Presented by: Dr. Walter He, President, AHEAD Education Group
Date: July 26, 2016
Venue: Conference Hall, Nanjing Foreign Language School Xianlin Campus
Thank you all from UNSW for being here today from far away. It will be UFS’10th anniversary in China next year. For the February 2016 intake, over 400 Ahead UFS students at 7 schools in China have been registered and over 95% of them are expected to be admitted by UNSW, UoM, Monash, USYD and UWA in November. It worth mentioning that out of these 400 students, we have 31 Design students at NFLSXL and Wuxi and they are our first UFS Design graduates. I predict that UFS Design will be a relatively standalone program (brand) in no more than 2 years. It has received broad attention from the very beginning because not only it is unique in China but also the first two products out of all five from these students have quite surprised many professionals in China. These students had no related background before they started their study here but now their creativity and skills are truly impressive. On top of UFS’ achievements in the past 9 years, UFS Design will absolutely make the UFS brand more visual, more overwhelming and more creative. UFS will be more characteristic and will attract more attention in China and the influence of UNSW in China will grow as well. AHEAD Education plans on opening UFS Design at 2 more schools in China in the next 2 years. We also plan on operating UFS at 10 schools in China in February 2018 under UNSW Global’s authorization, with more than 700 UFS graduates annually. 95% of them will enter G-8 universities and the other 5% will enter 4-star ones in Australia.
As a UFS management entity in China, AHEAD Education has determined, since 2007, that UFS would develop best only in top schools in Chinese provinces that are economically powerful and rich in Education. The most influential educational platforms in China are top high schools in major cities, not the universities. I believe Mr. Laurie Pearcy (Acting Director, International office, UNSW) is well aware of this. The most intellectual and resourceful families in China send their children for overseas undergraduate studies and that is why these top high schools are the real focus by the society in its region. The admission rate of this school’s elementary school is 25:1; the admission rate of its international school is 12:1. Another advantage of UFS here is that students study bridging UFS courses, IELTS courses, and Chinese high school courses during the Pre-Foundation semester. For Design students we offer Fine Arts as their elective. When students are registered by UFS in China, they have IELTS 6.0 or above and better academic and psychological preparation. This school, NFLSXL, focus not only in academics but also in students’ value system. Extracurricular activities are everywhere. This school is the newest member of our UFS campuses and will have its very first group of graduates in November. We believe it will be highly successful and we believe it would be very beneficial to both UNSW and our students when they come to Australia with this school’s dynamic cultural and enthusiasm in servicing the society, as well as their understanding of cross-cultural ideology. And don’t forget each one of our students is capable of cooking 12 Chinese and 4 Western dishes. China has numerous prestigious schools, but this school, just like all other AHEAD UFS schools, possesses a team, a culture, a value theory and a view that fits and matches UFS. Moreover it has absolute leading influence in this geographic region.
We know UNSW has excellent marketing strategy and path design in China. UNSW also has a very professional and dedicated team. I would like to introduce to you in my opinion how UNSW could leverage our UFS schools ‘resources to better expand your awareness and influence in China. I am sure the one advantage UNSW definitely owns in China compared to other G-8 Universities, is that only UNSW has a group of high quality strategic partners like our UFS schools.
1. Our UFS schools are media platforms or information channels for UNSW to expand your popularity and influence in China. These schools boast strong network capability to connect stakeholders such as students, parents, the government, the media and the entire educational industry. Network is the theme of this era. Although we cannot use Facebook or Twitter, we have QQ and Wechat which connect people faster and shares information and service better. After today’s event, this school will broadcast the news on Wechat and I estimate a minimum of 5,000 readings within a day. These readers are exactly some of UNSW’s most anticipated target group. There are various types of readers in this group. Furthermore we could demonstrate our Design students’ works, our UFS academic and exam achievements. What else? Our UFS graduates’ experience and thoughts in Australia, and the latest information from all the faculty and departments in UNSW. In addition AHEAD Education has set up accounts for over 2,000 UFS and Pre-UFS students and their parents to watch lectures, reviews, placement information and UNSW information on their mobile phones every week.
2.The existence of all these UFS schools in China provides vital support to the establishment of the UNSW characteristic branding in China. The characteristic power of these schools will enable UNSW to be more compatible in the Chinese market. The annual UNSW road show, the visits, UFS students ‘stories and all sorts of functional scenarios will make the brand of UNSW more personalized, instead of being just a symbol.
We hope whenever the name of UNSW is mentioned, people will be touched more by heartwarming stories and legends than world University rankings. We believe our UFS schools in China will no doubt offer substantial value and contribution to UNSW. Thank you again and wish you all a joyful trip in China.