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VISTA WINTER 2017
IN THE DRAGON'S GRIP CHINA'S SOFT POWER APPROACH TO HIGHER EDUCATION
ENGAGING STUDENTS AS PARTNERS
FAITH, SEXUALITY & LGBTQI+ STUDENTS
HOW INTERNATIONAL IS INTERNATIONAL?
INSERT SIDE TAB TEXT PUBLISHED BY International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) PO Box 12917 A’Beckett Street Melbourne VIC 8006 + 61 3 9925 4579 admin@ieaa.org.au ieaa.org.au Vista is an open access magazine produced by IEAA twice a year. It features in-depth analysis, insights and commentary on international education in Australia and around the world. IEAA MEMBER SUBSCRIPTION IEAA members can opt-in to a print subscription and have Vista delivered to your door. For more information, visit ieaa.org.au/vista. WRITE FOR VISTA We welcome contributions from readers and industry experts. If you would like to contribute to a forthcoming edition, please email your ideas to Peter Muntz at peter.muntz@ieaa.org.au. Articles may be reproduced with permission. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the position of IEAA. Copyright © 2017 COVER IMAGE The Palmer (iStock)
FLYING THE FLAG FOR DESTINATION AUSTRALIA
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Phil Honeywood IN THE DRAGON'S GRIP: CHINA'S SOFT POWER APPROACH TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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Christopher Ziguras HOW INTERNATIONAL IS INTERNATIONAL?
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Michael Peak ENGAGING STUDENTS AS PARTNERS: CHANGING THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
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Wendy Green A LEAP OF FAITH: SEXUALITY, RELIGION AND THE INTERNATIONAL LGBTQI+ EXPERIENCE
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Zen Andra INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, IMMIGRATION AND RESEARCH: A NEW ZEALAND SUCCESS STORY
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Brett Berquist THE POWER OF REPUTATIONAL CAPITAL
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David Nelson GREAT EXPECTATIONS: EDUCATION AND EMPLOYABILITY
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Nannette Ripmeester and Sevi Christoforou CONFERENCES
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HIGHLIGHTS
FLYING THE FLAG FOR DESTINATION AUSTRALIA Now that we're past the half way mark in 2017, it’s time to take stock and reflect on the messages we are sending offshore, writes Phil Honeywood. Page 4
STUDENTS AS PARTNERS: A LEAP OF FAITH: SEXUALITY, CHANGING THE WAY WE TALK RELIGION AND THE INTERNATIONAL ABOUT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION LGBTQI+ EXPERIENCE Thinking about students as ‘customers’ has serious implications. If we really want students to engage, we need to move beyond a market-driven rhetoric, writes Wendy Green. Page 14
Coming to terms with religion and sexuality is no easy journey, let alone students grappling with multiple identities and a whole new culture, writes Zen Andra. Page 20
Image: moisseyev (iStock)
FLYING THE FLAG FOR DESTINATION AUSTRALIA
Now that we're past the half way mark in 2017, it’s time to take stock and reflect on the messages we are sending offshore, writes Phil Honeywood.
Just past the half way mark in 2017, we have much for which to be thankful. Inbound student numbers are looking strong, with 13.7 per cent overall growth (YTD May 2017), and we are finally seeing increased diversity of student source countries. Outbound mobility of domestic students has also substantially lifted from the pre-New Colombo Plan levels. Nevertheless, several unanticipated policy announcements have the potential to impact adversely on the current momentum. Some of these include: ■■ The new "super" Home Affairs Ministry ■■ Negative offshore perceptions around changes to 457 visas and the Skilled Occupation List ■■ Education agents feeling the heat on "opting in or opting out" ■■ A stalemate around the 'Future Unlimited' brand, and ■■ The release of student sexual violence survey data.
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How international education stakeholders respond to these issues will have a big bearing on our success going forward.
The numbers game At the macro level, the increase in overall student enrolment numbers makes for a compelling story. Higher education, vocational education and schools have all increased within the range of 12 to 16 per cent. Drill down into key country markets and you will find that Brazil, Colombia, Taiwan and even Malaysia are up by a heartening 20 per cent. China and Nepal aren't far behind at 15 per cent. Talk to individual providers and state and territory governments, however, and you will get a picture of a two-speed growth story. On the one hand, Group of Eight (Go8) universities cannot seem to build or lease enough new teaching spaces to keep up with their current overseas student demand.
CEO EDITORIAL
On the other hand, non-Go8 and regional universities report patchy enrolment growth at best. Data released at IEAA's recent MidWinter Research Seminar also highlighted that, since 2010, 75 per cent of growth in overseas student enrolments has occurred in Sydney and Melbourne. Unfortunately, successive governments have not provided sufficient incentives for students to relocate to regional communities. Instead, we find the pull effect of increasingly large Chinese, Indian, Korean and Vietnamese urbanised communities is irresistible to overseas students who are also drawn to our largest cities. Many regional universities respond to this trend by contracting out their ELICOS and course delivery to city-based, third-party providers. Ironically, this only serves to enhance their big city enrolment profile.
