MARKET: Colliers CEO predicts post COVID-19 global real estate investment recovery to be sharper and faster than the 2008 crisis. 

LATEST: After Airbnb recently secured $1bn in funding, sources suggest the company is paying a steep 10% interest.

NOTEWORTHY: Studyportals has launched a free COVID-19 dashboard for the higher education sector to offer data about international study interest.

ALSO: The Collective has launched The Collective Virtual Experiences initiative, available to all to stay connected, entertained, inspired and healthy.

IN OTHER NEWS: GCP has backed off the acquisition of the 412-bed Scape Mile End Canalside in London.

TIME TO REVISIT: Research done by Times Higher Education in 2016 showed that students from public and private universities felt less engaged by blended learning. Have universities learned how to blend properly since?

QUOTABLE: “Extreme conditions often clarify what otherwise is vague or uncertain… as the wave of COVID-19 subsides, I believe there will be a greater need for intimacy within communities,” ODA founder Eran Chan writes.

CASE STUDY: A Belgian student accommodation provider has established a fund to pay 75% rent and utility costs of now struggling students.

VIEW FROM HERE: American dormitories making room for hospital overflow face backlash from students.  

OUTLOOK: Student accommodation is resilient to this crisis and transaction volumes will increase in the second half of 2020, predicts Savills’ Director of Operational Capital Markets Aurelio Di Napoli.

INSIGHT: StudyPortals uses student sentiment data to craft guidelines for organisations currently communicating with current and prospective students. 

MARKET: Unite Group PLC reports a 2.2 % drop in portfolio value despite 2020/21 reservations remaining in line with last year’s figures.

WATCH THIS SPACE: In the midst of an onslaught of cancelations due to travel restrictions, Airbnb has raised $1 billion in debt and private equity as it shifts focus to long term stays (including student accommodation).

LATEST DECISION: Three UK universities have made hundreds of lecturers, researchers and support staff redundant.

CLOSER LOOK: Facing likely reductions in international enrollment, Australia and The UK take stock of the influence of international students on their economies and campuses.

BIG PICTURE: UNESCO reports that school and university closures have impacted 91% of the world’s student population.

QUOTABLE: “Yale is a rich institution. A large number of education centers face the same emergency with dramatically lower resource availability. Hundreds of thousands of students risk a reduction in the acquisition of human capital due to the lack of internet access, or due to a lack of technical and professional assistance that make online education a valid substitute for traditional education.” Yale professor Fabrizio Zilibotti writes.

NOTEWORTHY: To ease the transition to a new higher education landscape, Santander Universities and the IE Foundation have launched a fund aim to provide 15,500 digital scholarships to educators, university students and young professionals.

ASSESSMENT: Students in Spain and The UK have indicated that they prefer to avoid face-to-face evaluation through the summer.

CLOSER LOOK: UK Higher education industry experts predict university survival will depend on exposure to international market, with those attracting 25% or more from overseas at the highest risk. One research university predicts they will see a 40% drop in applications from China for 2020/2021.

REMARKS: While European and US coliving executives say they are feeling short-term pain, they maintain long-term confidence in the housing model.

VIEW FROM HERE: Coliving operators in Hong Kong are offering 50% discounts to combat significant (and persistent) drops in occupancy.

DILEMMA: Move online or bank on postponement? Language schools and education agencies weigh short and long term options.

ANOTHER ANGLE: While the German language study sector has come to a complete standstill in the crisis, experts think some part of the summer income can still be saved.

CASE STUDY: Czech university halls of residence offers remote check-out and belongings storage at discounted rate for students restricted from retrieving belongings.

RETRACTED: Having faced global criticism, the Australian government confirms support for some international students.

ELSEWHERE: The Polish Secretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education writes an encouraging letter to international students.

LATEST DECISION: Thirty Spanish universities have announced they will not return to face-to-face classes this academic year, despite Andalucian students reporting their universities are not ready for online tuition.

ELSEWHERE: The German summer semester will still go ahead and application and admission deadlines for the winter semester will be adjusted to reflect the changed exam times, the science ministries of the federal states have agreed. The goal is to mitigate uncertainty by making all summer courses available digitally.

PREDICTION: International higher education experts suggest the post-pandemic outlook will be bleakest for the poorest, as research universities and top-quality institutions that are globally recognised and have stable income streams will emerge “relatively unscathed” from the crisis.

QUOTABLE: “Things won’t change as much as they will accelerate. While other crises reshaped the future, COVID-19 is just making the future happen faster.” NYU Professor Scott Galloway anticipates the transformation of one of the last bastions not yet disrupted by big tech.

VIEW FROM HERE: The Australian prime minister receives criticism over his statement to international students that while it is lovely to have guests in good times, they should “go home” as the country needs to focus on its own citizens now. Accused of neglecting the two-way street of higher education, the government now faces heightened pressure to include international students in government assistance programs.

ZOOM IN: Despite significant challenges, international students in The Netherlands are supported by collaboration between student unions, universities, the ministry of education and other stakeholders.

