5. FTWISS - ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO SCOTLAND
The FTWiSS Invitation
5.1 This section is concerned with the "front-end" of FTWiSS. It considers how people came to find out about the scheme, what attracted them to it and their experiences of the application process. In terms of policy effectiveness, a number of important issues are raised about the communication of the scheme, what it says about Scotland and the impact it has had on people's attitudes and perceptions of Scotland.
The Decision to Come to Scotland - the Role of Place
5.2 It could be argued that the strength and nature of Scotland's reputation alone is enough to attract people here to study, work and live, particularly when one considers its wealth of universities. This section considers this argument and explores perceptions of and attitudes towards Scotland as a great place to study. The FTI and FTWiSS look to use and strengthen this message about Scotland. Chapter 6 contains a case study exploring what influence FTWiSS has had on Scotland's international image.
5.3 Evidence about the role of "place" and the influence it holds in forming someone's opinion and whether they should, for instance, go and live and work in a particular part of the world is uneven. Perhaps the best known advocate for the importance of place is Richard Florida, whose writings argue that a successful knowledge economy is dependent on places being able to attract and retain creative pools of talent. 26 Other academics in this field have emphasised the need to see this debate in a wider context relating to the role of culture and the economy and the extent to which place can be thought about and utilised as a driver of economic growth. 27
5.4 In its widest sense, FTI does recognise the importance of place and reputation. As a largely promotional intervention, aimed at communicating Scotland and, where possible, facilitating the channels of attraction for potential migrants, its purpose is based on making a proposition about Scotland as a great place to live, work, study, visit and do business. Being able to draw on Scotland's reputation in relation to these 5 dimensions is key to FTI; in the case of FTWiSS, this stretches across those dimensions.
5.5 Reputation is another area, like the role of place in the knowledge economy, that is attracting a great deal of attention. One of the leading writers in the area, Simon Anholt, argues that how a country is thought about and understood is critical because every country is competing for its share of the "world's consumers, tourists, investors, students, entrepreneurs, international sporting and cultural events and for the attention and respect of the international media, of other governments and the people of other countries". 28
Scotland's International Image
5.6 Research about Scotland's image, or reputation, internationally has told a reasonably consistent story. For people who have not given a lot of thought to Scotland or have not visited the country, basic perceptions tend to cluster around images of rural landscapes with mountains, mist and castles. These are linked to general ideas of Scotland as a traditional country, proud of its distinctive character, eg kilts, tartan and bagpipes. 29 Moreover, as research in the USA illustrated, even those who have some awareness of Scotland and/or who have visited the place, the traditional perceptions remain strong. In saying that, this group were different in that they were also able to identify other aspects of Scotland, linked to a more modern, contemporary appreciation of the country, eg cities and industry. 30
5.7 Whether it matters that many people think instinctively about Scotland in "traditional" terms continues to be widely debated. At one extreme, concerns have been raised about the way such strong and simple images can lead to stereotypical exaggeration and negative interpretation. For instance, qualitative research with young people in the USA thinking about studying abroad led to widespread uproar and miscommunication in the UK media 31 when some of the young people highlighted the character "Grounds Keeper Willie" from the TV show the Simpsons as their idea of Scottish people. 32
5.8 More worrying perhaps was the view that such strong ideas of Scotland can in some ways act as a barrier to certain propositions, such as Scotland as a place to study and learn. As one student from New York taking part in research in the USA said:
"I'd say It (Scotland) was a good place to live and retire as opposed to Florida. Working I think of here. Relaxing and chilling out and looking at the sheep on the hills…"33
5.9 The fact that Scotland, as a small country, does have such a strong, distinctive image, however much based on reality, could be seen as a strength with which more could be done. For instance, the USA research alludes to a possible link between how familiar people are with Scotland and how favourable they are about the country. 34 Getting people to visit Scotland, which may involve emphasising some of the more traditional imagery, can play an important part in helping people from abroad to gain a lived understanding and become more familiar with modern life in Scotland, eg its many universities.
Communicating Scotland Internationally
5.10 The fundamental message within FTWiSS is linked to the idea of Scotland's longstanding commitment to educational values. It is unclear whether this reputation on its own is strong enough to persuade and influence people to choose Scotland as a place to study. A lot of the research about the FTI has touched on the strength of Scotland's reputation as a place. The findings from this, discussed below, allows for a basic exploration of how reputation - ie the "pull" of a place - can inform people's ideas, attitudes and opinions about a place. How people perceive Scotland and, from that, formulate a sense of whether it would be a great place to migrate to is therefore an important question.
