Matt Jansen: How Gen Z Is Transforming Study Abroad and Driving Southeast Asia's Rise

For years, Southeast Asia was mostly known in global higher education as a place students left, not a place they went to study. That's changing. Vietnam and Indonesia are emerging as genuine study destinations alongside established hubs like Singapore and Malaysia, and the driving forces behind that shift go well beyond simple regional growth. To understand what's actually happening, Studyportals spoke with Matt Jansen, Head of International Student Recruitment at British University Vietnam (BUV), who has spent over a decade working in international recruitment across the UK, Hungary, and now Vietnam.

A Career Built Across Three Very Different Markets

Jansen's path into international education recruitment began somewhat by accident. After studying Economics at the University of Leeds and graduating in 2011 — during the aftermath of the global financial crash, when jobs were scarce — he initially took a role in general personnel recruitment before moving into student recruitment at a small London college with just 30 students. Over eight years, he helped grow that institution to around 2,000 students. From there, he spent four years leading international recruitment at Corvinus University of Budapest, a top Hungarian business school, before finally making the move to Southeast Asia — a region he'd been drawn to after earlier business trips to China, Malaysia, and Indonesia left a strong impression.

About 18 months before this interview, Jansen discovered British University Vietnam and was drawn specifically to the opportunity to work at an institution delivering a British curriculum in a country he'd never visited. His background — including a year spent teaching earlier in his career, combined with his own experience studying in the UK — made the fit feel natural.

Southeast Asia: From Source Region to Destination Region

According to Jansen, one of the most significant shifts in international education over the past several years is how policy changes across the "Big Four" destinations — the US, UK, Canada, and Australia — have reshaped where students are choosing to study. As those traditional destinations have tightened visa rules and adjusted post-study work policies, international universities have responded by expanding their presence in Southeast Asia, and local institutions across the region have grown alongside them.

Jansen points out that Malaysia, Singapore, and to some extent Thailand were already well-established study destinations. What's genuinely new is the rise of Vietnam as a serious option, alongside early but real momentum building in Indonesia. He frames this as more than simple growth — it reflects a shift from Southeast Asia being purely a source of students to becoming both a source and a destination region simultaneously. Notably, he emphasizes that this isn't only about drawing students from outside the region — much of the growth is regional, with significant numbers of students coming from neighboring Southeast Asian countries, as well as China, India, and the wider South Asia region.

Why Students Are Looking Beyond the Traditional Destinations

Jansen identifies several concrete factors pushing students to consider alternatives to the US, UK, Canada, and Australia:

1. Rising costs. Tuition and living expenses in the Big Four have become increasingly expensive, making the overall value proposition less attractive relative to emerging alternatives.
2. Visa uncertainty. Visa outcomes have become less predictable, adding real risk to what was once a more straightforward process.
3. Shrinking post-study work windows. Jansen specifically notes that the UK's post-study work period is set to shrink from two years to 18 months from January 2027 — a meaningful reduction for students weighing their options.
4. A less welcoming political climate. Jansen raises a candid point: as an international student, the political rhetoric and public statements coming out of some destination countries can genuinely affect whether a student feels welcome — a factor that shouldn't be underestimated in where students ultimately choose to go.

In response, Jansen notes that many students are turning to continental Europe, where countries like Hungary and Poland — historically not thought of as major study destinations — now host over 100,000 international students combined. Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the Nordic countries have also become increasingly popular, offering English-taught programmes, relatively affordable costs, and reasonable post-study work opportunities. Southeast Asia, in his view, represents the next major region to watch, driven by a combination of push factors from traditional destinations and genuine supply-side growth as UK and Australian institutions establish branch campuses and franchise arrangements across the region.

What Gen Z Actually Wants From a University

Asked what matters most to students weighing these newer options, Jansen is direct: cultural proximity, affordability, and quality are the core factors — but underlying all of them is a generation that is unusually pragmatic and outcomes-focused.

Jansen describes Gen Z as a notably smart, pragmatic consumer, pointing to 2025 research from Deloitte that reinforces this pattern. Students today are focused squarely on outcomes: internships, graduate job opportunities, and curricula that build genuinely practical skills. A university that can't demonstrate a clear pathway to employment, in his view, struggles to compete for this generation's attention — regardless of its academic reputation.

At the same time, Jansen notes that parents — who remain central to the decision-making process in the region — tend to weigh a different set of signals: accreditation, formal recognition, and global quality benchmarks. He frames BUV's positioning as designed to answer both sets of concerns simultaneously: offering something with genuine international quality credentials close to home, without requiring students to rule out eventually moving further afield later in their careers.

The Value-for-Money Calculation

Jansen is blunt about the economics driving much of this shift: why would a student spend $40,000 USD or more on tuition alone, excluding living costs, when a comparable-quality option exists just a two-hour flight away for roughly a quarter of that price? He also pushes back on the romanticized image many students hold of studying in major Western cities — drawing on his own experience as a Londoner, he notes that the reality of high rent and cost of living abroad often doesn't match the glamorous vision students imagine before they arrive.

Is the Quality Really Comparable?

This is a question Jansen addresses directly rather than deflecting: is education delivered in Southeast Asia genuinely comparable to studying in the UK or US? His honest answer is that it varies significantly by institution — this is something students genuinely need to research rather than assume.

For BUV specifically, Jansen points to concrete quality indicators: UK QAA quality assurance accreditation and QS 5-star status, an achievement he notes some well-regarded European universities don't reach. He also highlights faculty composition as a meaningful quality signal worth checking directly — at BUV, around 89% of faculty hold PhDs, and about 80% are from outside Vietnam, with the university publishing academic staff profiles publicly so prospective students can verify this themselves. Jansen's broader advice: look closely at who will actually be teaching you and who your classmates will be, not just the institution's name or branding.

