By DIRK MULDER

Austrade is working towards digital international student fairs

On-line events and conferences is already happening. While it is absolutely restrictive to primary ways of conducting face-to-face business, the current situation creates a forced opportunity to re-imagine online engagement.

Austrade has announced it is committing resources to support the sector continuing marketing and recruitment efforts globally. This follows cancelling the Latin America Study Australia Showcases and the upcoming Study in Australia Japan (30-31 May) and Korea (23-24 May).

How it will work is a question Austrade is funding a project to answer. The brief is for a model that delivers real-time student insights and maximises use of existing student-facing channels and tools. The objective is not simply a digital version of a traditional recruitment fair but an experience built from the bottom up for prospective students and providers.

Moving this way in a tight time frame requires input from many stakeholders, particularly in the ed-tech space. The time is right to invest and create, with a view to learnings and outcomes that can be used by the sector now and which will engage international students via online channels way after the present crisis.

Dirk Mulder is CMM’s international education correspondent