The University is a cosmopolitan community, with
7000 international students choosing to invest in an
Adelaide education.
The number has grown steadily for years and Professor
Pascale Quester is not at all surprised. “We offer a highquality, globally competitive education in a great, safe
city,” the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President
(Academic) says.
The University’s experience is part of an extraordinary
Australian success. Last year there were 250,000
international students studying at Australian universities
(plus another 340,000 going to school, learning English or
in vocational education). All up, the Federal Government
estimates education earned a staggering $17.6 billion
last year, making it the most successful set of services
Australia sells to the world.
But international competition in education is increasing.
And so Australia needs a competitive edge, which
includes appropriate student housing options.
“It’s great to have small classes and high-quality
academics but if students can’t find affordable,
comfortable accommodation, they simply will not come,”
Professor Quester warns.
And because international students come from such
diverse backgrounds with quite different needs, there
must be a range of accommodation available.
It’s a message the University understood 10 years
ago when it decided it needed a “village”—just not in
the countryside. In fact, The Village is about as urban
as Adel