Partner case study
What really persuades a student isn’t another marketing email. It’s hearing from someone who has lived the Bath experience.
Patrick CoshDeputy Head of International Recruitment, University of Bath
On the Flexi-credit model, Bath started in three Southeast Asian markets, expanded to Pakistan on the strength of the results, then opened in Nairobi. Five markets, grown one at a time, each on the evidence of the last.
Grown one market at a time
From May 2025
Southeast Asia first
Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Bath graduates recruited, trained and deployed to stand on exhibition stands, speak in schools and run explore sessions, then call offer-holders through the decision window.
From June 2025
Pakistan on the evidence
Early performance in Southeast Asia gave Bath the confidence to extend. A 60-hour nurture campaign first, then a 100-hour campaign in February 2026 once the first had proved itself.
From October 2025
Kenya
A long-standing priority market where Bath had never had the resource for a permanent presence. School outreach and exhibition representation, run by graduates already living there.
What Bath actually bought
Most of the work is in-market presence rather than offer-holder calling. Bath uses graduates to cover recruitment fairs and school visits in countries where flying a member of staff out for two days costs more than the leads it generates, and then uses the same people again to convert the applicants those events produce.
Why it kept expanding
Each market was bought on the evidence of the last. Bath did not sign a five-market contract, they ran three, saw what happened, and added the next two. That is the pattern worth copying if you are sceptical.
Every market runs on the same operating model. Recruitment, vetting, training, supervision and reporting sit with Alumnify, so opening a fifth country costs Bath no more management time than the first.
What the students said
Shayaan is a very nice person and he made me confident to apply to this university. Now I am much excited to reach this university as soon as I can.Offer-holder · Pakistan campaign, February 2026
said they were much more likely to choose Bath after speaking to a Bath graduate, and 60% rated the conversation extremely helpful.
20 rated responses · Pakistan campaign, February 2026
Market by market
Vietnam
- 90%
- Reached in conversation
- 8.7
- Impact on the decision, out of 10
Thailand
- 75%
- Reached in conversation
- 7.0
- Impact on the decision, out of 10
Indonesia
- 49%
- Reached in conversation
- 8.0
- Impact on the decision, out of 10
In their own words
“We reached nine out of ten offer-holders, and students rated the experience 8.7 out of 10 for impact. That is a number we were impressed with.”
On the Vietnam campaign
What motivated Bath to focus on alumni-led recruitment?
“We know that what really persuades a student isn’t another marketing email, it’s hearing from someone who’s lived the Bath experience. Our Advancement Office already does great work in this area, and Alumnify gave us an additional framework to make those authentic conversations consistent, impactful and measurable.”
What stood out from the Southeast Asia campaign?
“The depth of engagement. Our alumni reconnected with students who had gone quiet, taking the time to answer their questions in their own language and context. Across Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, 270 offer-holders were supported through nearly 100 hours of one-to-one conversations with a 74% call success rate, which we’re informed is nearly double the standard benchmark rate.”
Vietnam performed particularly well. Why do you think that was?
“The alumni there created genuine trust. Calls were conversational, culturally attuned, and reassuring. We reached nine out of ten offer-holders, and students rated the experience 8.7 out of 10 for impact. That’s a number we were impressed with.”
You have since launched in Pakistan and Kenya. What has that involved?
“In Pakistan, we worked closely with Alumnify to deliver targeted conversion support, pairing alumni stories with timely follow-up to help students make confident decisions. It’s a market where trust and reassurance are essential, and that peer voice really resonates.”
“In Kenya, we’re now focused on building brand awareness by introducing Bath through on-the-ground alumni engagement and partnerships, working with agents and local schools. Having a Bath graduate locally gives us visibility and presence we simply didn’t have before.”
What have you learned across many alumni-led activities?
“Every market is different. Scholarships dominate in Indonesia, competitor comparisons in Thailand, reassurance in Vietnam. Having alumni on the ground helps us hear those nuances directly and adapt our communication in real time. It’s reinforced what we already know about student recruitment. It’s not a transactional exchange of information, it’s relationship-building.”
How would you like to see the partnership develop?
“To deepen it further. The evidence is clear: alumni voices are driving results, but it’s the quality of connection that matters. We’ll continue training and supporting our graduates through our partnership with Alumnify to ensure that authenticity scales with us.”
“The evidence is clear: alumni voices are driving results but, it’s the quality of connection that matters. We’ll continue training and supporting our graduates through our partnership with Alumnify to ensure that authenticity scales with us.”
Patrick Cosh, Deputy Head, International Recruitment