Australia launches new strategies to promote international education

The Australian government on Saturday launched three new strategies to promote its international education sector, one of the country's largest services export industries and was worth more than 19 billion AU dollars (14 billion U.S. dollars) to the Australian economy in 2015.

Being launched are the National Strategy for International Education 2025; the Australia Global Alumni Engagement Strategy and the Australian International Education 2025 (AIE2025) market development roadmap.

"As Australia transitions to a knowledge and service-based economy, the Government's innovative strategies will strengthen and grow our international education sector over the coming decade," said a joint statement by Foreign Minsiter Julie Bishop and Minister for Tourism and International Education Richard Colbeck.

The statement said that the National Strategy for International Education 2025 will enable Australia's international education sector to be more adaptive, innovative and globally engaged.

It will further strengthen the country's internationally recognized education system, increase global partnerships and drive collaboration with local communities and global partners.

Complementing the National Strategy, the AIE2025 roadmap will position Australia to capitalize on new opportunities and markets over the next decade.

More than 2.5 million international students have studied in Australia over the last 50 years, many of whom currently occupy positions of influence around the region. The Australia Global Alumni Engagement Strategy will seek to leverage those alumni to promote Australia's diplomatic, trade and investment interests.

Figures from the education sector applauded the decision.

"The sector provides far more than just an economic boost. Research collaboration, two-way student mobility and student services such as accommodation and employment skills are all vital and require greater national coordinated effort. These 'soft diplomacy' benefits are often overlooked," said Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA).

A new report released Friday by Deloitte Access Economics, The Value of International Education to Australia, says that the sector contributes 1 billion AU dollars more to the economy than previously estimated.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which reported the value of international education to be over 19.5 billion AU dollars in 2015, making it one of our largest export earners.

The additional streams identified in the Deloitte report total nearly 1 billion AU dollars more what the ABS currently reports, putting the real value of the industry closer 21 billion AU dollars .

These newly-identified revenue streams include nearly 300 million AU dollars that students' visiting family and friends contribute to Australia's tourism industry each year.

Also, for the first time, this report provides an estimate of the national economic contribution made by Australian education providers delivering Australian courses offshore, which was over 400 million AU dollars in 2014-15.

Education related expenditure by those on non-student visas studying English is estimated to contribute an additional 205 million AU dollars in export revenue.

Source: XINHUA