The acquisition signals ICEF’s expanding investment in supporting professional development across the international education industry.

ICEF has completed the acquisition of the digital platform PIER from Australia-based International Education Services (IES) for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2003, PIER built a digital product range to deliver online solutions to a variety of groups within international education, specialising in training solutions for education agents, educators and students around the world. ICEF has delivered professional training for the agent marketplace since 2010, and has worked closely with PIER ever since. PIER has always been a natural partner as the first major online training platform for international education which is distinguished in part by its Education Agent Training Course (EATC), developed in collaboration with Australian Education International (AEI) and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) almost 20 years ago.

ICEF CEO, Markus Badde said: "PIER’s well-respected Education Agent Training Course (EATC), dedicated to Australia as a study destination, is an ideal complement to ICEF's suite of five agent training courses, three of which are focused on destinations such as Canada, the USA, and Ireland. This acquisition further enhances ICEFs sector-leading agent reach.” The acquisition creates the largest professional development network in the international education industry. Together PIER and ICEF have trained over 100,000 agent counsellors.

Luke Latimer, Director at IES Digital said: “With over 15 years of collaborating with key stakeholders in the international education sector, our brand and market position has always been focused on providing agents with quality training outcomes. ICEF aligns perfectly with these values and through our working relationship we have developed a shared commitment to supporting better outcomes for students, via better trained agents. We look forward to continuing that relationship as part of this new chapter.”

ICEF is the global market leader in business-to-business events and services for the international education sector. Over its 30-year history, ICEF has helped to shape international education through unrivalled networking events, market intelligence publications, training and accreditation services.