Dhruv Mohan (Western University) on International Recruitment in a Dynamic World

On today’s episode of the Illumination by Modern Campus podcast, podcast host Shauna Cox was joined by Dhruv Mohan to discuss how recent global trends, evolving student demographics and technology are reshaping international recruitment strategies. 

Transcript

Voiceover: Welcome to Illumination by Modern Campus, the leading podcast focused on transformation and change in the higher education space. On today’s episode, we speak with Dhruv Mohan, who is Manager of International Recruitment in the School of Continuing Studies at Western University. Dhruv and podcast host Shauna Cox discuss how recent global trends, evolving student demographics and technology are reshaping international recruitment strategies in higher education. 

Shauna Cox (00:02):Dhruv, welcome to the Illumination podcast. I'm so glad you could join me today.

Dhruv Mohan (00:07):Thank you, Shauna, for having me. It's a pleasure to be part of the podcast and I'm looking forward to our conversation.

Shauna Cox (00:13):Yeah, absolutely. So I'm going to say that you are an expert in the international recruitment sphere, and so this is what our conversation's going to be about. I'm going to kick off our conversation by asking how have recent global trends in shifting student demographics impacted the approach to attracting international students specifically to Canada?

Dhruv Mohan (00:38):I think that's a great question, and I think anyone that follows international education would be well aware. Canada has gone through some recent changes in terms of its international education policies. The way I look at it is Canada has been a very welcoming destination for a very long time. It's a very well known fact. It has been open to immigration for decades. What people tend to forget are, which is pretty much not brought into the limelight, is Canada's ability to put high quality education in the forefront. We've got leading research driven universities and institutes that are here in Canada, and I think in the changing times, that's where the narrative has to shift and has already shifting. So Canada's ability to attract global talent needs to be defined by the high quality education that it can put in the forefront towards this audience. Other global destinations like the US or the UK or Australia have done this for a very long time. I think when we are trying to reset that button with these legislative or the policy changes that are happening around us, I think it's a great opportunity for us as a destination to put our high quality institutes in the forefront, leading research driven universities that Canada boasts off. I think that's going to be the key with this shifting narrative.

Shauna Cox (02:24):Absolutely, and oftentimes in higher ed, we talk about the modern learner, those modern learner experience, the student experience, what their changing expectations are, and I'm curious to know how that compares to the international students. So what are some of those unique challenges institutions face in meeting the evolving expectations of international students and how can they adapt to affect these effectively?

Dhruv Mohan (02:53):I think I'd want to circle back to the same comment around when you talk about quality institutes, for example, I like to even talk about Western for that matter, right? We are a founding member of the U 15 group of research universities, highly research intensive, but at the same time, being a highly ran computed institute, we've built an infrastructure that any incoming international student should have access to. And I think that's going to be the key in these changing times as well to put forward an experience which is holistic in nature, not just academically fulfilling, but giving them a sense of what the Canadian culture is all about, helping them get a culture to this environment. I think that's going to be the key. And I think that's where top universities, top institutes like ourselves would excel and have excelled for a very long time.

(04:00):So I think it's going to be imperative to give that holistic sort of an experience to an incoming student, but at the same time ensure that they are ready to fulfill the labor market needs because that's what the government is talking about as well right now. So is an incoming student capable enough to transition into the workforce? And when I talk about a unit like continuing studies at Western, that's where we excel as a unit as well. We focus on upskilling, reskilling. Our programs are very practical in nature. So it help an incoming student gain those valuable skill sets that an employer is looking for, but it's not just on one department. I think as a whole, the institute needs to put that narrative in the forefront and that is where I feel there would be a shift coming. So holistic sort of an exposure experience that a student should sign up for that would make them job ready and help them get into the workforce with the right skill sets.

Shauna Cox (05:15):Absolutely. And just diving off of that, I think especially being from the continuing studies department, it's important to foster a lifelong learning funnel timeline, things like that. So the recruitment strategy an institution has is so pivotal to fulfilling that or meeting those needs for a lifelong learning culture. So you did mention some of the industries and things like that. So what role do partnerships, whether it's external, internal, what role do those partnerships play in that recruitment strategy?

Dhruv Mohan (05:55):I think now even more than ever before fostering these partnerships would be imperative in terms of the success of not just the institute but also different departments within the institute. So for example, we work very closely with the employers as part of our programs. We've got an internship component in which the students get that exposure, they get opportunity to set a foot in the door even before they're done with the program, and we work very closely with the various employers within the city, also in the province, to ensure that our students have an opportunity to get that exposure as well. So within the province, yes, of course we work very closely, but in these changing times, I think it's also going to be critical how you foster those partnerships outside of Canada as well. So the world is shrinking, which means there are opportunities available not just in this part of the world, but all across the globe.

