Australia

More than 10,000 Australians will be eligible for grants to study in Asia as part of a new drive to strengthen engagement with the continent. Through the AsiaBound Grants Program, students can access awards of between $2,000 and $5,000 for study exchanges, and $1,000 for preparatory Asian language study.

English Australia has joined with the Australian tourism industry to argue against a near 30% increase in the cost of the Working Holiday Visa (WHV), which it says could deter overseas language students who combine work and study in Australia. The cost of a Skilled Graduate visa, aimed at recent graduates wishing to work in Australia, is also set to quadruple.

The state of NSW, Australia, will finally grant overseas students discounts on the cost of travel in a bid to boost its economy. The concessions – available in every other state bar Victoria – provide up to 35% off travel, creating more equity with Australian students, improving student safety and cutting living costs.

In a state trip to India last week, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard used the trip to assure Indians of a welcome reception in Australia – and announced new funding for educational and research projects, which she says are at the heart of economic and social ties between the two countries. Occupational qualifications will be mutually recognised..

International Education in the Asian Century was the theme for the AIEC conference in Australia, but the event also clearly focused on understanding what international students want and what influences their purchase patterns. The recurring theme was graduate opportunity, or "Return on Investment" for international students.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has introduced a set of principles to promote and protect the rights of international students and inform those who work with them. They are designed to make students aware of their rights when studying abroad as well as prevent economic insecurity, threats to safety and social isolation.

New data modelling from the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) predicts that the downturn in Australia's international education industry will get worse before it gets better, taking almost a decade to recover and threatening further jobs.

Boosting student exchange and mobility in the Pacific Rim region was high on the agenda at the recent APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia, as Australia and Russia prioritised a deal to open up the region's higher education market. With 21 member nations in APEC, any unilateral student exchange deal could lead to a strong student mobility programme akin to Europe's Erasmus exchange programme.

The ACPET National Conference (and awards) welcomed Australia’s largest gathering of private tertiary education and training experts to its annual conference, with international education high on the agenda...

My view is we’re an embryonic industry. It’s akin to those first cotton textile mills in mid-18th century Britain which started the industrial revolution, to use an analogy from economic history! We’re only just beginning.

One of the two new national education regulators in Australia, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), has begun consultation with the Australian National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS) after it was nominated as one of two authorities to oversee ELICOS programmes.

Australia's English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector has reported a 4% drop in numbers for the 2011 calendar year. The number of enrolments fell to 134,440 from 140,102 in 2010 marking the third year in a row that the market has seen a decline in numbers since it peaked in 2008.

India has joined the row about international student travel concessions in NSW and Victoria, Australia. An e-petition has been set up by two international students and Universities Australia is also backing the campaign. However, state government representatives argue their policy is fair...

Less than half of language schools worldwide said their enrolments grew in the second quarter of 2012 compared with last year, according to the latest language travel survey from the Association of Language Travel Organisations (ALTO). Inversely, business was up for agents with 45% reporting growth over 41%.

A delegation of Presidents and VPs from top Chinese research universities visited Australia last week to further agreements on HE exchange between China and scholars at Australia's Group of Eight (Go8) universities...