Who steals this good idea?

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27 januari 2012 | Without talent mobility, no economic recovery. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum points to the University of West England (UWE) as a best practice: the university involved their international students in local UK companies that want to expand overseas.

In the context of their prestigious Davos-meeting, the collectedworld leaders talked about the importance of talent mobility. A Talent Mobility Knowledge Bank can serve asinspiration for worldwide companies, organization and educationalinstitutions.

The case of the University of West England was put forward as aninteresting example for bringing together international studentsand local business. What was the problem? Local businesses in theUnited Kingdom faced obstacles when attempting to expand into newoverseas markets, such as language barriers and insufficientawareness of cultural business practices. International studentswanted to gain experience in the UK job market.

University as an agent

As a smart solution, the UWE created a platform for localbusinesses to recruit international students who wish to gain workexperience while in the United Kingdom. Through the Talent Project,businesses enjoy a cost-effective way of using the high-levelspecialist and international skills offered by the internationalstudents at UWE.

International students help with translation and interpretingservices; research new markets; liaise with key suppliers, clientsand customers in a specific overseas market; and developinternational contacts by phone or on line. The university becomesthe agent for efficiently matching employers and employees in amarket that might not otherwise materialize.