campusreview.com.au
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
What a charmer
Australia can maintain its
competitive edge by capitalising
on the allure of its lifestyle,
environment and social norms.
By Phil Honeywood
T
here has been a great deal of media commentary of late
analysing the dramatic increase in overseas students
choosing to study in Australia. Commentators, including
myself, have attempted to point to warning signs that 8 per cent
year-on-year enrolment growth is not sustainable over the longer
term. Whether it be US institutions deciding to recruit more
international students or the Chinese economy not adequately
absorbing enough overseas-educated returning graduates, there
are many market forces working to slow Australia’s intake. The
International Education Panel at the recent Universities Australia
annual conference even highlighted the ageing populations of
our traditional source countries for students as further cause
for concern. However, all of this commentary tends to overlook
key factors still drawing students here: Australia remains a highly
desirable study destination for lifestyle, environmental and
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social factors that many of our citizens take for granted.
There is disagreement about how much the flow of overseas
students to Australia will increase in coming years. The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
maintains that the current 4.9 million students undertaking
some form of overseas study will rise to 7 million by 2020. But
other analysts argue that these figures are unlikely to ever be
met. They point out that shrinking youth populations in many
Asian countries, together with growing enrolment rates in local
education institutions suggest fewer of these students will need to
study abroad. However, the more optimistic among us argue that
while we may see a decline in undergraduate enrolments, Australia
will more than make up for it by attracting a different cohort.
These commentators maintain that more students will come here
to undertake master’s degrees and PhDs, as well as enhanced
exchange and study-abroad programs. If that happens, the overall
number of international students is unlikely to decline and the
change in the nature of the cohort will assist our diversification and
curriculum design. Of course, implicit in all of this is the suggestion
that higher education providers in Australia would be well advised
to adjust their marketing campaigns accordingly. That would
probably involve nation branding.
Wikipedia states that nation branding “aims to measure, build and
manage the reputation of countries” and is closely related to “place
branding”. It goes on to suggest that many nations are increasingly
emphasising their distinctive characteristics. The branding and