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Debates about student mobility (incl #ErasmusPlus #turingscheme) always dredge up interesting information about politics & firms given HE is itself a global business. I had no idea that the UK PM’s brother, Jo Johnson, was in the study abroad business:
https://www.applyboard.com/leadership 1/
https://www.applyboard.com/leadership 1/
Platform firms/dynamics insert themselves into study abroad world: “ApplyBoard simplifies the study abroad search, application, & acceptance process by connecting international students, recruitment partners, and academic institutions on one platform” https://www.applyboard.com/about 2/
Interesting to see the Kitchener Ontario HQ which is, of course, the home of the University of Waterloo, with its strong software engineering program. HT to @PeterMcColl @tomslater42 for the tip on all this information. 3/3
Dug around a little more: 13 Feb 2020: Former minister Jo Johnson appointed as chairman of ApplyBoard advisory board https://thepienews.com/news/jo-johnson-joins-applyboard-as-new-chairman/#.X-yXYyj5cI8.twitter "“As the chairman the first thing he has been tasked with is building the advisory board."
5 Nov 2020: ApplyBoard Announces Formation of UK Advisory Board https://www.applyboard.com/blog/applyboard-uk-advisory-board In ways it is not surprising the Advisory Board has UK figures on it, but Johnson started with a "UK Advisory Board" vs an International Advisory Board, and in November.
Now the UK is a key country with respect to international student mobility, and the Brexit context would inevitably have opened up some UK-centered opportunities. But did Jo Johnson know, back then, that the UK would drop out of #Erasmusplus & back the #Turingscheme?
It's worth looking at ApplyBoard's partners and backers: ApplyBoard Announces C$70M Series C Extension and New Partnership with ETS https://www.applyboard.com/blog/applyboard-series-c-extension "ETS’s equity investment in ApplyBoard was executed by ETS Strategic Capital, a new unit of ETS created to grow..."
ApplyBoard Raises C$100M in Series C Funding. https://www.applyboard.com/blog/applyboard-raises-100-million-series-c
ApplyBoard Announces $55 Million Series B Funding https://www.applyboard.com/blog/applyboard-announces-55-million-series-b-funding
ApplyBoard raises $17 million to improve int’l student applications with AI https://betakit.com/applyboard-raises-17-million-to-improve-intl-student-applications-with-ai/
Finally, for now, this is interesting: https://www.applyboard.com/blog/applyboard-raises-100-million-series-c And, assuming they are accurate, "ApplyBoard has grown to become the world’s largest online platform for international student recruitment" https://www.applyboard.com/about Five years (2015-2020)...think about that.
. @annecorb @GordonCE on 7 July 2020: "Also calling for a British Erasmus replacement is Jo Johnson, a respected former minister for universities, who left his brother’s government last Autumn..." https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2020/07/07/emerging-post-brexit-strategy-for-universities-may-destroy-the-sector/
Fascinating intersection of #Brexit + power & politics in the UK + platform firms targeting the #highered sector (in this case wrt student mobility) + the Kitchener-Waterloo global tech footprint (in this case a firm est by #internationalstudents from Iran <ht @mwaltonroberts>).
So Jo Johnson, who recommended the end of UK involvement in #Erasmusplus, has direct financial interests in study abroad firm ApplyBoard Inc (that provides him w shareholdings & salary): https://members.parliament.uk/member/4039/registeredinterests Plenty of other education/edtech interests, too. <ht @drdanherbert>
. @annecorb, expert on the Bologna Process/European Higher Education Area, on ‘Why has the UK ditched participation in Erasmus+?’ https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210101111206409 @uniworldnews Includes reference to Jo Johnson & ApplyBoard.
Vivienne Stern, Director, Universities UK International “While we are deeply disappointed that no agreement was reached on Erasmus+...” https://www.eua.eu/news/619:european-university-association-and-universities-uk-international%E2%80%99s-common-statement-on-the-eu-uk-agreement.html The term “agreement” implies negotiations & *genuine* consideration of maintaining UK involvement in #ErasmusPlus. Yet...
"ApplyBoard has two main parts of its business. First, the company helps international students search and apply from a single platform to universities and colleges across the world" - "It is free for students." https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/04/edtechs-newest-unicorn-applyboard-lands-1-4b-valuation-with-fresh-funding/
"The other part of ApplyBoard’s business is on the university side. The startup makes money from revenue-sharing agreements with colleges and universities. If a student attends a college from using their services, ApplyBoard gets a cut of the tuition." https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/04/edtechs-newest-unicorn-applyboard-lands-1-4b-valuation-with-fresh-funding/
"What is your monetization model?" https://medium.com/authority-magazine/martin-basiri-of-applyboard-5-things-you-need-to-know-to-create-a-successful-app-or-saas-b2aef11e8b60
The aggregators are coming...important insights from @amybakerThePIE on ApplyBoard's business model: https://thepiereview.mydigitalpublication.com/display_article.php?id=3813508&view=681731 1/2
And @amybakerThePIE points out, importantly, that "gov-funded mobility is not the student mobility that ApplyBoard currently services... fully-funded study is behind its business model." 2/3
Heavy use of the term "study abroad" by the firm & many articles about it led me to mistakenly think ApplyBoard was monetizing the time-limited study abroad space vs degree-oriented international student space. This is a very important correction-thanks, @amybakerThePIE! 3/3
Three brief final points for now on today's update: 1) Given the ApplyBoard business model, the argument that the Jo Johnson-linked firm (ApplyBoard) will directly benefit from the end of #Erasmusplus & its replacement with the #TuringScheme has yet to be determined;
2) J&B Johnson played key roles in the end of UK involvement in #ErasmusPlus & the early retuning of the place of the UK in international HE education space, a point made last summer by @annecorb @GordonCE
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2020/07/07/emerging-post-brexit-strategy-for-universities-may-destroy-the-sector/ & last week by @annecorb https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210101111206409
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2020/07/07/emerging-post-brexit-strategy-for-universities-may-destroy-the-sector/ & last week by @annecorb https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210101111206409
3) As @amybakerThePIE puts it, the platform-based aggregators are coming... https://thepiereview.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=65429&i=681731&view=articleBrowser&article_id=3813508
