Marketisation meets welfare state ideology: tensions for Finnish higher education marketing and international student recruitment

There has been a significant increase in the number of international students pursuing higher education (HE) abroad, making HE market a well-established global phenomenon. International students are seen not only as a valuable revenue source but also as a strategic response to demographic shifts and talent scarcity. Marketisation of HE, ideologically rooted in neoliberalism and relevant discourses, has prompted a widespread re-evaluation and increased focus on HE marketing and international student recruitment. Within the Nordic welfare context, where gradual marketisation has primarily targeted international students, tensions have emerged from the pressures to meet market demands and welfare principles traditionally applied to HE. This case study explores these tensions at the industry- (meso-) level. The research identifies ideological tensions between marketisation and welfare state underpinnings, which present a complex obstacle that, if unaddressed, could hinder the effectiveness of attracting international talent to Finland. The identification of ideology-related tensions introduces a novel dimension to the discourse, highlighting the critical need to accurately define and explore the nature of these challenges.