The bimonthly guide to all things International Education |
|
|
Welcome to the forth edition of The Source - The Lygon Group’s regular newsletter filled with insight and analysis. For detail of what each edition will bring you, visit our first issue of The Source here. In this edition: The Big Picture: - Moving from pilots programs to certainty
- Pilot programs and student confidence
A Closer Look at China: - Students heading abroad receiving COVID-19 vaccine
- China’s economy continues to show signs of recovery
- Pakistani students vent frustration at not being allowed back into China
- Senate Inquiry into Diaspora deepens the rift between Australia and China
In Case you Missed It: - Summer in New Zealand campaign launch
What we’re Thinking About: - How China is filling the gaps we leave in the sector
- Our podcast - The Source Pod
|
|
|
It's been an exciting week at The Lygon Group as we have produced our first edition of our podcast—The Source Pod. The Source Pod is for anyone working in, or just passionate about, Australia’s international education sector. We bring you expert insight and analysis, the voices of industry leaders and insiders, and the voices of students. |
|
|
Episode 1, Jigsaw, looks at the role pilot programs play in getting the sector up and running in a global pandemic. We hear from some of the university leaders at the coalface: Andrew Everett, Gabrielle Rolan, Lawrence Pratchett and Sarah Todd. Angela Lehmann and Jeffrey Smart discuss where pilot programs came from, and the part they play. Subscribe via iTunes, Spotify or wherever you usually find fantastic pods. | | |
|
|
Get in touch to talk about how we can help you and your organisation. |
|
|
Moving from pilots programs to certainty Finally, two pilot programs to restart international education are approved—in the Northern Territory and South Australia. Every other state and territory is well advanced in developing plans for pilot programs, some of which are approval-ready, others are subject to local conditions. But are pilot programs an anachronism; an artefact from the earliest days of the pandemic? As our international borders progressively slammed shut and the pandemic spread rapidly around the globe, our sector began planning for safe pilots to return international students from July. Then Australia’s internal borders started going up, our collective immune system ticked over to parochialism, and Victoria’s second wave happened. We put a brake on our hopes as the national quarantine system was put under additional strain. Through all of this the sector—particularly our universities working in concert with state and territory governments—persevered with the complex work to progress planning for pilot programs. So, international education in Australia can justifiably celebrate the two approved pilots. The international executive leaders we speak to, right across the country, are united in support for the NT and SA pilot programs. They are a necessary ‘proof of concept’ to demonstrate to Australian governments and the community that we can safely restart Australia’s most important services export sector. |
|
|
Are pilot programs enough given the moment we inhabit right now? Pilot programs are good. They’re important. But they are not enough. Not at this critical moment as current and prospective students weigh up their 2021 and 2022 study options, and Australia’s economy stumbles. Pilot programs are too narrowly focused to rebuild an international education sector that relies on pipelines of commencing students, studying across AQF levels and provider types. These programs will not inject the economic boost right across the economy at the scale small and big business require for stabilisation. There are emerging signs that some of the very students the pilot programs are principally aimed at—continuing students stranded offshore and studying online—are packing their incomplete Australian qualifications in their carry-on luggage and cashing them in for credit at universities in other countries. International students want certainty. They are not putting their futures on hold forever, and are considering their study plans for 2021 and 2022 and beyond right now. |
|
|
Not beyond Australia’s wit It’s time we rebranded pilot programs as part of a national re-opening plan. Our country has been remarkably successful at controlling COVID-19 infections. This works in our favour and we need to be communicating this as loudly as we can. If Canada’s government can wrangle the provinces—with their jurisdictional pride, varying COVID-19 infection rates and regulatory settings—and come up with a comprehensive national re-opening plan, it is not beyond Australia’s wit to do so. If New Zealand can announce a pilot program to bring 250 PhD students back, on behalf of all NZ universities, it is not beyond Australia’s wit to do so. If the United Kingdom can welcome international students back, despite the prospect that they are heading straight into extended lockdown on campus, Australia is a way better choice. Australia needs to speak with a voice that encompasses the differing circumstances of the whole. There is so much collaborative goodwill for a national re-opening plan in international education that we need to seize this moment. Local government, states and territories are largely onboard. All education sectors are onboard. Let’s add the most important voice: the Commonwealth. Pilot programs sound tentative, contingent, precarious. We’ve been on and off again for so long, it’s like we’ve been hanging a ‘back after lunch’ sign on the national front door. |
|
|
What could a national plan look like? It could look something like this: Rebrand the NT and SA pilot programs as the first stage of a national re-opening plan. Other states and territories have pilot programs ready to go. They will come on stream as Australia continues to get COVID-19 under control, like no other major destination nation. Statements of intention by the Australian government. Intensify Commonwealth coordination with all other jurisdictions, education sub-sectors and their peaks, the BCA, CoSBoA and all other business and employer groups who benefit from this crucial export sector. Include schools, ELICOS providers, pathway providers, TAFE and VET sectors in the conversation in a meaningful way on a plan to re-open to commencing international students. Communicate with conviction that students can start planning to study in Australia from 2021. We are re-opening to international students in a COVID-safe way, and will make sure we keep them informed as we step through the stages of our national plan.
