At the end of 1990s, the reform and opening up not only brought about changes in material living standards, but also brought about changes in people's thinking. More and more families in China began to seek better educational resources, and they turned their eyes to the larger educational platform of the world. With the upsurge of the first batch of "crab-eaters" going abroad, more and more China students go abroad. According to the data, as of 20 12, the number of Chinese students studying abroad at their own expense has reached 399,600, firmly occupying the throne of the world's largest exporter of international students.
In the past ten years, studying abroad has rapidly moved from elite consumption to ordinary people's homes, and the study abroad market has also moved from groping to excitement, and then from excitement to calmness and standardization. As a participant and witness in the development of the industry, Chen Yuan divided the hottest decade of the study abroad industry into three development stages.
The first stage was before 2008, which can be described as the "Warring States Period". At that time, the market was generally a traditional study abroad service. There were not so many institutions before, but the market capacity is very large. No matter what kind of products are provided, this market is digestible. Information is far from transparent now, but the demand for studying abroad is rising. It is normal to increase 20% and 30% every year. In other words, at that time, parents were still very confused about studying abroad, and their cognitive level was limited to sending their children abroad, and the news was blocked. At present, in order to make money quickly, many overseas institutions send students abroad directly without institutional review, which leads to many students being cheated, having no schooling abroad or even going home.
The second stage was from 2008 to the end of 20 10, and the whole study abroad industry began to differentiate. "Like other industries, in the process of rapid expansion of the study abroad industry, there will be many new projects, including some changes in the company's management structure, and then there will be imperfections in services. In order to make every business show its characteristics and characteristics, we must deepen our service structure. "
The third stage started from 20 1 1 and will continue for some time. The most striking feature at this stage is that with the development of the Internet, information about studying abroad is becoming more and more transparent. Many parents know more about colleges and majors than consultants from some institutions, and DIY study abroad is also very popular. At the same time, the number of service agencies for studying abroad has increased and the competition has become more intense. Without the "natural advantage" of information asymmetry, where is the value of study abroad service institutions? Where is the road?
Internet changes the service industry for studying abroad.
Chen Yuan recalled that eight years ago, he was still a "small era" in the study abroad industry. Although he left the IT industry long ago, Chen Yuan admitted that he was a person with Internet complex, which played a great role. "At that time, large portals opened channels and columns related to studying abroad or international education."
However, the rapid development of Internet technology is a "double-edged sword", and not all of them are "sweet" to the service industry for studying abroad. From 20 10 to the end of 20 1 1, the whole study abroad market has undergone a qualitative change, which was initiated by the internet. "The development of the Internet makes it easy for us to obtain all kinds of information, and it also brings great challenges to the study abroad service industry that relies on information to eat. A lot of information can be learned through the websites of foreign institutions, which makes parents feel that they can study abroad. Why do they spend money to find an intermediary? " Chen Yuan said that he is not pessimistic about the challenges brought by the Internet, because he believes that "opportunities are often hidden behind challenges". Objectively speaking, the needs of students and parents have changed. Although they no longer need information "literacy" passively, they need more refined services and more in-place services. In the future, institutions studying abroad should play more roles in life planning, not just simple information providers. To be more precise, institutions studying abroad will provide educational services, not intermediary services.
The development of studying abroad needs a healthy environment.
After so many years of development, the study abroad industry has gradually got rid of the earliest "Warring States Period" and entered the era of orderly competition from disorder. However, it is undeniable that in the face of the huge international education market and the surging upsurge of studying abroad, there are still many contacts such as language training and studying abroad services, and there are more or less various problems. For the whole industry, the biggest harm is that illegal institutions and black intermediaries are squeezing in to share a piece of the action.
Chen Yuan believes that it is not necessarily a bad thing that there are more institutions competing with each other in a certain field. Because only by comparison can we choose, and only by comparison can we know whose service standard and whose service ability are in place. Good institutions will be recognized by the market and will stand out. But this rule just doesn't work in the study abroad industry. "The reality is just the opposite. As soon as the study abroad industry rose, a group of people broke into the market. They don't have professional qualifications, resources and experience, and even don't know the industry at all. They formed a' grass team' to sing opera, which had a bad negative impact on the market. "
Chen Yuan said that since entering the study abroad industry, whenever it comes to this industry, it is impossible to avoid "illegal institutions". Formal institutions cannot tolerate "black intermediaries". The main reason is not that they carved up the market share, but that "a fly ruined a pot of porridge." Because the case is botched and cheated, consumers will not feel that there is a problem with a consulting company, but blame the whole industry. The study abroad industry is a service industry, which relies on word of mouth and word of mouth to survive. It really can't afford to be hurt.
Talking about the development prospects of the study abroad industry, Chen Yuan believes that there is a big cake in the study abroad market, and every institution has opportunities. However, the future study abroad industry will no longer be extensive growth and homogeneous development, but refined and personalized. Of course, the premise is to purify the development environment of the industry and create a healthy and standardized "ecological circle". "The study abroad industry has just passed a' golden decade', but there will definitely be more' golden decade' in the future." Chen Yuan said that just as he left the IT circle and chose to study abroad, he was still full of confidence in the career he was cultivating.