In May, HOPE organized and accompanied the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) to conduct 4 academic demo classes and recruitment presentations at 4 international schools in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong Province, promoting its summer school and degree programs. The events were met with great enthusiasm, as students actively engaged with UNNC lecturers, inquiring about curriculum, resources and admission. As a flagship UK university Chinese campus, UNNC attracts families with its English-taught programs, globally recognized degrees, and cost-effective study pathways.

Notably, despite the global economic downturn in 2024 leading to a decline in traditional overseas study market, summer schools at Chinese universities, such as Westlake University and UNNC, have seen growth. For instance, UNNC’s summer school has attracted not only students from China but also international students from Indonesia and Malaysia. This phenomenon reflects two key trends:

• The rising global recognition of Chinese higher education.

• The increasing appeal of Sino-foreign universities among affluent families, as they offer both reduced financial risks and access to high-quality education.

Meanwhile, Chinese universities have partly shifted their internationalization strategy to ‘bringing oversea students in’ and ‘going global’, although the policy of encouraging students to study overseas remains unchanged. In recent years, Sino-foreign collaborative universities like UNNC and NYU Shanghai, as well as top domestic institutions such as Tsinghua and Peking University, have expanded their outreach to Southeast Asia and beyond, hosting admissions seminars and even establishing overseas campuses. UNNC has partnered with multiple agents globally for admissions promotions, while Westlake University’s research-focused summer and degree programs have attracted young STEM talents from UK, USA and Southeast Asian countries.

HOPE has also adapted its focus by evolving from solely individual students’ recruitment for overseas institutions to a two-way service for both Chinese and overseas institutions at all levels, which includes sino-foreign institutional links for joint programme and recruiting overseas students for top Chinese universities. HOPE has already successfully enrolled a number of foreign students in summer schools at UNNC and Westlake University, and it will continue to work more closely with UNNC and other Chinese top universities to recruit more oversea students in the future.

While economic fluctuations may temporarily affect study-abroad interest, the internationalization of Chinese education continues unabated by manifesting in more diverse forms. From summer schools with globally diverse cohorts to universities’ overseas expansions, China is transitioning from an ‘importer’ to an ‘exporter’ of education. With HOPE and similar organizations building connections, the mutual pursuit between Chinese institutions and international students will redefine the future of global education market.