5.11 Higher Education is seen to be one of Scotland's main strengths, because of its historic commitment to education and the reputation of its universities for "educational excellence". 35 However, evidence from the USA and China indicates that awareness of Scotland, in general, is low and that, even amongst academics and students, more could be done to develop the profile of Scottish education. Applying this to the attraction of international students, it could be argued that Scotland faces 3 principal challenges: raising awareness of Scotland amongst particular groups; building a dialogue that highlights the inherent qualities within the Scottish education system; and finding ways of influencing the decisions of relevant audiences, ie academics and students (and their parents), in selecting Scotland as a place to learn and study.
People Who Move to Scotland
5.12 The role of place in attracting people to live, work or study is complex and it is likely that different factors will come into play as individuals make decisions to move from one place to another. For instance, qualitative research with 55 people who had moved to Scotland over a 10 year period found that economic motives were the main reasons for coming to Scotland. In this group there was a difference in how people experienced Scotland, depending on their attitude and views about the country. Those who had moved with strong ideas and notions of Scotland as a place, eg tranquil and idyllic, seemed to be more disappointed with their experience than those who came because of work opportunities alone, who seemed to have more realistic expectations. 36 Generally, for participants in this research from overseas, the decision to come to Scotland was made after they had decided to come to the UK. 37
International Students Who Come to Scotland
5.13 Evidence is available which indicates that for postgraduate students, some have come to Scotland because of its reputation for quality education and universities. 38 Academics in certain countries, like Germany, also have a general awareness of the Scottish education system and what its strengths are. 39
5.14 For international students generally however, there are a number of specific issues relating to the institution and learning environment, over and above the "location" of the university, that play an important part in their decision making. Evidence indicates that the reputation of the specific institution, courses on offer, research capacity and the academics working there are the kinds of things students want to know about and are the factors that will influence their decision. 40
5.15 This is reflected in the research with FTWiSS participants as they reached the end of their two years. The key factor in the decision to study in Edinburgh was the reputation of the university and the structure and content of the courses on offer. Interestingly, few participants had made a conscious decision to come to Scotland as such. Generally, interviewees had either decided to come to the UK to study, and then had narrowed their choice down to Edinburgh, or had selected Edinburgh directly by looking at universities worldwide with a good reputation in their field of study.
5.16 Other influences on the decision were the fact that classes were in English, the 'way of life' in the UK, and in one case, the career development of the participant's spouse. A number of interviewees had also visited Edinburgh in the past and were attracted by the city.
5.17 It must be remembered that all interviewees had started their study before FTWiSS was introduced. Therefore, this research can tell us nothing about the role of FTWiSS in attracting students to Scotland, although research elsewhere highlights the effectiveness of FTWiSS in this role ( Chapter 7).
Overall Awareness of Scotland as a Place to Study
5.18 Awareness of Scotland's reputation for high quality education is not universal and ongoing information, promotion and dialogue is therefore essential. In China for instance, academic research participants did not necessarily view Scottish education as being of a high quality, while in the USA the stereotypes of Scotland as a rural, quiet place did not necessarily match-up with students' aspirations for studying abroad. 41
5.19 Scotland may well need a leg-up in terms of communication and incentives, to stand out in the crowd. If international students have a variety of countries around the world to choose from and when they think specifically about the UK are not exposed to the distinctive Scottish element and are naturally drawn to the London-based and Oxbridge universities, then Scotland must think creatively.
5.20 The findings from the research suggests that it is important that ways are continually developed to communicate Scotland's strengths to prospective students, both at a national level - eg high quality education as a Scottish "value" - and at the institutional, university level. These things should not be seen as mutually exclusive because, as the research in China, USA and Germany indicates, the students in these countries all have different levels of awareness with regards Scotland, but when it comes to thinking about studying abroad they are all looking for a good quality experience. To make that decision, they want both a general awareness and a detailed picture of what is on offer in Scotland and, as the case study in Chapter 6, they want to know what incentives are on offer to choose Scotland over other places, inside and outside of the UK.