Connected Scotland at a record-breaking EAIE conference and exhibition in Toulouse, France.
17-20 September 2024, Toulouse, France
Team Scotland stand
Last week, Ela Kossakowska and Professor Neville Wylie, from Connected Scotland, represented Universities Scotland and Connected Scotland at the 34th EAIE Conference, Europe’s leading international higher education conference for professionals working in international higher education. Ela shares her experience of this year’s conference and why it’s an important part of the calendar for higher education in Scotland.
The EAIE conference is a global meeting place for educators from around the world, giving the sector a geographical home for one week a year. With over 7,300 delegates from 110 countries making their way to Toulouse for the weekend, it truly felt like a temporary “capital city” of Education.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, the EAIE Conference and Exhibition is the largest international higher education conference in Europe. Through 240+ sessions and activities, in-depth workshops, an impressive showcase of 255 exhibition stands with over 900 exhibitors from around the world and a diverse array of networking events, this year's EAIE conference gave participants the opportunity to enhance their expertise, explore current trends in higher education and establish partnerships with institutions from around the world.
Team Scotland attend the event to showcase Scotland and our universities, with the aim of strengthening existing and building new relationships with partners from across the globe, showing Scotland as a welcome and exciting destination in higher education. With a presence at the conference for over a decade, “Study in Scotland” is a key element in marketing Scotland to international universities and higher education partners. The conference is a unique way to engage with partners from around the world on a large scale, and having a focal point for Scotland is an opportunity to promote the excellence of Scottish higher education on a global stage. This year, our “Study in Scotland” stand was put together by 9 Scottish universities, Brand Scotland and Connected Scotland. To help build relationships, and introduce delegates to our Scottish hospitality, we hosted a reception which included tastings for whisky, irn-bru, and shortbread, and gifted very popular Harris Tweed bookmarks and coasters, as “wee reminders” of Scotland for attendees.
Alongside exhibitor stands, the conference had a packed agenda of plenary sessions, workshops, and networking activities that made up the hugely dynamic programme. We had the opportunity to visit other nation stands, building relationships and learning more about opportunities to grow “Brand Scotland” around the world. EAIE offered a fantastic, inspiring and impressive platform to connect with partners and to engage with organisations, promoting Scottish higher education internationally. We will meet again in Gothenburg in 2025.
