Open Competition for the provision of South Asia Representative Office

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1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

The procurement seeks a supplier to establish and operate a staffed representative office in South Asia, specifically focusing on India, to support Maynooth University's international student recruitment and partnership development. The successful supplier will collaborate with Maynooth University's International Office (IO) and its partners to develop and execute international student recruitment plans, cultivate new institutional partnerships (including articulations, transfer pathways, progression arrangements, and dual degrees), and achieve ambitious recruitment targets across all pathways and programmes in India.

The supplier's responsibilities include:

• International Student Recruitment: Developing and implementing strategies to recruit non-EU fee-paying undergraduate and postgraduate students from South Asia. This involves managing application numbers, conversion rates, and achieving specific year-on-year growth in applications, acceptances, and registrations.
• Partnership Development: Identifying, developing, and managing new institutional partnerships with South Asian universities. This includes establishing articulations, transfer pathways, progression arrangements, and dual degree opportunities.
• Market Intelligence and Analysis: Providing market intelligence and analysis on the South Asian higher education sector, including trends, demand-led portfolio advice, and identifying business risks and opportunities.
• Recruitment and Marketing Activities: Undertaking recruitment activities and developing marketing plans tailored to the South Asian market. This includes engagement with existing and prospective agent partners.
• Admissions and Conversion Support: Supporting the admissions and conversion processes for prospective students.
• Operational Management: Establishing and managing a staffed representative office in South Asia, including central costs, management costs, salaries, equipment, and IT.
• Reporting and Performance Monitoring: Monitoring performance against key performance indicators (KPIs), including student enrolments, application numbers and conversion rates, recruitment activities, agent and university partner engagement, and market intelligence delivery.
• Financial Management: Managing an annual budget not exceeding €225,000, which includes fixed and projected operational costs. Operational costs require pre-agreement with the IO and are tied to target delivery. Payments for fixed costs are made twice annually in advance, and operational costs are paid quarterly in advance upon invoice submission, with receipts required and subsequent adjustments made.

The supplier is expected to demonstrate creativity, innovation, and leadership in their approach, understanding the imperative to meet Maynooth University's ambitious student recruitment targets and strategic aims. They will provide direction and support to the IO Recruitment Team.

3. Background & buyer context

Maynooth University is an autonomous public university established on a foundation of historic academic strengths. It provides higher education to over 17,000 students and is committed to research, teaching, and community engagement. The university's Strategic Plan 2023-2028 outlines an ambitious path for growth and adaptation. The International Office (IO) manages international partnerships, exchange programmes, international marketing, and student recruitment. A key initiative is the Maynooth International Engineering College (MIEC), a joint venture with Fuzhou University in China, established in 2019. This tender aligns with the university's strategic aim to expand its global reputation and reach, specifically targeting growth in the South Asian region. The current base of registered students from South Asia is approximately 250. The procurement is driven by the need to establish a dedicated presence in South Asia to significantly increase international student enrolments, with projected growth targets of 50%+ for Postgraduate Taught (PGT) and 90%+ for Undergraduate (UG) over three years.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Criterion Requirement