(07:01):A good example would be countries like Korea, Japan who are opening up and also attracting global talent. That's where sort of your you're competing with. So I think you have to be cognizant of that and be aware how competitive the whole space is becoming, which means when you talk about fostering these relationships, we can talk about B two I relationship collaborating with other top institutes in different parts of the world to ensure maybe an international student is not traveling 10,000 miles away, but still through these partnership is being exposed to that sort of global exposure experience that they have signed up for. So I think there are different types of partnerships that you could build. One to give them that local experience that they definitely deserve and have signed up for, but not just limiting it to that experience to Canada and hopefully providing that experience close to their home country or in the region that they come from as well. So I think that might also be the key moving forward, and I think that's going to be critical when an institute is looking at driving strategies in these changing times.

Shauna Cox (08:31):Absolutely. Touching on the experience component that you mentioned there, I think we'd be remiss not to talk about the technology aspect of it, especially in the digital era that we're in now. So how is technology shaping those strategies, not only for the international student recruitment, but also engaging with those perspective students worldwide, as you mentioned? I

Dhruv Mohan (08:55):Think that's a very important question, and I think we've fully started endorsing technology when we were hit with the pandemic. So as a recruiter, it was very tough for me to travel to different parts of the world, which was an integral part of what I did. Having said that, we still wanted to present that opportunity to an international student who's probably sitting 10,000 miles away. So whether it's the use of Zoom or other platforms, I think it's become an integral part of how we build our strategies to amplify our outreach today. And the best thing is when you're traveling physically, you can possibly only cover a certain leg or a certain region, but the best part of technology is I can really amplify my outreach. So we've taken that as an opportunity that happened in a crisis like the Pandemic, but we've endorsed that and it's a critical part of how we build our strategies today, whether it's also engaging with a younger audience through platforms that they feel more comfortable with being Insta.

(10:16):So Insta live sessions are very popular with a prospective student, and I think that's the beauty of technology, that you can really cross boundaries and get into regions that you're not even aware of before. I would also love to highlight when you talk about strategies, the importance of looking at data. And I think that's a critical part of when you do an outreach, how are you analyzing if you've run an ad on Google, are you putting emphasis on what the data set looks like and then maybe informing your strategies that are aligned with the data that is thrown in front of you. So I think that's a critical element, and I think that's going to be also the key moving forward because I believe that data is king and it's very important in today's changing times as well.

Shauna Cox (11:19):Absolutely. Data is so crucial to making decisions, understanding your audience, especially an international audience, those needs and wants are going to be very diverse. So now I'm going to look to the bigger picture, look to the future. Everyone can predict the future. So what future trends do you foresee in the sector, and then how should institutions prepare to stay competitive in this dynamic field?

Dhruv Mohan (11:49):I think more collaboration, innovation models that have not been prevalent. I think the institutes will have to come up with strategies and sort of models. I touched upon partnerships, so I think that might be an important part of how future strategies are built. I also feel in terms of Canadian institutes, this is a great time again to highlight what the institutes have on offer.

(12:25):

We are at a critical junction. Many top destinations have gone through these changes. Some of them are currently going through these changes. Australia also put some caps in for their international students. Australia went through sort of a similar phase almost a decade ago where they realized they had to put high quality top rank universities in the forefront. That's how they pivoted. I think Canada is at a similar sort of a juncture right now where it's going to be imperative to put high quality education in the forefront. US has done that very well and attracted global talent for a very long time. Top UK universities have been able to do the same. I firmly believe Canada has a great education system and top ran universities. It is the right time to put these institutes in the forefront. So I think that is what is going to define how the next few years are going to look like. But I'm optimistic that if we put all this in the forefront, Canada that has been known for a very welcoming destination would stay strong.

Shauna Cox (13:50): Amazing. Well, dhruv, those are all the questions that we have for you. But before I let you go, we do need a restaurant recommendation. Now you are based in London, Ontario. Where do people need to go?

Dhruv Mohan (14:20):I think that's a question very close to my heart. Food is what gets me going. I've traveled many places and when I'm on a two, three week road trip, it gets pretty tough towards the faggot of that trip. I think food is definitely one thing that keeps me going. My one recommendation, or although I could recommend Few, would be so ton Ramin recently opened up in London, and I think people who are familiar who are from Ontario would know that they have other franchisees, branches across the province. But I love my Ramin, so that's one recommendation. We go there quite often, never disappointing. So that's the recommendation I'll put forward.

Shauna Cox (15:17):Amazing. I can totally second that. Being from Ontario, kinden Ramen is absolutely the best place for Ramen. It's one of my favorite places to go to. So great recommendation. I appreciate it. Drew. Thank you so much for joining me. It was really great chatting with you.

Dhruv Mohan (15:34):Thanks, Shauna. Pleasure being here. And thanks for having me.