Three Models for Studying at an International Institution in Southeast Asia

Jansen breaks down how universities connected to Western institutions typically operate across the region into three distinct models:

1. Local universities offering local qualifications. He notes that eight universities in Southeast Asia currently rank in the QS Top 200, meaning students seeking a well-ranked, reputable regional option have genuine choices without needing an international partnership at all.
2. Branch campuses. This is where a UK, Australian, American, or other international university operates a subsidiary campus directly in the host country — RMIT's presence in Vietnam is one example, alongside similar developments emerging in China, India, and Indonesia.
3. Collaborative degree delivery. This is the model BUV itself uses — operating as an independent institution with university status in Vietnam, licensed to deliver UK degrees in partnership with UK institutions. According to Jansen, roughly 80–85% of BUV's degrees are UK qualifications delivered through collaborative partnerships, including University of London programmes under the academic direction of the London School of Economics (LSE).

Jansen's framing for students: the right model depends entirely on what you're looking for — a local qualification from a well-ranked regional institution, a branch campus degree from an established international brand, or a top-tier qualification delivered locally through a formal academic partnership. All three, in his assessment, can lead to genuinely strong outcomes.

Local Market Relevance vs. Global Career Preparation

Asked whether programmes in the region are designed more for local job markets or international careers, Jansen suggests the distinction is increasingly blurring — what happens in Vietnam's higher education sector, in his view, is becoming more and more similar to what happens in Europe, the UK, or the US.

At the same time, he points to genuinely strong local economic opportunities — Vietnam's tourism sector alone welcomed around 20 million visitors in the year before this interview, representing real, concrete career opportunities in specific growth industries. Jansen describes BUV's approach as deliberately selective: choosing programmes that align with actual labour market demand in Vietnam, developed in close collaboration with local employers alongside UK partner universities. He's direct about the broader industry requirement this reflects: universities in 2026 need a genuinely strong practical, internship-embedded component to remain relevant and competitive — this isn't optional anymore.

The Visa Advantage: A Genuinely Different Experience

One of the most concrete practical advantages Jansen highlights is how comparatively straightforward the student visa process is in Vietnam relative to traditional destinations. There's no bank statement requirement of the kind common in UK visa applications — students need academic acceptance, a tuition deposit, and a visa application fee of around $145 USD. At BUV specifically, the university's visa compliance team handles the application process directly, including a one-to-one meeting with students (and their families, if they wish to join) to walk through required documentation.

Jansen notes the process typically takes no more than 20 days, with a maximum planning window of around 45 days — a notably fast and predictable timeline compared to the visa uncertainty many students face applying to Big Four destinations. He also mentions that students in Vietnam are permitted to work during their studies, though opportunities — particularly in English — can be somewhat limited and require proactive searching.

What This Means for Students Weighing Their Options

Drawing on Jansen's account, a few practical takeaways emerge for students considering Southeast Asia as a study destination:

1. Verify quality credentials directly, rather than assuming. Accreditation status, faculty composition, and formal academic partnerships vary significantly between institutions — check published faculty profiles and accreditation bodies rather than relying on general impressions.
2. Weigh total cost realistically, not just tuition. The gap between a Big Four destination and a comparable-quality Southeast Asian option can be substantial once living costs are factored in — but "comparable quality" needs to be genuinely verified, not assumed.
3. Understand which institutional model you're choosing. A local university, a branch campus, and a collaborative degree partnership all carry different implications for the qualification you'll ultimately receive — know which one fits your specific goals.
4. Look for programmes with real, embedded practical components. Internships and demonstrable employment pathways are, in Jansen's assessment, now essential rather than optional for a university's programmes to remain genuinely competitive.
5. Factor in visa predictability, not just cost. For students who've faced visa uncertainty applying to traditional destinations, the comparative speed and transparency of some Southeast Asian visa processes is a genuine, practical advantage worth weighing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Southeast Asia becoming a more popular study destination? A combination of factors: tightening visa policies, rising costs, and shrinking post-study work windows in the traditional "Big Four" destinations (US, UK, Canada, Australia) are pushing students toward alternatives, while international universities are simultaneously expanding their presence in the region through branch campuses and collaborative partnerships.

Is education in Southeast Asia the same quality as studying in the UK or US? It varies significantly by institution. According to Matt Jansen, students need to actively verify quality signals — accreditation status (such as UK QAA), rankings (such as QS star ratings), and faculty composition — rather than assuming quality based on an institution's international branding alone.

What is a collaborative degree delivery model? It's when an independent local institution partners formally with international universities to deliver their degrees locally — British University Vietnam is one example, delivering UK degrees (including University of London programmes) through partnership arrangements while holding independent university status in Vietnam.

How does the student visa process in Vietnam compare to the UK or US? According to Jansen, it's notably more straightforward and predictable — there's no bank statement requirement, the fee is around $145 USD, and the process typically takes no more than 20 days, with universities like BUV directly supporting students through the application.

What does Gen Z prioritize most when choosing where to study? According to Jansen, cultural proximity, affordability, and demonstrable career outcomes — internships, graduate job opportunities, and practical skill-building — matter more to this generation than traditional prestige signals alone.

Are UK post-study work rights changing? According to Jansen, the UK's post-study work period is set to shorten from two years to 18 months starting in January 2027 — a factor he identifies as contributing to students exploring alternative study destinations.