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Spence fine with China
The ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the University of Sydney’s centre in Suzhou, China. Photo: University of Sydney
The USYD vice-chancellor says local unis
would be crazy to avoid increasing their
connections with the Middle Kingdom.
By James Wells
W
ith the University of Sydney strengthening its ties with
China, as demonstrated by the opening of its first
Chinese campus at the beginning of November, USYD’s
vice-chancellor has sought to play down concerns that Chinese
soft power could be influencing the university.
Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first ambassador to China, has
previously expressed concern over the influence of Chinese money
in Australian universities. While Fitzgerald singled out for criticism the
University of Technology Sydney’s Australia China Relations Institute,
which was established by a $1.8 million donation from Chinese
businessman Huang Xiangmo, he cautioned that all universities must
be careful when linking with China and accepting donations.
Recently, USYD launched its new Centre in China (CIC), located
west of Shanghai, in Suzhou. In a statement, vice-chancellor Dr
Michael Spence spruiked USYD’s Chinese links.
“The University of Sydney has been Australia’s leading university
with regard to engagement with China over the past few decades,”
Spence said. “We were the first Australian university to have
research links with China, and we were also the first university to
welcome Chinese students and academics, in 1979.
“Today, we have around 12,000 Chinese students studying at our
campuses in Sydney, and more than 200 academic staff studying
China directly or collaborating with Chinese researchers,” he continued.
“However, despite the closeness of our relationship, the University of
Sydney has never had a physical address in China, until now.
“The launch of this new centre demonstrates that the University
of Sydney is leading the way in ensuring that the relationship
between our two great countries is one of friendly collaboration
defined by the exchange of ideas.”
USYD’s CIC is the latest in a wave of Australian universities
embracing China with open arms. The University of New South
Wales’ Torch Innovation Precinct, announced in April, was met
with great interest throughout the higher-education sector. The
innovation incubator was announced while Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull was on a visit to the Asian giant, and came to fruition with
the help of $30 million from eight Chinese companies.
UNSW vice-chancellor professor Ian Jacobs said shortly after
the announcement that China would soon be the world’s biggest
investor in research and development. He said universities would
go ahead with expensive strategies, like his own vision for UNSW,
even if the money isn’t publicly sourced. They’ll likely look to the
private sector – including China’s – to accomplish this.
“We published, last year, our strategy for the next 10 years,”
Jacobs said in April. “It’s an ambitious strategy. It involves academic
excellence in research and education. It also involves social
engagement and global impact.
“Under the social engagement heading, there is a very important
component that is about social justice, equality and diversity, but
also under that heading, there is an important component about
knowledge transfer. It is about the innovation agenda.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics values international education
as a $20.3 billion sector. Federal Education Department data has
shown there are about 570,000 international students studying in
Australia – 45 per cent are enrolled in universities. Of this, 26 per
cent are Chinese. Last year, a Grattan Institute report found that
student fees are cross-subsidised to fund research.
“On a conservative estimate, one dollar in five spent on research
comes from surpluses on teaching,” report author Andrew Norton
said. “International students, who usually generate more revenue
per student than domestic students, contribute a substantial
proportion of this surplus.”
A report from Curtin University’s Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
showed there was an east/west divide when it came to choosing
universities. Chinese students don’t seem to favour West Australian
institutions as much as those on the east coast. University enrolments
of overseas students in WA dropped from 11.2 per cent of the total
Australian market share in 2002, to 6.8 per cent in 2015. ■
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