2020 was an incredible year of change that touched every industry and changed how an entire generation of people experienced the world. The education industry, in particular the international education industry, showed incredible resilience and ingenuity.
The pandemic fast-tracked the transition from face-to-face to digital counselling, and now students and providers want more. The international education industry is notoriously tech-savvy, providing the solid groundwork upon which organizations grew and, more importantly, streamlined their processes. The business imperative of making technology-driven changes are more ubiquitous now than ever.
According to Mckinsey report, "Seven lessons on how technology transformations can deliver value," the progress of integrating technology and business creates tangible business value, including new revenue streams and lower costs. Companies with top-performing IT organizations differentiate themselves from others by their ability to create value, adopt new technologies, and bring technology and business closer together. Those that pursued changes to their sourcing strategies report a significant impact realizing new revenue streams, reducing costs, and improving employee experience. And according to the results, scaling up data analytics is a critical enabler of new revenue and increases to existing revenue streams.
In a recent webinar hosted by The PIE News, industry leaders discussed and debated the digital disruption currently making waves in international education. While most companies still see a lot of value in face-to-face counselling, many companies are moving toward a tech-first model and re-imagining their face-to-face recruitment strategies. The digital revolution means more and better opportunities for data capture and its applied use in the recruitment process. The use of chatbots, for instance, allows an "always-on" chat model otherwise confined to working hours. Amy Baker, CEO & Co-Founder of The PIE News, who hosted the webinar, was quick to point out that it is important to use chatbots alongside live chats and other forms of direct communication.
According to a recent article in ICEF Monitor, up to half of all international students use education agents to shepherd them through the admissions process, making agent-school relationships of paramount importance to reaching recruitment targets. Collaboration and shared mythologies are an integral part of a successful relationship and student success.
As our industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, robust and reliable technology is becoming even more vital to the lifeblood of international education businesses. Global EdTech is at the forefront of this change.
NexPay Pty Ltd, a global payments platform specializing in international education, saw a notable shift in how payments were processed online.
"During the pandemic, we saw a growth in the number of students who used our integrated platform to pay their agents
and institutions," said Piew Yap NexPay CEO. "We also noticed an increase of the recruiting platform to integrate with NexPay and offer a one-stop-shop and a more friendly customer experience for providers, agents and students."
The ability of multiple platforms to integrate and operate cohesively is key to providing an efficient and cost-effective user experience.
To learn more about how NexPay can help your company integrate our payment solution to your business, please contact sales@nexpay.com.au.
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