Many institutions invest heavily in generating interest from prospective international students — through marketing, fairs, digital outreach and agent networks — yet struggle to convert that interest into actual applications and enrolments. To tackle this frequent challenge, the Study in Europe initiative is supporting a training session for interested higher education institutions’ staff, taking place on 25 – 26 June 2026 in Brussels.  

This 1.5-day session strives to support to be selected participants in understanding where and why prospective students drop out of the recruitment process and how to address this shortcoming. The programme combines expert presentations with small, hands-on workshops, covering: 

• The international student recruitment funnel — key stages, metrics, and common drop-off points, 
• Evidence-based strategies for improving conversion at each stage, and 
• Practical tools for diagnosing and addressing bottlenecks in your own institution's process. 

The training is designed for staff at higher education institutions in countries formally associated to the Erasmus+ programme, and working in the areas of international marketing, student recruitment, admissions and selection — including marketing managers, recruitment officers, and heads of international offices, by way of example.  

As the number of places for the training event is limited, the event registration is organised in a 2-step procedure. In a 1st step, interested participants are invited to first fill out an expression of interest form by Monday, 18 May 2026, EOB. This does not yet constitute a confirmation of participation. If the number of expressions of interest exceed the number of places available, a selection process will follow, as a 2nd step, with particular attention to interest and motivation, while ensuring diversity in geographic and institutional representation, and levels of experience. Selected participants will be notified via email on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, while the others will receive a notification of placement on a waiting list. 

The training event itself does not require a participation fee, being supported by EU’s Study in Europe initiative; however, selected participants will need to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. 

The organisers warmly encourage sharing this announcement with colleagues with relevant profiles who may be interested. For any questions about the registration process or event programme, please email the ACA Secretariat, courtney.hartzell@aca-secretariat.be. 

Looking forward to welcoming you in Brussels! 

Background note: The Brussels training event is facilitated on behalf of the European Commission and EACEA, by ACA, and follows two previous training activities under the Study in Europe umbrella in Pärnu, Estonia (supported by HARNO) and Paris, France (supported by Campus France).