December 3, 2018
Growing International Education in Regional Australia: IRU response
The Innovative Research Universities (IRU) has responded to the Department of Education and Training’s Growing International Education in Regional Australia consultation, which has set out to consider how to encourage more international students to study in regional areas.
The IRU supports the Government’s objective that potential international students for Australia are alert to the value of studying at all of Australia’s universities.
There is a risk that the larger cities are better known such that options for study elsewhere may not be given sufficient consideration. There is a need to make better use of the potential from the breadth of the country to reduce the pressure on the major cities and create positive outcomes for all current and future Australians.
To ensure this, the IRU supports actions that will improve knowledge of the breadth of Australian universities and to stimulate vibrant, educated communities around all of our universities. The focus should be the value of each option, not to offset perceived weakness.
Possible actions are:
- employing on-shore agent training and site visits to generate better knowledge of the education options available across the whole of Australia
- stronger investment by Government in its coordinated national approach to promoting Australia, inclusive of all cities and institutions, as an education destination
- stimulating research capability across all campuses as essential to vibrant effective universities in any location. In particular, ensure a wider geographical distribution of new research infrastructure to ensure a broader distribution of the positive spill-over effects of infrastructure.
There is no place for directing students to particular destinations, which would only have the negative impact of deterring students from coming to Australia at all. Amendments to the visa system to create incentives for students to study in particular locations could be considered but need to work with the broader immigration framework.
