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International student numbers weathering economic storm

The University of Wollongong’s Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) PROFESSOR JOE CHICHARO believes the Australian university sector is weathering the global economic storm well:

The global economic crisis may have sent stock market values plummeting around the world, but it seems to be having the opposite effect on the value of a quality university degree.

Despite fears that the crisis would have a negative impact on the numbers of international students coming to Australia to study, at this point in time these fears have not transpired.

At the University of Wollongong we’ve experienced strong growth in overall enrolments of international students for the current Autumn session. Student numbers are up from China and South-east Asia, although Study Abroad and Student Exchange numbers, from North America in particular, have declined or are flat across the sector.

Numbers from India are down a little on past years, but that can be attributed to a tightening of the visa requirements for Indian students studying in Australia.

I understand our experience is being matched at some other universities around the country, which adds currency to the view that education is resilient to economic downtowns and times of recession. This makes education one of Australia’s few “good news” stories in the current economic climate.

In fact, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) trade data for 2008 confirms that education is the nation’s third largest export industry, behind coal and iron ore and well ahead of the next service industry, tourism. According to the ABS figures, Australia’s education exports increased from $12.2 billion in 2007 to $15.5 billion in 2008, and over the past decade have grown at an annual average of 15.7% compared to 10.8% for total exports.

Clearly, international students continue to view studying in Australia as both valuable and affordable, which is good for our economy. It is worth noting that affordability has been assisted by the Australian dollar’s current exchange rate.

It remains to be seen whether this trend holds up for the Spring session, but the signs are certainly positive that the resilience in international student enrolments will continue despite the tough economic conditions around the world.

People are obviously looking for any possible advantage in an increasingly competitive global jobs market, and there is no doubt that first-class qualifications are a key to career success.

UOW has worked hard over many years to build an international reputation for our teaching and research programs. We also promote the lifestyle overseas students can enjoy when they study at UOW in our beautiful multicultural city by the sea. International students find Wollongong welcoming because of its multicultural nature, and they become great ambassadors for the University and Wollongong itself. Their enthusiasm for UOW is one of the main reasons that we continue to get such a flow of students from overseas.

But we know that we can’t take this success for granted. We need to give international students the best possible education and experience while they are with us, so that we remain ahead of the pack. Consequently, we are constantly working on ways to add value to their time at UOW.

For example, Martin Smith and his team at UOW’s Career Services have developed a workplace experience program that gives overseas students the opportunity to spend time in Australian workplaces. This program is in its early stages, but has been enthusiastically embraced by both employers and the students who have had the opportunities to spend time in local businesses.

We have also introduced training courses in the social skills of language, culture and applying for jobs, to complement the academic/technical aspects of the courses international students undertake at UOW.

We are also working hard to build stronger Alumni networks overseas, so that our graduates remain connected with UOW when they return to their home countries.

Visiting students bring many tangible and intangible benefits to the University, and to the city. For example their presence in classes enriches the learning experiences of our domestic students, as it exposes them to different points of view from people who have been brought up in very different cultures.

And they must be housed, fed, clothed, transported and entertained while they are living in Wollongong, to the obvious benefit of the local economy.

The City of Wollongong’s Welcome to Wollongong each February – now in its second year – is an important statement that the wider community embraces the notion that overseas students bring many economic and cultural benefits.

Of course combining first-class education with international experience can be just as important for domestic students who want to improve their employability. For that reason, we also encourage our domestic students to broaden their horizons by taking part of their degrees at our partner institutions overseas if they possibly can.