Student Recruitment from Inside the Arctic Circle

Recruiting international students to a university inside the Arctic Circle sounds like a tough sell. Jose de Pool, Project Coordinator at Nord University in Bodø, Norway, knows that better than most, and he arrived there the same way many of his prospective students do: through an unexpected Google search at 16. In this episode of Higher Ed Chats, Jose joins host Scott Miller to talk through what it actually takes to build international recruitment capability at a smaller, remote university navigating a very different market than it was just a few years ago.

Nord University covers 40% of Norway's coastline across seven campuses, enrolls 12,000 students, and runs programs in biology, aquaculture, and genomics that feed directly into some of Norway's largest industries. That specificity matters. As Jose puts it: "With a biology or aquaculture degree, you've really only got a few industries that you can aim to work at. These are huge industries. So there's not a lack of jobs. But it's a special field, which means that you need to convey the information a little bit differently." The conversation explores how that difference shapes every layer of recruitment strategy, from the messaging itself to which markets are worth targeting.

The episode's most honest stretch covers what happened when Norway introduced tuition fees for non-EU students in 2023. Nord's international student population dropped from around 500-600 to roughly 200-300. Free tuition had been the clearest competitive edge, and no one had built a retention strategy to accompany it. That policy shift is forcing Nord to build geotargeted international recruitment from scratch, assessing markets like India, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Bangladesh with no established playbook and real constraints: location perception, cost of living running well above tuition at around $7,000 per year for biology, and limited resources. It's a situation a lot of smaller European universities will recognize.

The conversation ends on a forward note. Nord's new Noatun science building, an 8,400-square-meter bioscience facility with a level-three containment lab, opens September 26 and gives the university a genuinely compelling recruitment asset. The question of how to turn that into international student interest is exactly the kind of challenge Jose is working through in real time.

For anyone involved in how to recruit international students outside of traditional study destinations, or managing enrollment at a niche STEM institution, this episode is worth your time.

Who’s in the episode?

Jose de Pool works as an Advisor and Project Coordinator in the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture at Nord University in Norway, which promotes sustainable and innovative development to address global challenges related to food production, climate and the environment. Through his work, he has gained great experience recruiting international students to niche programs inside the STEM field.

Scott Miller is the host of Keystone Higher Ed Chats and the Executive Director of Keystone's international division, bringing over 11 years of EdTech experience to conversations about global education.

After graduating from DePauw University, living and working in different cultures showed him that stepping outside your comfort zone doesn't just broaden your horizons; it reshapes them entirely. That belief in the transformative power of international experiences brought Scott to Keystone in 2010, where he's spent over a decade (and counting) helping higher education institutions reach students worldwide.

On Keystone Higher Ed Chats, Scott speaks with thought-leaders in the industry about what he's most passionate about: how education changes lives, how cultural experiences broaden perspectives at any age, and how Keystone's mission—connecting students with their ideal higher education institution—makes those life-changing moments possible.

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

Takeaways

Niche STEM programs require outcome-first messaging, not program content
Jose de Pool is direct about this: "With a biology or aquaculture degree or genomics, you've really only got a few industries that you can aim to work at." That specificity isn't a weakness, it's the pitch. Recruitment materials for specialized programs should lead with concrete career pathways and name the industries, not describe the curriculum. Students choosing a niche field want to know where it takes them, not what they'll study.

When a key competitive advantage disappears, you need a new recruitment strategy fast
Nord University spent years relying on free tuition as its primary differentiator for international students. Norway's 2023 decision to introduce fees for non-EU students stripped that advantage overnight and enrollment at Bodø dropped from roughly 500-600 international students to 200-300. Institutions that depend on a single edge (price, location, a ranking) are exposed when policy or market conditions shift. The lesson is to build recruitment capability before you need it.

Enrollment drops reveal whether your recruitment infrastructure was built or borrowed
Nord's challenge isn't just recovering lost students; it's building a geotargeted recruitment function from scratch. Jose described assessing markets like India, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Bangladesh, countries Nord never had to court seriously before. Most institutions in this position discover they don't have the audience data, channel relationships, or messaging to move quickly. Starting that audit before a policy change forces the issue is the smarter approach.

Retention strategy is part of recruitment ROI, treat it that way
Jose put it plainly: "I know we didn't really have a retention strategy either. I think we would have seen a lot more benefits if, along with free education, the country would have a retention strategy." This applies at the institutional level too. If recruited international students don't stay, work, and contribute to the local economy, the recruitment investment doesn't compound. Institutions and governments that ignore post-enrollment retention are measuring only half the equation.

New facilities are recruitment assets, build them into your story early
Nord's Noatun building (8,400 sq m, level-three containment lab, opening September 26) represents a genuine differentiator for bioscience recruitment. Physical infrastructure of that scale signals long-term commitment to a field and gives prospective students something tangible to point to. Institutions with major capital projects in the pipeline should build those into recruitment messaging before construction finishes, not after the opening announcement.

Location perception is a real barrier, address it directly rather than hoping students will overlook it
Jose acknowledged the challenge without dressing it up: "You don't hear a lot of people, 'I'm going to Norway to study'... very, very north, the weather, it's not amazing." Trying to minimize or ignore a location disadvantage rarely works. The more effective approach is finding the students for whom the location is either neutral or a draw (outdoor culture, industry access, safety, quality of life) and targeting them specifically. Geotargeted recruitment strategy starts with honest audience segmentation.

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Student Recruitment from Inside the Arctic Circle

Who’s in the episode?

Jose de Pool

Scott Miller

Timestamps & Takeaways

Timestamps

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