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Violent attacks on several Indian university students have left the reputation of the Australian overseas student market damaged.
Reports suggest there have been as many as four separate incidents in the state of Victoria, one of which included a knife attack on a 21-year-old Indian nursing student at the Chisholm Tafe in Dandenong, VIC. Meanwhile, a 25-year-old student studying engineering at Cambridge International College in Melbourne, VIC, sustained serious injuries when he was attacked by youths wielding a screwdriver. Officials have warned that these misdemeanours could jeopardise the country’s AUS$2 billion international education industry and foreign governments have expressed concerned over the safety of nationals currently studying in Australia.
Professor Daryl Le Grew, Universities Australia’s spokesperson on international affairs, said the attacks were a “wake up call” for universities, Tafes and private colleges, and each must re-evaluate the way in which they safeguard foreign students. “We need to respond with much more than spin. We need to acknowledge there’s a problem,” noted Le Grew. “We need to do much more to support and care for students, and if we can’t do that [the market] will dissolve,” he added.
Professor Joe Chicharo from the University of Wollongong said they had already taken steps to address the situation by issuing a campus-wide email reassuring students and parents alike. “The University of Wollongong considers as its highest priority the safety and wellbeing of all our students. We have endeavoured to create an educational environment within our campus that is underpinned by mutual respect and tolerance across the entire diversity of our student population,” it said. “It is our key responsibility to address and assist you should you have any concerns regarding both your safety and wellbeing whilst studying at the University of Wollongong.”
Aravindha Krishnamachari, a senior counsellor at IDP – a student recruitment organisation working on behalf of Australian universities – said responsibility rested with the government. “Much needs to be done by the Australian and state governments to protect international students, particularly Indian interests,” he said.
Indian students flock to Canadian universities
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), a group of 13 autonomous engineering and technology-oriented universities, are to send 15 third and fourth year students to several Canadian universities in a bid to grow research and development links between the two nations.
A three-month study programme, called Globalink, will see some of IIT’s most promising candidates study alongside select professors at three proposed universities in British Colombia; the University of British Colombia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. Undertaking projects in mathematical sciences, students will be exposed to leading research in the province and be encouraged to take part in industry workshops.
The scheme, which was born out of a trade, education and investment mission to Asia in 2007, was the brainchild of Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Colombia. It is also hoped the all-expenses paid internships will encourage students to take up residency in the future.
Joseph Caron, Canadian High Commissioner to India said, “Canada is committed to accelerate economic growth in India and to deepen bilateral relations, particularly in the education sector.”
Japan dominates Asian university rankings
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) – a company specialising in education and study abroad – has conducted the first regional ranking of Asian higher education institutions.
The study, which analysed some 200 institutions, assessed critera such as research quality, teaching calibre, graduate employability and campus internationalisation. Japanese institutions topped the poll with nine universities in the top 20 and 33 in the top 100. Other countries with a strong presence included Hong Kong with four institutions featuring in the top 20, while South Korea had 17 institutions featured in the top 100 and China had 11 in the top 100.
“The results of the QS Asian University Rankings focus on regionally-relevant measures of excellence, with the top performing universities distinguished not only by quality, but also by high productivity of research, compared to their regional peers,” said Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director of QS.
Universities that made the top 10 included the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; the University of Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong; Kyoto University, Japan; Osaka University, Japan; the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea; Seoul National University, South Korea; Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan; and in joint-tenth place, the National University of Singapore, Singapore and Peking University, China.
The poll differs from the survey undertaken by Shanghai Jiao Tong University last year which included Asia-Pacific countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
News in brief
Malaysian university to grow international student numbers
The University of Malaya has announced its intention to grow its international student intake by 40 per cent. With 2,500 international postgraduate students from 82 countries already studying at the university, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin, said the move would help promote internationalisation in the country. “One of the thrusts of the National Higher Education Strategic Plan, which was launched two years ago, was to enhance internationalisation and to turn Malaysia into a leading education hub,” he said.
UK universities challenge the US international tertiary sector
According to new figures released by the British Council, over half a million international students studied at a UK university last year. New analysis showed that there were 513,570 international students studying at a British university in 2007-2008, 124,240 more than was originally forecast and closer to the USA’s 623,805 figure. The survey – carried out by HESA – previously focused on domicile or the country where the application was made. However, the new figure includes those that have lived in the UK for several years and that hold a foreign passport.
Qatari students impress Japanese
The Japanese Embassy has announced its intention to offer Qatari students scholarships to study in Japan. The grants, which include scholarships for undergraduate degrees and postgraduate research studies, will be available from April 2010. Meanwhile, students at the Language Teaching Institute in Doha, Qatar, impressed Japanese dignitaries at a recent speech contest. Most of the contestants – comprising university students and working professionals – had completed a Japanese language course at the school.
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