universities australia

							Australia in the Asian Century

January 2012



Universities Australia welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the development of the Australia in the
Asian Century White Paper. Universities Australia is the peak national body representing the interests of
39 Australian universities and strongly supports the development of a unified Asian engagement strategy.
Education is a pivotal aspect of Australia-Asia engagement and therefore warrants significant attention when
considering the challenges and opportunities arising from the Asian Century.


The Benefits of International Education to Australia
The benefits of international education to Australia are substantial yet often go unheeded by those outside
of the sector. As well as the much touted economic contribution (including over $17 billion in export
dollars and the creation of over 120,000 FTE jobs) international students enhance the social and cultural
fabric of the universities at which they study and the communities in which they live.1 Their presence fosters
a mutual appreciation and respect for other cultures and experiences, and helps cement Australia’s
reputation as one of the most innovative and educated nations in the world.

As well as advancing conventional diplomacy and trade, international education is a significant driver of public
diplomacy, through creating a positive image for Australia and providing means to exert influence. Public
diplomacy, or soft power, is essential to achieving an effective foreign policy and universities are the natural
medium through which to exercise that soft power. Australian university alumni occupy influential positions
across Asian governments, most notably in China, India, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as high level positions
in international NGOs such the World Bank. By way of example, two of today’s leading analysts of the
Chinese economy, Yiping Huang and Xiaolu Wang, completed their doctoral studies in Australia. The
Indonesian Minister for Trade studied in Australia and is currently an adjunct professor at an Australian
university, and the Indonesian Vice-President holds an Honorary Doctorate from an Australian institution.
Singapore’s first directly elected Prime Minster, Ong Teng Cheong, is also an Australian university alumnus.
Australian universities are educating an elite group of graduates who inevitably will become some of our best
advocates.2 While diplomacy is not the primary purpose of international education, Universities Australia
believes there is scope to maximise these benefits without compromising universities’ fundamental missions
of education and research.




1
    Universities Australia, The Nature of International Education in Australian Universities and its Benefits , 2009, p. 4
2
    Davis, D. and Mackintosh, B., Making a Difference: Australian International Education, 2011, p. 19

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Australian International Education Engagement
The internationalisation of Australia’s universities has played out over the last half century. The history of
international education in universities started in 1950, with the creation of a scheme under which bilateral
aid could flow to developing countries in South and Southeast Asia. Australia’s universities then opened
their doors to thousands of Colombo Plan students. This period of aid based delivery of education is
characterised as the first wave of internationalisation.
With the passing of legislation in the mid-1980s allowing universities to enrol full fee international students –
this being the second wave of internationalisation – education moved from a sole focus on aid to include a
heavy focus on trade, and has become a significant source of revenue (on average 15 per cent) for
universities.
Universities Australia considers that the sector is now in the midst of a third wave of internationalisation.
This involves the development of engagement strategies that enable universities, their staff and students to
fully engage in a global knowledge economy. This third wave approach emphasises a broader and deeper
conception of international education integration, extending to faculty and research links, doctoral studies,
wider disciplinary representation and Australian student study abroad. The goals here are educational
richness and not simple revenue payoff. Australian universities are now focused on quality, outcomes and
meaningful collaboration and this will manifest in an increasing capacity for transnational education and
greater emphasis on attracting international PhD students and research collaboration.
The recent crisis in international education saw a reduction in international student enrolments, most
particularly from India but also Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and other Asian nations. A number of
factors combined to create the crisis including student safety concerns, private college closures, a strong
Australian dollar and changed migration policy settings. However, the crisis triggered a renewed focus on



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quality assurance through the Baird3 and Knight4 Reviews as well as a commitment to restore a reputation
for quality and enhanced student experience among Australian universities.




      Figure 1 Australian University Campuses




Australian Education Engagement with Asia
The Australian higher education sector has a long and proud history of engagement with Asia, providing the
bulk of our international students and formal international linkages between Australian and international
intuitions. The one thousand offshore programs delivered by Australian institutions take place almost
exclusively in Asia. The top five countries listed below accounted for almost 65 per cent of the international
student commencements at Australian universities in 2011. Over the past decade we have seen particularly
strong growth from China and India but steady growth from other Asian countries.




3
  Australian Government, Review of Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000, Final Report, March 2010, (Baird
  Review)
4
  Australian Government, Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program, Final Report, September 2011, (Knight Review)
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   45,000
   40,000
   35,000
   30,000                                                                                         2008
                                                                                                  2009
   25,000
                                                                                                  2010
   20,000
                                                                                                  2011
   15,000
   10,000
    5,000
        0
                 China              India       Korea, Republic of   Malaysia    Viet Nam
                                                     (South)

   Figure 2 Top Five Source Countries (Indicative graph only)



To further enhance the institutional engagement, Universities Australia has a role in promoting sector wide
engagement. Of particular note is the highly successful China Australia Executive Leadership Program which
has been operating for over ten years under the Universities Australia–China Education Association for
International Exchange Memorandum of Understanding. This model is now being trialled in India and
Indonesia. Universities Australia and its predecessor the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee has over
the years entered into numerous MOUs with international counterparts including organisations in Japan,
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and India. These agreements allow Universities Australia to
facilitate deeper engagement between institutions and contribute to the on-going development of robust
bilateral relationships, through collaboration in higher education, and research and development.


