Exhibition Statistics

Turkey is a rapidly developing country, with the youngest population ratio in Europe. There is a large market for a skilled, educated, and globally-minded current and future workforce. This translates into a strong need for education, but the education system in Turkey is lacking space for all of the enthusiastic students seeking to advance academically. Because of this, families and prospective students are looking outside of Turkey for viable study options, in order to plan for the future. In October 2017, IEFT organized the 32nd Education Fairs of Turkey, and hosted 170 exhibitors from 25 countries and around 18.000 visitors in total.

General Summary
Participants	350
Cities Visited	4
Countries Represented	25
Seminars	150

Exhibitor Breakdown
Total Exhibitors	170
Higher Education	110
Language	30
Secondary Education	12
Educational Group	7
Agent	10
Other	1

Exhibitor Numbers Per City
Istanbul European side	150
Ankara	62
Izmir	68
Istanbul Asian side	85
Eskisehir	25

 

Visitor Attendance
Bursa	Saturday, October 21	800
Ankara	Sunday, October 22	2450
Izmir	Tuesday, October 24	2500
Istanbul Asian side	Thursday, October 26	2050
Istanbul European side	Saturday - Sunday, October 28-29	9950
TOTAL		17750

IEFT FALL 2017 FAIR SURVEY
The 32nd IEFT Fair Survey has revealed the study abroad choices and preferences of Turkish students and their parents. The following statistics were gathered through analysis of approximately 25.000 online pre-registration forms from our visitors as well as face-to-face interviews with around 500 students and parents. We combined the survey results and as we evaluated them, we found the following results:

VISITOR PROFILE
The students who attended our fairs were from highly respected Turkish universities and high schools. We aimed to attract motivated, self-aware students. Because the IEFT Team has a lot of experience in the international education market in Turkey, the team organizes the marketing of each IEFT event very carefully, and targets a specific audience, creating an innovative marketing plan for each event and each concept.

The number of “-17” and “35+” years old visitors/parents increased. We believe that parents are the most influential decision makers, particularly for undergraduate, high school and junior language school studies; therefore, we pay special attention in order to bring more parents to our events together with their children.

Visitor Age Groups
12 and under	2%
13-17	16%
18-24	47%
25-34	16%
35+	19%

Our numbers and the feedback from the evaluations prove that high calibre fee-paying students have increased in Turkey and also at the IEFT events. This means visitors are more likely to know their needs, capabilities and goals. 

EDUCATION PROFILE
There is a remarkable increase in the numbers of high school students attending the fairs with their parents. Our survey results show that most of them were interested in improving their language skills and were looking for an opportunity to complete their education abroad. This is an outward sign of the increase in the demand for undergraduate programs at IEFT fairs.

Visitor Education Profile
High School Students	32%
University Students	30%
University Graduates (Employed)	15%
University Graduates (Unemployed)	7%
Associate Degree Students	5%
Master Students	4%
Primary School Students	4%
Doctorate Students	2%
Other	1%

Turkish Students’ Level of English is improving!
Although the majority of Turkish students were unable to improve their English language skills due to poor, traditional language training methods at state schools, the recent reports and this survey show us there is a remarkable improvement in language skills.  The survey shows that majority of IEFT visitors’ level of English is pre-intermediate and intermediate. Still there is a clear need for better levels and accordingly English Courses are very popular at IEFT events.

Level of English
Beginner	8%
Elementary	8%
Pre-Intermediate	22%
Intermediate	26%
Upper Intermediate	21%
Advanced	12%

Turkish Families Are Very Supportive on Study Abroad Programs
An increasingly competitive job market means that a standard undergraduate degree is seen as necessary but not sufficient. Young people need to do more to stand out from their peers. Postgraduate qualifications and studying abroad are ways of achieving this, but they can be costly and so require careful advance planning. As also mentioned on HSBC’s “The Value of Education - Learning for Life Most” Global Report 2017, 57%of Turkish parents have paid or would consider paying for additional tutoring for their children.  IEFT Survey shows that 90% of Turkish  students get financial support from their families for their study abroad plans. Another interesting figure shows that 49.2% of survey participants (families) indicated that they have experienced sending their children abroad to study. 

Key Motivations and Priorities for Turkish Students and Parents
More than 44% of survey participants (families) described their reason and their main objective for a study abroad program as “quality of education”, whereas for the majority of  students their key motivation was described as “career goals”. The chart below shows the main similarities and differences in priorities among our visitors.

Key Motivations Students	Students	Parents
Quality of Education	21%	44%
Opportunity to Live Abroad	16%	18%
Improving Language Skills	23%	15%
Career Goals	40%	24%

KEY MOTIVATIONS	Students	Parents
Lack of Trust in Turkish Education System	40%	32%
Future Anxiety	38%	35%
Unhappiness of Living in Turkey	22%	33%

A majority of the students have a strong future anxiety. When we asked the students the main reasons for their future anxieties, 71.9 % of them indicated their concerns about the high unemployment rate in Turkey. The report states that the youth, as a group, are more vulnerable to economic  shocks than adults. Moreover, the youth will feel the economic recovery later than the adults.This anxiety creates another reason to lookfor study abroad options.

