Sabbir Khan on international education

The Mr Khan Podcast · S1 E09

Where will international students come from five years from now?

UK international enrolments dipped in 2024/25, and major source markets are increasingly sensitive to policy change. Sabbir Khan argues that diversification can't mean entering a country after everyone else has.

Sustainable recruitment follows a sequence: market intelligence, early relationships, local partnerships, long-term investment. The conversation is also widening beyond recruitment to TNE, research collaboration, knowledge exchange and employability.

The Mr Khan Podcast · S1 E08

Universities don't need more agents. They need better agents.

A large agent network means little without performance, compliance, market knowledge and accountability.

A hundred active, high-performing partners can create more value than a thousand names sitting in a database. The future belongs to the best-performing network, not the biggest one.

The Mr Khan Podcast · S1 E07

AI + human expertise + trust: the future of education advising

AI won't replace education advisers, but advisers who understand AI may replace those who don't.

The next generation of international education will be led by professionals who combine new tools with human judgement and the trust of students and families.

Article

The UK international education market is changing, not closing

The UK's 2026 International Education Strategy puts student experience, quality outcomes and responsible recruitment at the centre, alongside an ambition to grow education exports. At the same time, regulation is tightening, with a proposed international student levy and a new approach to monitoring recruitment quality.

Sabbir Khan's view: the next five years will reward quality over volume, suitability over speed, compliance over shortcuts, and student outcomes over enrolment numbers. The better question isn't how to recruit more students, but how to recruit the right students and help them succeed.

Student advice

A university offer letter is not the finish line

Before accepting an offer, students should check seven things: whether the course fits their career, the full cost of study and living, the location, the support services available, graduate outcomes, whether their information is verified from official sources, and where they want to be in five years.

Research, compare, verify, then decide. A future deserves an informed decision, not just an offer letter.

Article

Recruitment is only the beginning

Success in international education shouldn't be measured only by enrolment numbers. The real question is what happens to students after enrolment: do they gain skills, build careers and achieve better outcomes?

Recruitment, education, skills, employability, success: that is the full journey.

Article

I would rather lose an enrolment than give a student the wrong advice

Responsible guidance sometimes means saying 'no', 'not this course' or 'not yet'. One enrolment has value today; trust lasts much longer.

Related advice for students: the cheapest option isn't always the best value. Look at total cost, course quality, location, career support and long-term goals.

LinkedIn newsletter

In-Country Representatives: revolutionising international student recruitment

In-Country Representatives (ICRs) give universities a trusted local presence, connecting institutions with students, schools, agents and families in key markets. Sabbir Khan has held this role himself as Country Representative for Fanshawe College in Bangladesh.