international education
campusreview.com.au
Most
favoured
nation
Australia takes a back
seat to Canada as the
favoured destination of
international students.
Lyndell Jacka interviewed by Loren Smith
I
nternational students think Canada – of maple syrup and Justin
Trudeau fame – tops for education. Despite the fact that most
students, mainly from India, had chosen to study in Australia,
they rated Canada higher on affordability, quality of education,
safety, graduate employment and visas. This insight, encapsulated
8
in a survey of nearly 3000 students by international student
agency IDP Education, is just one of many.
Others, as released at the Australian International
Education Conference (which IDP co-presented), included
that most international students were the first in their
families to study overseas, and most were undertaking a
postgraduate qualification.
The survey also canvassed students’ thoughts on online
communications with potential institutions of choice. From this,
IDP’s head of research, Lyndell Jacka, learned that although the
majority of them are digital natives, “we can’t lose sight of the
importance of human connection”.
“It’s that validation through a personal connection … someone
they know or people like them. This is a massive decision they
and their families make.”