“Distance Effect” on Students and Parents
According to our survey results the idea that distant countries do not attract Turkish students is only a myth. 81.2% of our student visitors indicated that it does not matter if they study close to or far from Turkey. It shows that countries such as the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are not as handicapped as they once seemed to be.
When the same question is asked to parents, the result is more “sentimental”. 60% of parent visitors think that distance matters and they prefer their children- to study in closer countries.

Destination Choices of Students and Parents
The overall knowledge of and awareness of the host country in the students’ home country, and the destination’s reputation for quality appear to  affect the choice of study destination. The survey shows that there are also significant differences in the country choices between students and parents.

Our personal interviews also show that the level of referrals or personal recommendations also affects the shape of perception and choice. Whereas these are the main pull factors, other factors such as cost of living, social links, and climate  were mentioned by a minority of the survey participants as reasons for their choice of destination.

TOP 10 DESTINATIONS FOR STUDENTS
UK	24%
USA	21%
Canada	17%
Germany	11%
Australia	8%
Sweden	5%
Netherlands	5%
Italy	5%
Spain	3%
France	2%

TOP 10 DESTINATIONS FOR PARENTS
Canada	22%
UK	20%
USA	18%
Germany	18%
France	9%
Netherlands	9%
South Korea	5%
Sweden	4%
Australia	2%
Malaysia	2%

Please note that these two figures above only reflect the interview results.

For the first time, the UK is at the top of the students’ list, not the USA. This can be explained by the visa crisis between the USA and Turkey, currency changes in US dollars, and international marketing budget cuts in the US institutions.

However, the parents’ list is different from that of the students; parents’ top choice of country is Canada. Quality living standards, a great multicultural environment, and employment opportunities in Canada are factors attracting families recently. 

Financing the Students
We take great care to attract large numbers of students as well as highly qualified and potentially fee-paying students to our fairs. We spend the greatest part of our budget promoting our fair to parents and students who have a genuine interest in studying abroad. The survey results show that although students mostly prefer affordable study options, parents are ready to overspend on their kids for their education. According to HSBSCs Value of Education Report, 61% of Turkish families in general believe that university education in Turkey offers poor value for money. This shows that parents are ready to invest for international education for their children.

Family Budget
$ 5,000 - $10,000	45%
$ 10,000 - $20,000	26,5%
$20,000 - $30,000	8,5%
More than $30,000	20%

The majority of the families who attended the fairs (?) are ready to invest more than $10,000 for an international program. Twenty per cent of these families are able to consider long term, upmarket programs. Around 25% of them can still be a target for undergraduate and graduate programs for European Universities and less expensive schools and around 45 % (?) of the visitors can afford short term studies, certificate programs, or some degree programs in lower-priced countries.

PLANNING TIME FOR THE FAMILIES
We also asked the survey participants (parents) about their planning time for study abroad programs.
We gathered the following results

When did you start planning ?
In high school	41,5%
In elementary school	36,9%
In university	9,2%
In kindergarten	7,7%

This shows us there is a remarkable change in the behavior of parents in recent years and accordingly, with the growing awareness, more parents are inclined to make earlier study abroad plans for their children.

STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
Both General IEFT Statistics and Survey Results show that there is an increase in the interest for undergraduate programs. The competitive environment, and previously mentioned changes in the Turkish education and examination system encourages more students to pursue bachelor programs abroad.

Visitor Programs of Interest (Students)
Undergraduate Programs	45%
Graduate Programs	41%
Language Programs	40%
Language Summer Camps	20%
High School Education	20%
Work and Travel, Work and Study	12%
University Preparation	10%
University Summer Schools	8%
Internship	6%
Certificate Programs	3%
Online Education	2%

VISITOR AREAS OF INTEREST
While the majority of parents have a clear idea of the career they would most like their children to go into, more than four in five (88%) Turkish parents around the world would prefer their child to enter a different occupation from their own.

Visitor Areas of Interest (Students)
Business and Management	26%
Engineering and Other Technical Fields	23%
Medicine and Other Medical Fields	17%
Computer Science and Information Technology	14%
Social Sciences and Humanities	11%
Media and Communications	11%
Law	10%
Natural and Psychical Sciences	9%
Creative Arts and Design	8%
Architecture, Interior Architecture and Urban Planning	6%
3D Technologies and Game Design	4%

 

Medicine, engineering and computer science are parents’ top career preferences for their children and also the top study programs for the student participants. However, the competitive environment and huge young population in Turkey is motivating students to consider more trending and innovative programs.

SUMMARY AND FORECASTS FOR 2018
An overwhelming majority of Turkish students and parents would definitely consider study overseas programs as a future plan. More than 45% of national employers actively seek or value an international study experience when recruiting. In such a competitive environment the number of Turkish students who choose to study abroad is increasing each year.

While in the past, the most popular study areas were graduate programs, there is a remarkable growth in both undergraduate and high school programs. 

Although the most popular study destinations are still the UK, the USA and Canada, the rising currency is turning the destination choices further towards Canada and much more affordable European countries. In recent years Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Korea, and China have seen an upward trend at IEFT Fairs. 

Our surveys show that 2018 will  also be a great year for international education. We expect the numbers will continue to grow. It is definitely the right time for any international institution to invest in the Turkish Student market.