The university will create opportunities and wait  

The university offers no specifics on expanding student numbers, either in Australia, or Indonesia, signalling instead a long-play, creating contacts, extending engagement over time.

While the plan proposes more two-way undergraduate study most of the measure are about research and policy exchanges, for “capacity building and research collaboration.”

UniMelb plans include;

* professional education courses in Indonesia

* “a flagship” post-doctoral programme

* a graduate-school offering joint degrees

As with the new India plan (CMM Tuesday), a China-replacing student-recruitment strategy it is not.

Understandably so. There is not an enormous supply of students who can afford the price of Parkville. Foreign universities cannot set up in Indonesia and repatriate profits, plus VET may be where the action is – the national target is 57m more skilled workers by 2030.

But when, or if, the higher education market opens-up UniMelb wants to have its reputation and track-record, knowledge and networks in place.