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"Mexicans decended from the Aztecs. Peruvians descended from the Incas. Argentines descended from ships." This saying reflects what makes Argentina different from the other countries in South America - the vast majority of its inhabitants are people of European descent who brought with them European customs, preferences and even food. Aregentines' self-image, particularly in Greater Buenos Aires (which contains a third of the country's population) depends heavily on their historic connections to Europe in a very positive way.

Recent changes: return to liberal democracy in the mid 80's and liberal economic revolution from 1991 have propelled the country forward in its attempt to learn from the mistakes of the past and finally reach the status and the place in the world it always has had the potential to reach.

Having inherited a largely nineteenth century state education and training system, the government has made a number of bold reforms to try to prepare its children and workforce for current economic needs, aided by the World Bank (WB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). There are opportunities for UK suppliers to participate in these projects. However, probably the largest area of opportunity for UK education and training is in the buoyant and quickly developing private education sector. There are a number of distinct opportunities, particularly at postgraduate level (recruitment for top quality MBAs, Other niche postgraduate areas and short postgraduate professional courses), but also for those institutions interested in developing joint ventures with local institutions. Technology transfer is the means by which the Argentine economy has grown so fast in the past 7 years; technology transfer through joint ventures with foreign institutions is also seen as a short cut for local education institutions to meet the rising local demand for quality and diversity of courses.

Argentine institutions, both state and private, are being courted by many UK competitors in the education field. The US is predominant in student recruitment in the large and growing MBA and Business related field; US, French and Spanish institutions all have more links than their British counterparts. More work is required to raise the generic profile of British education; most individual institutions will have to work hard to develop local knowledge of their institutions. UK institutions should be helped by Argentina's pro-European orientation and the strong historical, cultural and linguistic ties it has had with the UK. Despite differences at the diplomatic level, Argentines have tended to be very anglophile.

In the face of this competition, those UK institutions which will succeed in Argentina are those which are persistent and show their committment to potential local partners by repeated visits to the market. This can already be clearly seen from the strategies employed by successful UK institutions.

Taken from the British Council Argentina Education and Training Market Plan

Scottish Education + Training Activity in Argentina

To date Scottish Education + Training have undertaken the following activity in Argentina:

To order copies of the video or brochures visit our Marketing Material pages.

For further information about SE+T's work in Argentina, to discuss opportunities for Scottish education providers in Argentina or to order any of the reports / documents listed below please email: [email protected]

Please note - reports will be distributed at the discretion of Scottish Education + Training.