In October 2019, my colleague and I wrote a commentary in The Australian about the need for Australian universities to prepare and safeguard offshore students who are affected by political unrest. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 further exposes that many ...
More »Home alone: A higher education experience? Opinion
One of the first impacts of a coronavirus pandemic being declared was the immediate closure of Australian international borders, coming soon after the Lunar New Year. It came when so many of the international students planning to come to Australia ...
More »Universities Australia asks treasurer for ‘immediate relief’
The peak body for Australian universities has warned that immediate relief is required to support the university sector in its prebudget submission to government. Universities Australia (UA) says such relief is needed to ensure Australia’s research remains strong and investments ...
More »International education is still alive in Australia, but we must ‘look after them’
Despite fears that financial insecurity and border closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic could destroy the international education sector, the situation may not be as dire as one might assume – as long as Australia takes the right steps. ...
More »University numbers: What do we count on open day? Opinion
Professor Martin Betts at a university open day. Photo: Supplied. The world has been waking up to a new set of numbers most days since March. In Australia, the numbers look quite different state to state. The feeling that “we ...
More »How to recruit the world’s best international students
A curious feeling of dismay is exhibited by many educators when PISA scores are released that show Australia’s seemingly intractable steady decline against the OECD average, and against other countries in our region. A similar feeling of dismay is also ...
More »Strengthening our knowledge economy is the key to recovery: opinion
“Australia's future growth and prosperity will be driven by our ability to generate and attract the 'best and brightest'.” This statement from the India Economic Strategy to 2035 report holds even greater weight now as we look to stimulate our ...
More »Diversification: international education’s Holy Grail
When Ariana Grande sang that she had 99 problems, she likely didn’t have the state of international education in Australia in mind, but if she did, she’d be right. Here are three of our biggest problems: We only recruit significant ...
More »Post-study work rights the key to attracting international students
COVID-19 has transformed the international education sector globally. As countries navigate through this health crisis, it is clear that the uncertainties raised by this pandemic on the future of universities and the international education sector are inextricably linked to not ...
More »Student accommodation company buys up big, despite market conditions
Dubai-based company Global Student Accommodation (GSA) is moving ahead with plans for a student accommodation complex in Adelaide’s central North Terrace precinct, bucking trends that have seen a COVID-induced crash in student accommodation demand. The $110 million development will include ...
More »