Fairs are very interesting but those too large are often dispersive: interview to Paulina Valdez Rochin, Destino Australia

Here we are with a brand new interview: this time Alessandra Martinelli, Head of International Relations for ETN Focus, has interviewed Paulina Valdez Rochin, Sales Strategy Consultant, Institutional Relations and Consumer Goods Broker for Destino Australia, a Mexican agency.

Hi Paulina, first of all, thanks a lot for your time. Why don’t you talk about DESTINO Australia, your agency?

Sure. Destino Australia was born 13 years ago and was founded by a student who went to study in Australia and who had many difficulties. On his return he decided to found this agency to facilitate, in the future, all the students who had decided to go abroad to study.
What we do is help all students who decide to go to study in Australia or New Zealand, with the practices, then with the Visa, the search for the school or university, the accommodation and so on

How many students leave each year to live this kind of experience abroad?

We have about 5000 students per year and not all of them are Mexicans.

What is the average age of your students?

We work with people aged 17 to 35 or 40 years. We have requests from young people who attend university and decide to go for a semester or a year abroad, but also requests from underage children who want to continue their studies in a foreign country.

So are Australia and New Zealand the only destinations you offer are?

At the moment we are actively working with Australia, they are now 13 years old. We have been working with New Zealand for 3 years and this year we started working with Spain, Germany, Belgium and we will soon start with Ireland.

Great. Are there scholarships with public funds that guarantee a period abroad for students?

Yes, there are some that are allocated by the Mexican government but none of these are aimed at secondary school students. They are all for university students or for those who want to do Masters courses abroad.

As for the choice of the schools you work with, how do you choose them? Do you attend international fairs?

Yes, last week we took part in an international fair abroad. We also go to fairs in Australia and New Zealand and this year we will go to a fair in Guatemala for the first time. I believe that fairs are very interesting even if those that are too large are often dispersive: they allow you to learn about institutions that you wouldn’t otherwise know, but time is limited and there are really many schools. I also like the fairs where there is a division by country, like the one organized in Canada where there are 40 type of institutions.

Last year we also participated in the ETN fair and I would like to come back this year, in fact I tell you that I’d like to meet high-ranking schools on that occasion because these are our customers requests; when they decide to go abroad, they want to be able to choose among the best schools, especially when it comes to universities.

I am pleased that you enjoyed our event and we will be happy to welcome you again this year.

Thank you very much, no doubt we’ll meet again this year.

Great news, I look forward to seeing you in Mexico. Thank you also for this interview.

Great, it was a pleasure. I go back to work now. See you soon, Alessandra.

Thank you, Paulina, see you soon.