International Education: The Asian Boom

 

I remember on my first day of university, I sat along the side of the room and observed everyone around me. Although everyone in the room appeared to be normal students, something felt odd, very odd. Suddenly I realised the reason why the class felt unusual, everyone around me were of Asian appearance, except the three Caucasians sitting in the back corner of the room.

 

From that day on, I became aware that a large proportion of students were international students from across Asia: China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

 

During my four years at university, it was becoming evident that the Australian university was making way to accommodate more international students. The university was constantly taking down old buildings to make room for more students housing and in my third year, they developed a policy to ensure all first year international students will have guaranteed accommodation on campus.

 

Statistics from the Department of Education shows that there has been a 629% increase in the number of international students studying in Australia since 1994. This number does not include the number of students who are receiving education from Australian institutes offshore. In 2011, Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the largest number of international students came from China, totaling up 27% of all international students.

 

 (Source: Australian Government - Department of Education and Training)

 

According to Study in Australia, Australia is currently the 3^rd most popular international student destination (behind the United States and the United Kingdom) with over 22,000 courses offered across 1100 institutions. This popularity is due to the strong, proven track record where Australia has ranked highly for the quality of education, student satisfaction and global reputation, with eight out of the top 100 ranked universities coming from Australia.

 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that in Higher Education, Management and Commerce, including accounting, sales and marketing, business and management are the most popular choices for international students, making up about 52% of all enrolments.

 

So how much does Australia value international education?

 

International education plays a vital role in Australia’s economy; it is currently Australia’s largest services export, contributing to $16.3 million in 2013-14. It supports nearly 130,000 jobs and is a significant source of skilled migrants and skilled labour for Australian companies operating overseas.

 

By introducing international students, Australian institutions have found that this has enriched campuses socially and culturally and built relationships which has helped maintain international trade, investment and goodwill.

 

The Australian government introduced a National Strategy for International Education, which is intending to be released in the second half of 2015. The strategy will focus on the value and importance building and improving Australia’s reputation for world-class education.

 

The National Strategy have listed the following goals:

 

1. Creating a world-class education system
2. Building on strong and emerging international partnerships
3. Fostering an international outlook
4. Attracting international talent
5. Ensuring a positive and rewarding student experience
6. Embracing opportunities to grow international education

 

Are you looking at building and strengthening your international ties?

 

If you want to hear more on how your institution can attract and engage more international students, join us in Melbourne this August at our Strengthening International Education Opportunities Conference.

 

 

 

Being brought up in a typical Chinese family in Australia, Vivian takes pride as an ABC (Australia-born Chinese) where she happily embraces both the Chinese and Australian cultures. 

In high school, Vivian wanted to become a fashion designer, however she has developed a passion for running events after working backstage for multiple live shows. Prior to starting at Akolade, Vivian worked 4 years in the wine industry and she misses the wine tasting sessions and openly drinking on the job. As the Marketing Coordinator, Vivian enjoys using her creativity to design unique and fun campaigns for each event. In her spare time, Vivian loves to spend time with her two adorable cat and dog.