Emily O’CALLAGHAN

Abstract: Education agents play a critical role in supporting students throughout the international recruitment journey, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region. As expectations around transparency, accountability and student outcomes continue to grow, institutions are increasingly seeking more comprehensive approaches to agent quality assurance. Traditional approaches have focused on due diligence, compliance, training and performance monitoring. Emerging technologies and AI-enabled quality assurance tools are strengthening institutions' ability to assess, monitor and manage recruitment partnerships at scale. However, these approaches provide only part of the picture. Drawing on perspectives from ICEF and emerging findings from miXagent, a global benchmark of student experiences with education agents, this session explores how student voice can complement due diligence frameworks by providing direct insight into student expectations, communication quality, preparedness, trust and the transition to study. Together, due diligence and student experience data offer a more holistic approach to understanding agent quality and supporting continuous improvement across the recruitment ecosystem. In an increasingly AI-enabled environment, the findings highlight the enduring importance of human relationships, trust and guidance in shaping positive student outcomes. Participants will explore how institutions can combine technology, evidence and student voice to strengthen agent governance and enhance the student experience across the Asia-Pacific region. Learning objectives: - Understand how AI-enabled due diligence and quality assurance approaches can strengthen agent governance. - Explore how student voice data provides additional insight into expectations, communication quality, preparedness and trust. - Examine how institutions can combine compliance, due diligence and student experience data to develop a more holistic understanding of agent quality. - Consider how student voice can support continuous improvement and positive student outcomes across the international recruitment journey. - Identify opportunities for institutions, agents and sector bodies to work collaboratively to strengthen trust, transparency and quality across the Asia-Pacific recruitment ecosystem. Target audience: Recruitment, Marketing, Admissions, Compliance, Leadership

Abstract: The New Colombo Plan (NCP) has become a cornerstone of Australia's engagement with the Indo-Pacific, supporting thousands of students to undertake international learning experiences across the region. As mobility models evolve and greater emphasis is placed by NCP on longer-term experiences, questions remain about how program duration, host contexts and student motivations influence outcomes. Drawing on data from more than 3,000 Australian students, including over 600 New Colombo Plan participants, this session explores how students experience mobility across different program types and host destinations across the Asia- Pacific. Using student voice data, we compare short-term and semester-length programs, NCP and non-NCP experiences, and examine differences in student motivations, in-country experiences, support factors and measures of personal, professional and intercultural capability impact. The analysis also explores how experiences vary across host destinations and regional contexts, providing insights not only for sending institutions, but also for host institutions seeking to better understand and support visiting students. At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping how students learn, work and connect, the findings highlight the enduring value of international experiences in developing human-centred capabilities including intercultural understanding, adaptability, communication across difference and tolerance for ambiguity. Learning objectives: Participants will: - Understand how student motivations, impact and experience differ across short-term, semester-length, NCP and non-NCP global learning. - Explore the relationship between program duration and measures of personal, professional and intercultural capability impact. - Examine how accessibility and participation vary across different mobility models and what this means for equity and inclusion. - Gain insight into how Australia's investment in Indo-Pacific mobility has evolved through the New Colombo Plan. - Consider evidence-based approaches to balancing accessibility, participation and impact when designing mobility programs. Target audience: International education leaders, education abroad and mobility practitioners, international offices, student experience and employability professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in student mobility, Indo-Pacific engagement, student outcomes, benchmarking and evidence-based internationalisation strategies.