Graduate Careers Australia
ergo - Number 89 December 2002
The 16th Australian International Education Conference
Operated by IDP Education Australia, New Times, New Approaches was the title of the 16th Australian International Education Conference held in Hobart a few weeks ago. This annual event brings together a wide range of professionals and providers involved in the international education industry. On this occasion 771 delegates from 37 countries enjoyed a stimulating program of plenary and workshop sessions.
Earlier AIEC events I have attended have given the impression of focusing very heavily on marketing Australian education. While this is naturally still a core concern for IDP and for many of the delegates, the 2002 event was characterised not only by an excellent, friendly atmosphere, but also by a program of real variety. There were 85 sessions available in the main part of the conference, so one was left with a sense of disappointment that you could only be in one session at each segment! However a CD ROM of proceedings will go to delegates shortly...
Wide Range of Issues Covered
Information sessions ranged from reviews of specific countries/regions to detailed issues such as visas, English language testing, health and accommodation.
Around the conference core theme, a popular issue was the explosive growth of online education in the context of both students temporarily resident in Australia and offshore delivery. There was lively debate about the establishment and maintenance of offshore campuses, with reference to course delivery, student services and language of tuition. Some delegates queried whether a course delivered fully in a language other than English could truly be described as the same product as a similarly-structured course conducted on an Australian campus.
IDP/DEST Joint Findings
In a well-attended session addressing change and growth in the international market, DEST s Group Manager International, Mr Mike Gallagher discussed some of the findings of a joint IDP/DEST research exercise. The plotted growth in the international education market is staggering: one estimate puts the possible demand for Australian postsecondary courses internal and transnational at 996,000 places by 2025. Of transnational courses (Australian courses delivered fully or partly in other countries) 98% will be based in Asia.
Such growth puts pressure on not only the core educational resources but also on the delivery of student services. International students are no less interested in carving out satisfactory and well-paid careers than domestic students. It was clear from the number of references to outcomes during the conference, that this is an issue which is gaining momentum. For GCCA-gradlink I addressed a session entitled International Students: Employment Ready and Marketable? . This included a review of the statistical information on internationals gleaned from the GraduateDestination Survey (GDS), and a consideration of the types of services relating to careers exploration and graduate employment which are available to them.
In terms of the destination data, we are to some extent hampered by the relatively low response rates from international students. It is hoped that the online GDS questionnaire currently being developed by GCCA will go some way to improving this situation. However the data do give some interesting insights into the employment uptakes of this important group of graduates.
The Role of Careers Services
The services available specifically to international students are widely variable across the campuses. Only two universities in Australia have a careers adviser dedicated to international students requirements (QUT and Melbourne). However, most careers services report substantial use of their general facilities for domestic students, and of publications and seminars which have been devised expressly for overseas students. While the skill requirements and recruitment methodologies applicable in internationals source countries naturally show some variations from the Australian situation, in a broad sense they are sufficiently similar that much of the local provision is of value to the internationals. Probably the biggest problem for the careers service is that of attempting to keep up to date with labour market knowledge across such a wide geographic range, literally all four corners of the Earth.
Congratulations to IDP on a purposeful and well run conference. With regard to the GCCA- gradlink session, my thanks to Bruce Guthrie for putting together the statistical segment, to various careers services for their inputs on service provision, and to Jackie Vidot for arranging the presentation and information kits.
Roger Bartley
Executive Director, GCCA
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