Scott Morrison’s thought-bubble on sending international students to regional universities looked burst. It isn’t.

Last month Education Minister Dan Tehan invited the international education industry to think about how to attract internationals to regional unis (CMM October 10) and now the government is asking for ideas on how to lift the 3 per cent of internationals now at universities outside Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

The feds have seven questions for discussion concerning barriers, marketing and research on metro-regional uni cooperation. There is also one that will appeal to the PM and regional university VCs; a role for government policy settings , “to encourage more students to study in regional Australia (e.g. migration incentives)”