Focus on global student mobility
12 Feb 2008 | Renee Criddle
Academics from Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and across Australia will meet at the University of Wollongong this week (Wednesday 13 – Friday 15 February) to participate in a conference on international students and global student mobility.
The conference, titled ‘International students in the Asia Pacific: Mobility, migration, wellbeing and security’, will look at the growing presence of international students across the globe.
“In 2004 there were 2.7 million foreign students studying in OECD universities and that was an eight percent increase from the previous year,” said Associate Professor Peter Kell, who has organised the conference.
“Australia occupies the fifth position in the ‘big five’ in the global market behind the US, UK, Germany and France. Australia also has the highest proportion of international students in its system with 16.6% of all students being international students.”
Professor Kell said that in 2005, international students studying in Australia generated $9 billion in export income. The University of Wollongong has a strong representation of international students with 23% of enrolments being overseas onshore students.
Topics for discussion at the conference will focus around the wellbeing and mobility of international students and include presentations on research on programs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and East Timor as well as in Australia.
Some of the papers will deal with controversial issues in off-shore education programs, cross-cultural postgraduate research supervision, plagiarism, the stereotyping of international students, students as vulnerable workers and life transitions from student to migrant.
The papers will make up a special edition of the International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies. The forum has been funded by the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS) at UOW and the Asia Pacific Research Futures Network (APRFN).
When: Wednesday 13 – Friday 15 February 2008
Where: UniCentre (Bldg 11), Kemira Room
For further information: Contact Associate Professor Peter Kell on 0417 354 901
*Media please note: The best time for photo/filming opportunities is at the lunchbreak on Wednesday 13 February from 1.10pm – 2.10pm.
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