Future Engagement with Asia
Given the massive growth projections for Asia over the next few decades we will likely see China rise from
the second largest to the largest economy in the world, with India moving from the ninth to third largest
economy; Asia’s two largest societies will also be its two largest economies. Further, both China and India will
experience a widening in their wealth inequalities which signifies the rapid growth of a large middle class in
emerging Asia. The World Bank estimates that East Asia’s middle class will grow by a factor of three
between 2000 and 2030, at which point it will comprise 16 per cent of the world’s middle classes. Over the
same period, South Asia’s middle class will grow by a factor of 13, to comprise 1.3 per cent of the world’s
middle class by 2030. We will likely see Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand all become
predominately middle class in the next decade.

Asia’s emerging economies all face the challenge of educating their young populations for the future benefit
of their booming economies. China has tripled the number of its tertiary education institutions from 598 in
1978, to 1,867 in 2006. Between 1990 and 2008 the proportion of the Chinese population enrolled in
tertiary study increased from 3.4 per cent to 22 per cent. India faces an even greater challenge and will need
to build over 1,000 new universities over the next decade just to meet the education demands of its
burgeoning youth population. Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand face challenges of similar proportions, if not

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scale, in the coming years.5 This presents vast opportunities for enhancing Australian international education
engagement; an increasing middle class necessitates improved educational opportunities.

In order to build on the sector’s consistent growth and embark on the third wave of internationalisation, it is
imperative that universities provide students with a well-managed, high quality student experience and form
deeper and more meaningful educational and research linkages with their international counterparts. To
achieve this, governments need to fund universities to a level where they can build up world-class
centres of research and teaching excellence which enhance their international reputations and allow them
to successfully compete globally for the best students.

Universities Australia is aware that some universities in the USA have set targets for 25 per cent
international students by 2015. While the UK Government has moved to reduce the number of
international students in its universities, it is aiming to improve quality and remains one of the top
destinations for international students. China’s reform plan explicitly promotes an open door strategy to
attract more international students to China. Increasing competition from the USA, the UK, Canada and
from within Asia (for both domestic and international markets) means now more than ever Australia has to
invest in its universities. Australia has to promote and live up to its reputation as having a world class
higher education system. Even with significant investments in domestic tertiary capacity, Asian economies
will likely continue to rely on international markets to educate and train their population. However, data
suggests a marked rise in the popularity of Asian tertiary education institutions and this trend is likely to
continue leading education to become a major component of intra-Asia relations.6 This is something
Australia will need to compete with in the Asian century, and it will need to develop strategies and provide
funding to bring Australian education to Asia rather than solely bringing Asian students to Australia. Australia
needs to cement its role as an integral part of this intra-Asia dynamic.

The education reform plan for China encourages international engagement through showcasing Chinese
universities and building strategic international alliances. It promotes cooperation with world-class schools,
universities and research organisations. The reform plan for India also includes building more universities in
India. Further, Universities Australia understands that Japan has been moving towards a more open
education system and is seeking to enhance international collaboration through increased staff and student
exchange, but also research collaboration.

Initiatives such as the implementation of the Knight and Baird Reviews will certainly help in promoting
Australia as a stable and safe study destination with opportunities for the future, and initiatives such as the
current ARC supported research into extending HECS to international students could enable more
international students to access quality education in Australia. However as a nation, Australia must continue
to work towards having the best higher education system in the world in terms of quality, research and
the student experience.

Australia has steadily been building up its transnational education capacity. However, given the challenges
noted above, the sector will need to invest significantly more resources into this aspect of international
engagement, and government will need to support this by helping to break down any regulatory barriers
particularly those evident in India with the Foreign Universities Bill. While Asian countries are improving



5   Lowy Institute for International Policy, Asia’s Changing Shape , July 2011, p. 2
6   Ibid, p. 9
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their capacity to provide domestic education, there is a strong demand for programs to be taught in English
indicating there is still an opportunity to enhance Australian-Asian transnational education.

Further, Universities and government need to commit to enhancing the student experience through
continued efforts to ensure access to safe and affordable accommodation for all international students,
along with transport concessions and access to employment support services. Given Australian alumni
have generally had a higher profile in government than in business, more needs to be done to strengthen
the networks of Australian alumni in business. A program of internships for international students would
be a very effective way to introduce international students to Australian business and improve employability
and graduate outcomes.

With research collaboration central to the third wave agenda, government needs to provide incentives and
adequate support to build these relationships. Universities Australia would like to see the development of a
world class Australasian Research Network that could be supported through a program akin to an Asia
Research Collaboration Scheme which would mirror the existing Strategic Research Funds.

To demonstrate the high quality of Australian education, and to further enhance the global knowledge
economy, Australian universities are committed to attracting more high quality international PhD students.
Already universities contribute millions towards international PhD scholarships and Universities Australia
believes this commitment could be better matched by government.

Australia needs to show its serious interest in the region through, for example, more teaching of Asian
languages and schemes to encourage students to spend time studying at Asian universities through
exchange programs. Some excellent initiatives are already in place: exchange scholarship opportunities,
specific short term mobility scholarships such as the Discover China Scholarships, in-country Asian language
study opportunities, Asian-language competitions and close cooperation between universities and Confucius
institutes. More can be done however to promote Asian languages and Asian studies, and to encourage
Australian students to enhance their university experience to include Asia.

Australian universities educate not just the future leaders of Australia, but the future leaders in an Asian
century. It is therefore essential that students are helped to develop the skills necessary to successfully
negotiate Australia’s position in the Asian century. Australia is only one of many countries evaluating their
role in the Asian century, the challenges and opportunities ahead. We should make use of our unique
position to become a leader in Asia cooperation strategies and policies by focusing on what we need to do
now to best access the opportunities this Asian century presents.




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