15: Closure Number Seven: ICOT Closes in Ireland. Prepare for More.
ICOT College has closed its Dublin and Cork campuses after 17 years. It was removed from ILEP, Ireland’s list of schools allowed to enrol visa students, and lost its challenge i...
Episodes
Browse topics →14: Another one: Third School Group in Liquidation in Four Weeks, and Australia Closes Another Door
BSC Education, the UK English language group, is going into liquidation. That makes it the third major language school group to fail in four weeks, after EC English and ILAC. HM...
13: ILAC and Erin College Went Down Together. Students May Get 25 Cents on the Dollar.
Two of the best-known names in language travel stopped operating on the same Friday. ILAC, once the largest private English school in Canada, filed for bankruptcy and took its w...
12: The Big Names Fall First: EC English Halts Arrivals in 7 Countries
EC English, one of the biggest names in English language teaching, has told agents to tell their students not to get on the plane. It halted all new arrivals at its schools in s...
11: Market Reality Check #2: The Big Four Is Now the Big Fourteen
In January we said students weren't disappearing — they were just moving to destinations with open doors. Six months later, we grade our own homework: half right. Students are s...
10: Welcome to the Age of Commission Caps: The OSHC Story
The best-kept margin in international education just got cut in half. From 1 July 2026, Australia's new OSHC Deed caps commissions to third-party agents at 12% — down from the 2...
9: Quickfire: Who's Slamming the Door, Who's Holding It Open
The decline in international education has gone quiet. Across the Big Four, students from the five markets that drove a decade of growth — Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Nigeria and ...
8: Australia's VET Collapse Meets One Nation's Blunt Instrument
Australia's vocational education sector is being squeezed harder than any other study level — and this week, the politics caught up to the data. Conrad and Eden break down why t...
7: Market Reality Check: What the 2025 Data Really Tells Us About 2026
A quick reality check on international education going into 2026. Despite alarming headlines, global demand remains strong—students are shifting destinations, not disappearing. ...
6: UK Still The Most Attractive. But Alternative Destinations Gain Ground.
UK maintains commanding 82% attractiveness among international education professionals, but nearly three-quarters of students are actively considering alternative destinations. ...
2: Australia's Closed Doors vs New Zealand's Race For Students
Australia's international education sector is heading for a decade of stagnation with growth projected at just 2% annually through 2030 - a dramatic fall from nearly 10% pre-pan...
5: The new Chinese K visa. It's not for everyone.
Conrad and Eden break down China's new K visa - a precision-targeted strategy to attract elite AI and STEM talent from top-tier universities. This isn't immigration reform; it's...
4: ApplyBoard plummets 74% vs Australian Agencies Being Acquired
While edtech unicorn ApplyBoard faces a 74% valuation collapse, strategic consolidation continues in international education with two key acquisitions targeting Australian stude...
3: The UK: Computing/IT Climbs, Business/Law Dominates, Arts Fall. But What About Healthcare?
International students are making calculated decisions about their UK education, and the data tells a clear story. This episode examines the significant shifts in field of study...
1: 62% Rejected - Canada's Study Permit Crisis
Canada's study permit rejection rate hit a record 62% - the highest in over a decade. Anna and Conrad analyze the policy crisis reshaping international education in 2025, from C...