The Universities Fighting World Hunger (UFWH) e-brochure is now available online at www.i-studentadvisor.com/ufwh. The brochure was designed and created by ISA Media after UFWH won a free e-brochure competition at the 2009 NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo.

ISA Media — the company responsible for i-studentadvisor, i-studentlife, i-studentenquiry and a range of interactive e-brochures for higher education institutions — launched a competition at this years NAFSA conferences in Los Angeles for one institution or organisation to win a four page electronic brochure.  Competition entrants were asked to hand in business cards at the ISA Media booth to be entered into the prize draw which was drawn on the final day of the conference.

The lucky winners were Universities Fighting World Hunger (UFWH), an organisation devoted to fighting world hunger with the help of donations and support of universities. UFWH began in 2004 as a partnership between the United Nations World Food Programme and Auburn University. Since then, more than 100 colleges and universities worldwide have joined in their efforts to eliminate hunger locally and globally. View the e-brochure for more information on UFWH or visit the website.

The runner-up prize of a 21-year-old bottle of whiskey went to John McPartland, Director of International Affairs at Trinity College Dublin.

ISA Media will be holding more booth competitions at the 2010 NAFSA conference in Kansa City, Missouri. For a chance of winning stop by the booth. Keep checking the i-studentadvisor blog for updates on both the NAFSA conference and other events that ISA Media will be attending.

During this time we have covered a variety of stories and followed developing issues in international education, often sparking debate both on the blog site and in the i-studentadvisor office.

The past 99 i-studentadvisor blogs have brought you the latest statistics in international education from a variety of reports and surveys, controversial global discussions such as the Australia racism issue plus sneak previews of upcoming i-studentadvisor magazines and other ventures including the launch of the brand new website, i-studentlife.

We first looked at the impact of the recession on the international education industry back in May when we reported that many small colleges in the US had fallen victim to the recession. Since then we have had numerous related stories from aroud the world, each with a different take on the recesiion debate, including reports in July that the current economic climate is actually causing an increase in university applications in the UK.

Roz Brabner, former Editorial Assistant for i-studentadvisor and original i-studentadvisor blogger said: “It has been fantastic to view the growing success of the i-studentadvisor blog over the last 6 months, the blog provides everyone in international education excellent up to date, accessible and refreshing material and has been a great success. I am delighted I was involved in this fantastic project and I look forward to reading more dynamic content from Nikki and Felicity!”

Next week we will be launching the new sister site to i-studentadvisor, i-studentlife.com. Unlike the i-studentadvisor publications and i-studentadvisor blog which are aimed at guidance counsellors and education professionals, i-studentlife is solely for the students who are considering studying overseas and want to find out more.

i-studentlife is for the international student who wants to take control of their search for a higher education overseas and gain additional knowledge of international study that they won’t get from their guidance counsellor.

Working with our team at i-studentlife is a fantastic group of international students who are already studying overseas at institutions in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. These students will be writing regular blogs about their experiences as international students abroad and sharing advice with the students who are considering following in their footsteps.

For students already at college or younger students thinking about the future, there is a careers section featuring interviews with graduates and young professionals that offers a valuable insight into various career paths. There is also a section of articles about gap year experiences, study abroad programmes and various other opportunities for  study and travel before, during and after a degree.

On top of all that, the ‘international study’ section includes key information about applying to study in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in an easy to read format. Finally, the ’student life’ section offers students a glimpse into the youth culture of the countries they want to study in, from fashion in California to university sport in Australia.

i-studentlife will be launching on September 1st 2009 and will be updated weekly from then. If you have any suggestions as to what you would like to see on the i-studentlife website or if you are an international student and would like to write for us, leave a comment or email me at nikki.t@isa-media.com.