British Council China would like to invite Education UK Partnership member and Accreditation UK accredited institutions to participate in a local international education exhibition which will be held in Beijing in May 2008. The event is organised by the local Beijing Education Municipal Authority.

Key details

The Chinese National Matriculation Examination (Gao Kao) finishes on 8 June every year, and all primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities around the country will finish the school year in early July. Therefore, a large number of students and their parents will need to make decisions about education paths for the coming or following years.

Over the past years, this event has proved to be a useful recruitment channel for Further Education and English language providers, as many Chinese students who are unable to obtain preferred places in local universities will be looking for opportunities to pursue their studies overseas as an alternative. Many of them will be eligible for entry into foundation and / or vocational programmes in the UK. In addition, foreign institutions found the event a good platform to establish initial contact with local Chinese institutions for possible exchange programmes.

The British Council office in Beijing will participate in the Beijing International Education Expo 2008, organised by Beijing Info-link International Education & Sci-Tech Development Centre and approved by the Ministry of Education, PRC. We have managed to negotiate for a UK area to host all the participating institutions from the UK. The UK area will aim to promote Education UK in general and will specialise in promoting UK vocational education and training and English language courses among the target audience. We will utilise the Education UK brand to reinforce the impact of excellence of UK vocational education and training as well as English language programmes among the target audience.

The British Council's role is to:

• invite UK vocational and English language providers to participate in the UK area;
• negotiate with local organisers and organise an Education UK branded area in the exhibition to showcase the Education UK brand among the target audience;
• provide UK participants with local Chinese market information;
• distribute generic promotional material about Education UK to target visitors, in particular information introducing UK vocational education training and English language learning programmes;
• promote the UK summer school programme;
• deliver generic presentations on Education UK as well as UK visas and work opportunities to the target audience;
• provide assistance in arranging meetings with officials from education commission / departments and / or visits to local Chinese institutions who are interested in discussing co-operative programmes with UK institution representatives.

Please note that the participation fee has been quoted by the local exhibition organisers.

The participation fee includes:

• standard booth (at least 2 metres by 3 metres);
• fascia board with exhibitors’ English and Chinese names;
• one information counter;
• two folding chairs.

Stand sharing is available at a premium of 20 per cent on the cost of participation.

Please note that the participation fee does not include international or domestic travel, accommodation, subsistence or freight, except where stated.

British Council China will negotiate discounted rates in local hotels; details will be made available to accepted participants.

Aims

The overall aims of this event are to:

• position the UK, in particular UK VET and ELT sector, as the first choice for international students;
• showcase the variety of opportunities within the UK’s education system;
• provide UK institutions with a platform for recruiting international students and discuss collaborative projects with domestic vocation education institutions;
• provide first hand information to a variety of students exploring opportunities for study in the UK.

Market information

• Market background specific to this event (16KB)
• China market introduction
• Partnership members can access more detailed education market intelligence, including international student data and country profiles
• China Partnership members can access education market intelligence on the China Partnership website

Draft programme

	Date Time Activity Wednesday 7 May 2008 pm Registration and booth dressing Thursday 8 May 2008 0900-1630 Exhibition open to the public Friday 9 May 2008 0900-1630 Exhibition open to the public Saturday 10 May 2008 0900-1630 Exhibition open to the public

Venue
China International Exhibition Center
Beijing

Visa requirements
Visas are required for UK passport holders. Other passport holders should check with their travel agent or contact the Consulate or Embassy of the country they plan to visit.

Selection criteria and acceptance
If the number of applications exceeds the number of places, selection will take place on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given in the following order:

• China Education UK Partnership members;
• all other Education UK Partnership members;
• Accredition UK accredited English language providers.

After the application deadline has passed, if places are still available, institutions will be selected purely on a first-come, first-served basis, with no priority given to Partnership members.

Acceptance and rejection letters will be sent out by 29 February 2008.

If you have any queries about this event, please contact the British Council China co-ordinator.

British Council China Co-ordinator

• Wu Xinping, Education Officer, British Council office in Beijing, China
  Telephone +86 (0) 10 65906903 ext 244
  Fax +86 (0) 10 65900977
  E-mail wu.xinping@britishcouncil.org.cn