Australian Education Excellence Showcase 2011

The Australian Government organised Education Fair across eight cities in India to showcase a wide range of academic programmes, scholarships & career opportunities. A report…

Australian excellence in education and the opportunity to build a global career through an Australian education was showcased recently at the ‘Australian Education Excellence Showcase 2011’ comprising education fairs & information sessions organised across India in New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kochi & Chennai. Organised by the Australian government, the education fair in India showcased the quality, innovation and leadership of Australian education and also drove away the fears about security, which was a major issue for Indian students.

The head start
The event was inaugurated on 16 February 2011 in New Delhi by Peter N Varghese AO, Australian High Commissioner to India. It was also attended by Peter Linford, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Austrade; Peter Mackey, Education Commissioner, Austrade; Peter Nolan, Education Counsellor, AEI; and Geoffrey Conaghan, Victorian Government Commissioner to India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking on the occasion, Peter Linford said that Australian education has a strong international reputation for excellence and quality education across universities, schools and vocational institutions. Students can be assured that their Australian education experience will give them a sound foundation and competitive edge to be successful in the modern world. “More than half a million international students choose to study in Australia every year. Widely recognised across the world, an Australian qualification is a significant step towards a global career, recognised in more than 21 countries, including in India,” he stated.

There has also been a growing trend of Indian students involved in research programmes and doctoral degrees reflecting the culture of innovation and the high standards in education in Australia. Michael Carter, Consul Commercial, Australian Trade Commission, informed, “Australia is a least-crime prone country and it is one of the safest countries for foreign students. He added that more than 80,000 students from India have enrolled in Australia in 2010. Academic programmes on business management, information technology, engineering, science and hospitality are preferred coursework by Indian students in the higher education sector in Australia.”

Why Australia?
At the event, the Australian authorities were equally interested in stressing the security aspect of foreign students. David Holly, Consul General of Australia for South India, said that students from 190 countries belonging to 214 nationalities were studying in their nation and their safety was paramount. Several steps had been initiated for the students’ welfare, and strong action has been taken by the government of Victoria, the State which witnessed a few incidents. He spoke of the high quality education on offer, how well regarded his country’s universities were and also their phenomenal performance in research and development.

“The next step would be ‘twinning’ and the final one would be to set up Australian educational units in India. South India was in the radar of Australian Trade Mission and it was trying to enhance its strength in this part of the country, especially in Hyderabad, Kochi and Chennai,” Holly announced.

Carter added that Australia had five universities among the top 50 in the world. As many as 43 per cent of Australian universities were among the top 500 in the world, as against the United States, which had just 22 per cent in that list. It had world class vocational education and training system. He also spoke of the ‘international student strategy’, a landmark initiative to improve the wellbeing of international students, the quality of their educational experience and their rights as consumers.

A survey by the Australian Education International (AEI) of 50,000 international students across all sectors in 2010 found that 84 percent of all respondents were satisfied with their study experience in the country. Playing host to about 6,00,000 students from 190 countries, authorities noted that India is the second-largest source of foreign students. AEI statistics show that overall enrolment of Indian students in higher education dropped from 1,20,913 in 2009 to 1,00,236 in November, 2010.

However, university representatives, who had set up stalls at the event, also said they were seeing a turnaround in the number of enquiries for higher education in Australia.

“There has been a decrease in the last 12 to 18 months but the major thing for Australian education is that the visa policy will change from April 4, 2011. They will become more relaxed which is a positive step for students looking to study in Australia,” said Darren Turner, senior manager of global recruitment, Carnegie Mellon University, Australia.

Information sessions
Leading Australian universities & educational institutions participated at the ‘Australian Education Excellence Showcase 2011’ and disseminated contemporary information about Australian education, especially on the academic programmes, scholarships, student experience and safety measures, the global career opportunities an Australian education offers to prospective students from India etc. The event featured senior representatives and faculties from over 25 leading educational institutions from Australia, including the University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, Curtin University, RMIT, Bond University and La Trobe University.
Highlights included information sessions on emerging careers conducted by experts and sessions conducted by DIAC and alumni. The event received a positive response from a cross-section of prospective students, parents, local institutions, governments, corporates, partners and media.
The information sessions during the fair focussed on:
l International students experience in Australia
l Australian innovations
l Australia and India education partnerships and collaboration in world - leading research
l Australian education scholarships for Indian students
l Student life & living in Australia
An exclusive session on global careers and the role of an Australian education towards building a global career was also organised as part of the information sessions.
The education fair presented a unique opportunity for prospective students to interact directly with university representatives, faculty, alumni and scholarship recipients from Australian Universities & educational institutions.

Scholarships
Scholarships are offered by the Australian Government, education institutions and a number of other organisations. They cover various educational sectors, including vocational education and training, student exchanges, undergraduate and postgraduate study and research. Australian Government scholarships are not available for international students undertaking English language training specifically in Australia. However, there are several English language training scholarships offered by Australian institutions.
The Australia Awards comprise two streams: an achievement stream that targets the best and brightest students, researchers and professionals to come to Australia and for Australians to do the same offshore; and a development stream that builds capacity in developing countries. The Australia Awards initiative will, over time, build a new generation of global leaders with strong links to Australia.
The Australia Awards brings the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) scholarships together under the Australia Awards program.
There are three programs available under the Australia Awards, the Endeavour Awards, Australian Leadership Awards and Australian Development Scholarships. Only the Endeavour Awards are open to Indian applicants.
Endeavour Awards is the Australian Government’s internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the America’s to undertake study, research or professional development in Australia. Awards are also available for Australians to do the same abroad
Table 1 sets out the numbers of scholarships awarded since the program’s inception in 2007 to Indian nationals to study in Australia and the number of Australians awarded scholarships to study in India.

Emerging global careers
An exclusive session on global
careers and the role of an Australian education towards building a global career was organised as part of the information sessions. Successful alumni & senior academicians from Australian education institutions provided a comprehensive overview on skills required for a global career and on emerging career opportunities, with specific focus on careers in engineering, ICT, design
and health.