MARKETS: Savills Global Market Sentiment Survey reports an overall fall in transaction volume of 62%. However, more countries reported no change in residential, including multifamily, student and senior (56%), than a fall (42%).

REMARKS: President of the EAIE Board delivers an open letter from EAIE to the European Commission, applauding the commission on the steps taken so far and issuing an appeal for continued action across six key areas.

AT RISK: While many struggle to get back to families from their study destinations, Chinese students are at risk of severe racism and discrimination.

Remarks: The Chief Executive of Universities UK calls for government support given top-end prediction of 20% drop in average university income next year.

Markets: The Dutch construction sector is looking at a third crisis in twelve years, with investment in residential anticipated to drop 20%.

Closer Look: 46% of students in ‘consideration and research’ phase of study abroad planning reported their plans have changed, according to early QS survey data.

Latest Decision: iQ Student Accommodation updates it’s policy on rental contracts, allowing residents to terminate tenancy agreements until April 9th 2020.

View from here: While China and South Korea begin to re-open, universities remain closed and entrance exams are postponed.

– Even this crisis may drive demand for higher education
– 86% of Chinese students abroad report they want to return home
– Following last week’s ban on evictions, the Dutch government allows the extension of temporary rental contracts
– International students in Norway face financial challenges
– Over 500 students remain in university-owned residences in the North of Portugal
– Portuguese polytechnic universities consider postponing payment of tuition fees, universities have not yet

– The Federation of Education and Language Consultant Associations gives an update on the impact on their markets
– Empiric Student Property considers waiving student rents and prepares by strengthening cash position
– Cushman & Wakefield outlines 10 considerations in approaching lease renegotiation and rent reduction
– UK universities stepping up in responding to COVID-19
– American study abroad organisations report more struggles, but commitment to their missions
– Irish Government Offers Unemployment Payment for International Students
– European Commission provides clarity on Erasmus+ grant concerns
– High school exams canceled in The Netherlands
– A semester like no other, higher education experts weigh in on the situation at universities
– UK universities fast-track financial assistance for international students
– A training course for teachers on anxiety and stress management is under development in Italy
– Uncertainty on the impact on study abroad programmes next academic year

In order to further improve the long-distance learning for Italian students, the Italian Education Ministry has allocated 225,900.67 euros for the endowment or enhancement of digital platforms and tools for distance learning and 1,583,969.23 million euros for less well-off students. Gianluca Vacca, head of the Culture and Education Commission in the Chamber, states “I am particularly proud of my colleagues who in these difficult moments, on the field, are showing dedication and professionalism. In fact, according to a survey by the Ministry of Education, school institutions have managed to involve around 94% of students. A fact that is not taken for granted and which makes us reflect on how valuable both teachers and students find the growth and training. We will get out of this difficult moment with the awareness that even in the most difficult situations, the Italian school does not stop!” As momentum towards the shift to virtual learning intensifies, its endurance looks more likely.

The pressure on student accommodation providers to waive rents continues, with individual students, student unions and now politicians such as Scotland’s Green party education spokesperson calling on PBSA providers to follow the decision of Unite Student in waiving fees for students forced to vacate tenancies. Students in Canada and the UK are circulating petitions to waive student accommodation rents. In Ireland, the Student Union puts particular pressure on student accommodation providers to refund rents. It is highly likely that public sentiment will head in the same direction. While The Class of 2020 praises Unite’s bold decision in supporting its students, attention should also be paid to individual student accommodation provider’s situations as their relationship with their university partners, business model, financial structure and rental policies are diverse and could impact the way and speed with which they are able to rise to this challenge and respond to changing demands.

The universities of Leiden and Maastricht will remain closed to all physical education until September. For the rest of the academic year, lectures and workshops will be given at a distance. This in order to foster stability for their students and staff. For traditional universities this may be a possibility but for other types of education such as applied universities or vocational schools this is a more complex decision. As more universities across Europe commit to moving regular courses online and cancel summer schools entirely, the summer looks long and empty for university campuses.

For the international students who remain in France, Le Monde reports a somber situation as they struggle with isolation and sometimes not being able to return to their home countries. Florence Robin, student psychiatrist specialist states that this new context generates anxiety and chronic stress. Young people find themselves in deserted residences without social interaction. The situation worsens when dealing with pre-existing psychological disorders. For student accommodation operators, serving students need for community and support services in the context of social distancing remains a challenge.

In a piece for University World News, international university recruitment expert Marguerite Dennis predicts that COVID-19 will force universities to rethink their reliance on China for overseas students and will prompt more students worldwide to study closer to home. As countries question an over-reliance on China for their product supply, Dennis predicts that so too will universities recognise a vulnerability in relying too much on a single region for students. At the same time, Dennis predicts an acceleration of the existing trend of more Asian students looking to study abroad within Asia with the rise of Malaysia as a popular intra-regional study destination. A US survey done last week by consultants Art & Science Group supports this, finding that two thirds of prospective US students surveyed worry the pandemic compels them to change their top choice university to a less expensive university closer to home. Other residues from the pandemic include a wider role for online recruitment, working and learning.