|
|
|
Student voice Pilot programs and student confidence We surveyed 410 prospective and current Indian students about whether they think pilot programs add to confidence about the reopening of borders. The response was very equally split—42 per cent of students said that pilot program announcements do not make them more confident about Australia’s reopening and 41 per cent saying that they do. Many students offshore may be unaware about these programs, with 15 per cent of our sample unaware of them. |
|
|
This data suggests that from the student perspective, pilot programs should be considered as a part of a larger framework of recovery messaging. Clear, consistent and well-coordinated messaging to students offshore has never been more important. |
|
|
Students heading abroad receiving COVID-19 vaccine China is expanding the number of people receiving its experimental COVID-19 vaccines and are prioritising students heading overseas. The expansion of emergency experimental vaccines to students has raised ethical and safety concerns. Students preparing to leave China to study abroad are invited to apply for the vaccination which includes providing copies of flight tickets, valid visas and letters from foreign schools for verification. There are mixed reports about whether this is increasing Chinese students’ feelings of safety about traveling abroad to study. There have been reports of chaotic management of the vaccinations, and caveats that the effectiveness is still unproven. |
|
|
Pakistani students vent frustration at not being allowed back into China Pakistani students who studying with Chinese institutions have taken to social media to express frustration at being stranded for several months in Pakistan, unable to continue their education in a ‘normal’ manner. The hashtag #TakeUsBackToSchool trended online in Pakistan, with students complaining they were finding it difficult to keep up with online classes due to time differences and connectivity issues. Sound familiar? China is both a major sending country and a major destination country and is facing similar challenges to universities around the world—transitioning to online education, the need for effective communication to offshore students and prospective and current students who are facing tough decisions about their future plans. |
|
|
Senate Inquiry into Diaspora deepens the rift between Australia and China At a recent Senate committee hearing examining issues facing diaspora communities in Australia, Liberal Senator Eric Abetz asked three Chinese Australians to denounce the Chinese Communist Party. The line of questioning received a swift backlash and was criticised by Australia’s Asian diasporas and by Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan. The line of questioning is likely to attract the attention of Beijing, and will only serve to enflame the already tense relationship between the two countries. The Chinese Embassy in Australia warned students earlier in the year about racism towards Chinese Australians during COVID-19. |
|
|
Summer in New Zealand campaign launch Government agencies in New Zealand have written to every international student in the country encouraging them to stay in New Zealand for the summer. The campaign by Education New Zealand, the Association of International Students and Immigration New Zealand is part tourism promotion for students finishing their courses and part pastoral care for those who cannot leave for fear of interrupting their studies. A newly launched website offers ideas and information for international students about spending the summer in New Zealand. |
|
|
Recognising that universities are key to our national security and our geoeconomic position in the region is key to finding that much sought-after middle ground between promoting international collaboration and engagement with China while protecting our national interests. Read our article published by The Lowy Interpreter on how China is filling the gaps we leave in the sector here. |
|
|
Missed an earlier issue? Catch up here |
|
|
Subscribe and we’ll deliver a new edition, direct to your inbox, every two weeks. |
|
|
|
|
