The Australian Government has established a Coordinating Council for International Education “to unleash Australia’s full economic potential,” according to the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Christopher Pyne.
The Coordinating Council seeks feedback from the Australian international education community to identify opportunities to build deeper connections with the global marketplace in order to better link students to meaningful work experience.
The Coordinating Council has released ‘A National Strategy for International Education.’
The report states, “international education is vital for the Australian economy. It is our largest services export, contributing $16.3 billion to the Australian economy in 2013–2014. It supports nearly 130,000 jobs nationally and plays a significant economic role as a source of skilled migrants, as well as skilled labour for Australian companies operating overseas. International students studying in Australia, together with visiting family and friends, also make a significant contribution to Australia’s tourism industry, supporting even more jobs across our services sector.”
The Hon MP Christopher Pyne states that, “in order to sustain Australia’s capacity to accommodate further growth, all stakeholders in Australian international education are working to raise awareness of the value that international students contribute both to our economy and to the cultural richness of our communities.”
The National Strategy for international education has set six goals.
Goal 1. Australia will work to create an education system that stands out as the best in the world.
Goal 2. Australia will build on our strong education and research partnerships to broaden engagement in international education.
Goal 3. Australia will foster an international outlook among Australian students and researchers.
Goal 4. Australia will attract more of the world’s students and researchers.
Goal 5. Australia will continue to improve the quality of the educational and living experience for international students.
Goal 6. Australia will embrace new opportunities to grow international education.
