Swansea University

At a glance

Founded in 1920, Swansea University is a public, research-led university in Wales
Swansea chose BridgeU to grow their international recruitment, namely in their Engineering department
BridgeU launched a targeted Extra Engage Campaign to increase visibility and shortlists to their Engineering department
During the campaign, 60% of all Swansea BridgeU shortlists during the campaign period were for engineering courses
Swansea were also successfully able to connect with our schools in Nairobi to provide sessions for students interested in engineering

Choosing BridgeU

Swansea University’s latest strategy sought to significantly increase its international undergraduate recruitment while maintaining and continuing to build on its success in the postgraduate market.

In particular, the Faculty of Science and Engineering were looking to increase the visibility of Engineering programmes at the university. They reached out to BridgeU to inquire about how our services could support them in increasing applications to the Science and Engineering programmes ahead of the UCAS equal consideration deadline in January 2024.

Following a free consultation in November 2023, Swansea approved a proposal for an Engage Extra campaign targeting 2024 students interested in both the UK and Engineering programmes.

Engage Extra is a bespoke, targeted content campaign tailored to a university’s recruitment objectives or needs such as promoting specific courses or engaging students from a particular region.

The content was created in-house at BridgeU and shared with the Swansea Faculty of Science and Engineering marketing colleagues for review. Following this review, the content went live to circa 6,000 students using BridgeU in early December and featured 3 blogs focusing on:

Engineering course specialisms at Swansea
International student life specific to students studying Engineering, featuring testimonials and leveraging Swansea student-focused content for a Gen Z audience
Engineering alumni success stories with a focus on placement years in industry and employability support at Swansea

Ahead of the January UCAS equal consideration deadline, Grace Dickinson, Senior Campaign Manager at BridgeU, presented a progress report, which also identified opportunities for Swansea to connect with international schools where we saw particular engagement with the campaign.

Following this, Grace reached out to these schools, and so far, the Nairobi International School has arranged for a session for their students focusing on Engineering at Swansea.

When the University entered into partnership with BridgeU, I saw this as an opportunity to promote our Engineering subjects especially, and so worked with BridgeU on a campaign at the tail end of the application cycle.

The BridgeU staff were very personable, responsive to all requests, easy to work with in terms of getting content across, and the reporting mid-campaign and post-campaign review was excellent.
Adam Jones
Interim Head of Marketing, Recruitment and International
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University

The campaign results

Since the campaign launched, the Swansea Enhanced Profile has been viewed 205 times with an average view rate of 4.7 per student, a 37.6% increase in engagement with Swansea’s Enhanced Profile compared to the previous period (8 weeks), despite the campaign starting shortly before the winter break.
60% of all Swansea shortlists on the BridgeU platform during the campaign period were for Engineering courses.
Before the campaign, Swansea University was 31st in the UK for Engineering shortlists on the BridgeU platform. Since the campaign was launched, Swansea University has moved to 16th in the UK for Engineering shortlists on the BridgeU Platform.

I’m very satisfied with the campaign outcomes, as it was clear that the campaign resulted in a massive increase in touchpoints with Swansea University. Our Engineering subject area in particular saw an increase in interest and shortlisting which can be directly attributed to the campaign, and we have now also been connected directly with staff at international high schools in relevant markets.
Adam Jones
Interim Head of Marketing, Recruitment and International
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University

School Connections

As well as metric success, Swansea were able to connect with the guidance counsellor at the Nairobi International School, which resulted in meetings between the university and school. The school has also arranged some sessions for Adam Jones and the Engineering department staff to present to students at the school.

See what BridgeU can do for you

Talk to us to learn more about how BridgeU can help you to connect with international schools in 140+ countries and improve the quality & diversity of your international student enrolment

Book meeting