Why join this course
Unlock actionable, flexible and efficient learning with this on-demand course, designed to make foundational topics in international higher education accessible to all. Dive into comprehensive, expert-led content covering marketing, recruitment, admissions and recognition—empowering you to build expertise at your own pace, wherever you are.
This on-demand course will help you with:
- Implementing effective student recruitment strategies for international education.
- Applying marketing principles to promote educational programmes and institutions.
- Managing admission processes and evaluating international student applications.
- Executing recognition procedures and credential assessment for international students.
Course units
Unit 1: Introduction to recruitment
Join Subject Matter Expert Joanna Kumpula (Head of International Education and Integration Support, Tampere University, Finland) as she breaks down the foundational drivers of international higher education student recruitment. You’ll explore why institutions recruit internationally, what motivates students to study abroad, and which stakeholders are essential for building an efficient and sustainable recruitment pipeline. She is joined by guest speaker Joachim Ekström (Head of student recruitment, Uppsala University, Sweden).
Joanna Kumpula
Joanna Kumpula is presently the Head of International Education and Integration Support at Tampere University in Finland. During her two-decade-long career, Joanna has worked in several positions in international student marketing, recruitment and admissions in both the university sector and at the Finnish national education agency.
She also managed her own university consulting agency and has presented and facilitated trainings in several international conferences, seminars and internal staff trainings in her field.
Joanna’s professional interests lie in service design, student journey mapping and brand development. She is also passionate about developing and empowering networks and collaboration in the international student recruitment professional community. She volunteered on the EAIE General Council for the 2020-2022 and 2022-2024 terms.
Joachim Ekström
Joachim has 30 years of experience working with strategic communication and marketing both within and outside of the higher education sector and is currently the Head of student recruitment at Uppsala University, Sweden.
Joachim served as chair for the EAIE Expert Community for Marketing and Recruitment from 2016 to 2018 and has also been a trainer within the EAIE in this field. From 2022 to 2025 he has served as the elected chair of the EAIE Professional Development Committee.
Unit 2: Introduction to marketing
In this unit, our Subject Matter Expert Monique Swennenhuis (Strategic advisor for International Marketing and International Affairs, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands) guides you along the essentials of what exactly makes marketing in international higher education unique, touching upon the basics of how institutions define their brand, create compelling value propositions and segment their markets, as well as giving you insights into emerging trends like data-driven strategies and the role of AI. She is joined by guest speakers Kris Achten (Lead of international marketing team, Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Belgium) and Alejandra Otero (Founder & CEO of geNEOus, United States of America).
Monique Swennenhuis
Monique Swennenhuis is the strategic advisor for International Marketing and International Affairs at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, where she also serves as a member of the Programme Team for Internationalisation. She leads the core team for the standardisation of processes within enrolment management. She is co-responsible for implementing the university’s new internationalisation strategy, with core areas including international enrolment, international student retention, and lobbying for the national policy on international students.
Between 2018 and 2024, she served as secretary and president of DHENIM, the Dutch Higher Education Network for International Marketing. She is a member of the Thematic Committee for Marketing and Admissions, the EAIE and NAFSA trainer corps, and has presented several workshops and training sessions on international HE marketing.
Kris Achten
Kris Achten leads the international marketing team at Karel de Grote (KdG) University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. He has been at KdG for seven years, starting as a lecturer and recruiter, and later as the project lead responsible for building the integrated services for its fast-growing portfolio of English-taught degree programmes. In this role, Kris helped build and align KdG's international marketing, admissions and student services efforts and teams. As a story strategist and fractional Chief Marketing Officer, Kris helps startups and scaleups develop their marketing and teams.
Kris has been involved with the EAIE as a mentor and speaker at previous Annual EAIE Conference and Exhibition events. In 2024, Kris was appointed to the EAIE Thematic Committee for Marketing and Admissions for the 2024–2026 term.
Alejandra Otero
Alejandra Otero is the Founder & CEO at geNEOus, a leading Enrollment Management Consultancy and international expert in education marketing, recruitment and admissions.
She has been recognised by The PIE as one of the Top 50 Voices to follow in international education. After four years of contributing to the EAIE Marketing & Recruitment Steering Group, she has been elected to the EAIE Marketing & Admissions Thematic Committee for the 2024–2026 term.
Previously, she served as an intrapreneur in HigherEd Marketing, International Relations, and Admissions in the USA and Europe. She is a sought-after speaker on topics such as digital innovation, marketing automation, international education, student enrollment enablement, AI, and Gen Alpha.
Unit 3: Introduction to admission and recognition
Subject Matter Expert Marina Malgina (Trainer, expert and practitioner in international higher education) helps you unpack the interconnected processes of admissions and recognition. You’ll examine the full admissions journey, understand how qualification recognition supports fair and transparent practice, and explore global and regional frameworks that shape consistent standards and good practice.
Marina Malgina
Marina is a trainer, expert and practitioner in international higher education, specialising in recognition of qualifications and international student mobility. As a recognised leader in international education in Europe (PIE, 2023) and an international education professional and credential evaluator with more than 20 years of experience, Marina advises and trains recognition and admission professionals to achieve fair and transparent evaluation procedures that support equitable access to education and employment opportunities.
She started her career as an international credential evaluator in 2006 in Norway, where she worked in the Department of Foreign Education at the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT). From 2010 to 2021, she oversaw NOKUT’s work on developing special recognition procedures for refugees and persons with insufficient documentation and was involved in the development of the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) by the Council of Europe and UNESCO Qualifications Passport for Refugees (UQP). In 2017, she received EAIE’s Bo Gregersen Award for Best Practice.
She has served as the president of the Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals (TAICEP) and as an elected member of the EAIE Expert Communities for Cooperation for Development (2018-2020) and Admission and Recognition (2020-2022).
Who is it for?
This course is designed for international education professionals with limited experience in marketing, recruitment, or admissions who want a flexible and accessible way to build foundational knowledge. With expert guidance and a self‑paced format, you’ll gain both the core concepts and the practical tools needed to succeed in these key functional areas.
A new way to showcase your internationalisation toolkit
Earn a digital badge through the EAIE Academy Recognised Programme to showcase your verified new skills and knowledge for real-time recognition.