US: Tweeting to promote university internationally

From Japan, University of Michigan-Flint student Fatima Qureshi wrote about her first Japanese-style sugar cookie, visiting the Toyota factory and biking through town with groceries. Twitter has no boundaries and more universities are finding that the hot high-tech trend can be a low-budget marketing tool - even overseas. The university will be asking more students to tweet about international experiences to promote its programmes, reports Flint News.

"We wanted to share with our current and prospective students the benefits of our study abroad opportunities," said Nikki Taylor-Vargo, director of UM-Flint's business programmes. "We really thought this was an outlet for students to reflect on their experiences and share them with other students, especially ones who weren't able to go on the trip."

Taylor-Vargo said the Japan-Taiwan trip in spring was a pilot of something they hope to grow. Students also took a pocket-sized video camera on the trip and blogged. Next year, Taylor-Vargo hopes to send the same tools with students visiting China and Russ
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