by CLAIRE FIELD

Last week’s Asia-Pacific Association for International Education conference in Bangkok generated a very different discussion on international education than we sometimes have in Australia (with our focus often on enrolment numbers, recruitment strategies and revenues)

Framed around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the conference focussed on students and the profound impact international education has on their lives and on communities. Congratulations to APAIE President, Sarah Todd from Griffith University and the organising team.

There were many excellent presentations, and a couple I regrettably missed, including the Austrade session with the Australian Technology Network and HE consultants, Lygon Group, on international student sentiment.

The absolute standout session focussed on Western Sydney University’s partnership with the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) and IIE International – whereby the three partners provide full scholarships (for university tuition fees, living expenses and a stipend, travel costs, as well as assistance with visas, academic transcripts, etc) for displaced students from Myanmar.

There are 90 000 people living in nine refugee camps, along the Thai-Myanmar border, most have lived there for decades. The Australian government will not grant students from the camps a visa because of their displaced status – WSU has nonetheless been working with its partners to support some since 2019. The Vietnamese government issues the students with visas and WSU and its partner of 15 years, UEH, provide students with a WSU degree on the university’s Vietnam campus.

With more than 100 million displaced people in the world and almost three million in our region – there is much more for education institutions to be doing to assist students and, in turn, their families and communities. Huge congratulations to Western Sydney U’s PVC Global Development  Yi-Chen Lan, VC Barney Glover and all the team involved in this incredible initiative.

English language education quality assurer NEAS was another Australian organisation which stood out at the conference. They are working with the ASEAN Universities Network to quality assure English language teaching across the region and have more recently started assisting English-language teachers in Ukraine.

Interestingly, while NEAS is engaged with the AUN, other Australian peak bodies and governments are not yet as involved. The AUN has received funding from Japan, India and the European Union for partnership activities to help build the capacity of AUN members. As Australian institutions continue to expand their partnerships with individual ASEAN institutions, we should also be looking to deepen our engagement with key bodies like the AUN and support their work in the region.

Claire Field spoke to NEAS CEO, Patrick Pheasant, on the What now? What next? podcast about their work in Australia, ASEAN and Ukraine