of Operating:

We employ a wide range of marketing activities - including the below:

• In-country missions based on visits to selected schools and universities and presentations at schools/universities and reputable conference centre or hotel, reinforced with one to one interviews as and when appropriate.
• We run bi-annual high profile education fairs in Ghana and Nigeria each year. Dates are May/June and Oct/Nov of each year and we take in about 20 universities forming a small enough group to reduce competition and give us viable return on investment. 30% of students we enrol each year come from our annual exhibitions.
• We also run second city road shows through the year that target areas within Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya that are not usually targeted including Asaba, Ibadan, Ebonyi, Warri and Benin City in Nigeria. In Ghana, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tema, Cape Coast and Kigali. Kampala and Mombasa around Kenya.
• Local advertising, either independently or in conjunction with an in-country recruitment mission by BCIE. Press and radio (local and/or national - as appropriate).
• BCIE Website. We have constructed an extensive website containing essential data on all our network partners. No data is used on our web-site without first seeking authorisation from our network partners.
• Mail shots. The most traditional of all methods, increasing in response to email enquiries and very important in our targeted countries.
• Careers advisors in schools and universities. We are linked with a number of such advisors. They have a critical role to play in many schools and are therefore an important part of our recruitment strategy.
• In-country offices provide information and advice on a day-to-day basis. We periodically freight prospectuses, videos, posters etc. to these offices. We have an office in Ghana (Accra), 7 in Nigeria (Lagos– Ikeja & Australia & USA Branch, Lagos Victoria Island, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt), 1 in Kenya (Nairobi) and 2 in Pakistan (Islamabad & Lahore). We currently employ over 80 members of staff and the majority of staff are well qualified with degrees as a minimum from their local countries. The higher level management mostly have degrees from UK universities making counselling an easier proposition for them. Our offices are all in the best locations in each city and have state of the art facilities which we feel is necessary when it comes to selling study abroad options. Our staff, in addition are amongst the best staff in the industry and a number of them have been with us many years.
• Visa counselling and applications. This is where our specialism lies as 80% of our staff time is used up on this. Our success rate is between 95-100% depending on the country. Universities that use our services can rest assured that we lose just about no visas due to the quality of our students and our staff visa counselling experience.

The University Network

The objective here has been to create an international network representing a fair cross-section of Higher Education institutions that are reasonably complimentary.

Services provided to your university / niche programmes:

We provide an "all-through" service from initial enquiry to mock visa interviews. If requested we also provide assistance with booking accommodation and making flight reservations (a free service). We would propose to promote your university through the marketing activities cited above and provide the following in the process:

• Copies of all UCAS application forms.
• Completed postgraduate application forms.
• Copies of local in-country advertisements.
• An annual report on all recruitment activities undertaken during the previous year.
• The help and assistance from our in-country offices; especially beneficial when you are travelling to our offices as security and staff well being are of paramount importance to us. Our staff will guide you through each step of planning your visit so it's carried out safely with the best return on your investment.
• Periodic updates on the policies and practices of the British Embassies or High Commissions as regards student visa applications in our targeted countries.
• BCIE Referral Service - Please contact BCIE for more details on this.
• Support for setting up and running of in-country based regional offices for universities. As regards niche programmes at each university, we always follow the advice that you give when we come to meet you.

Relationship with the British Council/ High Commissions and Embassies:

We have given priority over the years to establishing a close working relationship with the visa sections at the British Embassies and High Commissions. This helps to keep visa refusals to an absolute minimum.