2021 has been another difficult year for most of us in International Education, however, as soon as we heard that ICEF Berlin was going to have a face-to-face component we started to realise that we might soon be able to start putting these past horrible months behind us. And the last few days, whether it was via virtual meetings or face-to-face interactions, we got a solid confirmation of this. At Schools & Agents, this year we decided to do the full hybrid experience and meet some industry professionals via Zoom, but at the same time be present on the ground in Berlin to capture the vibe of the face-to-face component of the event as well.

Meetings have been much more positive this year!

We could immediately pick up a much more positive vibe during the event this year. Whether we spoke to education providers, agents or even service providers, we got the impression that everyone has a much more positive outlook on the future. 

The vibe on-the-ground was amazing!

During some of the meetings we had with people who were on the ground at the Intercontinental Hotel in Berlin we were given a virtual tour of what was going on during the face to face event and, even though, for obvious reasons, the numbers were lower than usual, we can assure you that the vibe was the same. Corridors buzzing with people moving from one meeting to the other, old friends seeing each other after a two-year gap, new partners meeting each other for the first time....the famous ICEF Berlin vibe!

The cherry on the cake!

Meeting old industry friends and partners has certainly been the cherry on the cake (it even led to a few teary and emotional moments) at this year's ICEF Berlin, and this continues to confirm how special this industry truly is...and that no pandemic can destroy the spirit and the soul that people in international education have :)

Let's all look ahead and be thankful we've made it so far

If there is one thing that everyone has been repeating over the past few days it's that, yes, these past two years have been hard, but we can now only look ahead. It's onwards and upwards #intled! Let's do this!

Thank you ICEF!

The biggest thank you for making "normal" seem possible again certainly goes out to ICEF and the amazing team behind this organisation for their continuous efforts and sterling work in putting this hybrid event together and showing all of us that we are indeed on the path to normality.

We can't wait to see more of everyone in the coming year!