MR BERNARD Tan packs his bags and hits the road at least once a month to spread the word on Singapore's schools abroad.

He turns foreigners' misconceived perceptions on their heads, finds ways to engage them and tells them about studying and living in Singapore.

Sometimes, he and his team members even have to shrug off their jackets and ties and roll up their sleeves to put up the publicity posters themselves.

It is all in a day's work for the education market development team from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Mr Tan, 29, who was formerly a polytechnic lecturer, has been doing this for the last 11/2 years.

Mr Tan said that around the region, most people know about Singapore. But they may have certain preconceptions.

For example, he said, people have this idea that Singapore's system is "stressful".

The well-spoken man said: "I tell them that I would rather call it competitive. And the competitive environment can help them improve."

His team focuses mainly on marketing Singapore's schools to Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.

His colleague, Miss Quek Ling Xiang, 30, has gone further afield, on exploratory trips to the United States and Norway, in addition to Vietnam.

On those occasions, she sometimes had to point out where Singapore is on the world map to her foreign audience.

"We've had people come up to us to ask where Singapore is," she said.

"We also have to raise the awareness that we use English as a medium of instruction," said Miss Quek.

They mostly target students in countries that are within six hours of flight time from Singapore.

And they usually start preparing for a road show or overseas fair about one to two months before, said Mr Tan.

So due to the "ample lead time'' they don't have to clock late nights to prepare for them, he said.

While they are on the road, they often have to work late into the night, checking their e-mails after a long day at the fair.

What do they do before they go?

Miss Quek said that the team in Singapore works with STB's regional offices to get the logistics set up.

On her end, her team calls their industry partners, like the schools, conduct pre-departure briefings for them, make the necessary arrangements and coordinate the programme.

Once on the road, they conduct seminars to tell foreign students or schools about Singapore, and the education opportunities available here.

Representatives from some of these schools will also take turns to talk about their institution.

Last year was the first time that they held a Singapore Education week in Vietnam, said Miss Quek.

They went to three cities - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city and Can Tho - during which they conducted talks and seminars for the students they met.

Sometimes, they enrol the help of foreign students already here to accompany them on the roadshows.

"We always emphasise on real people and real-life experiences. These students are like our ambassadors," said Mr Tan.

Not so glam

Their trips abroad are far from glamourous.

If they have regional offices in the areas they travel to, their overseas colleagues will take care of the logistics.

But, it is not always so.

For example, he and his team drove from Singapore to Kluang, a town in Malaysia.

"It was an interesting trip.

"Besides being proficient in marketing, we also have to be proficient in navigation," he said with a laugh.

When Mr Tan returns from his trips, he said: "The first thing I do is just lie on the bed.

"I don't even bother unpacking. Laundy? I'll worry about it the next day."

Since the Global Schoolhouse initiative was launched in 2002, there have been 80,000 students from 120 countries who have come to Singapore to further their education.

That is no mean feat as Mr Tan, Miss Quek and their department at STB will tell you.

Singapore hopes to draw some 150,000 students by 2015.

And so, their work continues.

The two have just returned to Singapore from different trips a couple of days before the interview, and they are off on their next trip early next month.

As Miss Quek put it, after she unpacks from a trip, she said: "I'll just leave the suitcase out for my next trip."

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