Since 2009, we have more than doubled the number of Australian born undergraduate students involved in a learning abroad experience. At more than 40,000 this translates to one in five domestic undergraduate students. Crucially, study in the Asian region grew by 32 per cent just in the 12-month period from 2014 to 2015. However, as New Colombo Plan students begin to account for the largest share of this cohort, there are several negative policy factors now in play. Although there is access for TAFE students to study abroad through the Endeavour Awards, there is a perception that being denied access to NCP is becoming an equity issue. Using the catch cry of 'middle class welfare' and 'scholarships for the elite', the Labor Party has already flagged their intention to cut NCP funding in half if they are elected to government.
At another level, some stakeholders have even argued that a focus on short-term study abroad initiatives is beginning to negatively impact on the nascent 'internationalisation at home' movement by some institutions.
Farewell DIBP Just as we got used to the acronym (and culture) of a combined Department of Immigration and Border Control, along comes the announcement of a new 'super Ministry' for Home Affairs. No one would disagree that there is a need to coordinate national security issues in a more effective manner. However, the record of the border control office in the UK has been to create a 'just say no' approach when it comes to student visa approvals. There is a perception in the UK that genuine students from certain countries have been targeted for more visa refusals.
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In Australia to date, student visas have been assessed through the lens of professional immigration department officers who understand the rationale behind overseas students wanting a study experience here. But if student visa applications are viewed through the lens of border control, then we are likely to begin to see unnecessary and adverse visa refusals. Already we are finding that Chinese and Indian PhD students are having their visa approvals delayed by upwards of one year because they are seen as potential intellectual property threats.
If student visa applications are viewed through the lens of border control, then we are likely to begin to see unnecessary and adverse visa refusals. Farewell 457 visas and SOL as we knew it There has been a great deal of conjecture about the nexus between 457 temporary skills visas and international students. Whatever the reality, there is no doubt that the announcement that this visa sub-class was to be abolished sent social media into a tailspin. While Simon Birmingham was quick to respond with the 'Australia still welcomes international students' mantra on social media, offshore media and education agents saw this policy change as yet another signal that Australia was becoming less welcoming. This view was exacerbated by changes also made to the Skilled Occupation List (SOL). In effect, two separate lists will come into effect in 2018: a two-year and a four-year list. Only an occupation on the four year list can now lead to possible migration.
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While accounting was kept on the migration outcome list, it's allocated quota has been substantially reduced over time. Permanent Employer Sponsored migration visas were also affected: costs have increased to $5,000, IELTS threshold level increased to 6.0 and the qualification period changed from 2–3 years before an employee can apply (the 3 year rule will also be applied to regional sponsored skilled visas). Even if they can meet this new criteria, a migrant applicant will then be required to pass an 'enhanced citizenship test'. The fact that competitor destination countries, such as Canada and New Zealand, still offer migration outcomes from education provides them with a distinct marketing advantage. Many of us strongly believe that Australia can only stand to benefit by rewarding outstanding graduates with a migration option. Curiously, Australia's major political parties currently appear to be joined at the hip in their determination to make migration so much harder to achieve (an early policy victory for Pauline you may well think!).
Mixed messages for education agents Given all of the above, there is little doubt that the offshore agents – who Australia relies on for 85 per cent of our student enrolments – are beginning to ask questions about just how welcoming we are. A new requirement for them to inform their education provider partners as to whether they will opt in or opt out of making their student visa success rates publicly available has left many perplexed. When IDP announced that it would opt out, many took this as a sign there was perhaps something sinister behind the new DET provision. In an attempt to put every agent on the same footing, Minister Birmingham recently introduced legislation that will, in effect, require all education agents to make their data available anyway.
The love affair with our sector's brand 'Future Unlimited' appears to be waning. At two of this year's major overseas education exhibitions, APAIE and NAFSA, all 39 Australian universities dropped the brand.
Image: Future Unlimited
Is there a future for 'Future Unlimited'?
Transparency on student feedback
The love affair with our sector's brand 'Future Unlimited' also appears to be waning. At two of this year's major overseas education exhibitions, APAIE and NAFSA, all 39 Australian universities dropped the brand. In the absence of anything else, they went with the simple badging over their combined stand of 'Australia' (which was quite effective actually).
And then we come to what should be our top priority, student services and student welfare. Happily, the International Student Barometer (ISB) 2016 indicated that the satisfaction levels of overseas students across a range of student experience criteria has continued to improve. A lot of hard work has been done by education providers and other stakeholders to ensure that young people are genuinely supported in their living and learning needs and expectations. There are, of course, many specific issues that are not dealt with in the ISB.
With the appointment of former Monash University DVCI, Stephanie Fahey, to the Austrade CEO role, we are hopeful that the current brand conundrum will somehow be sorted. There is no doubt that limited resources for Austrade's brand promotion have also had an adverse impact over recent years.
To its credit, Universities Australia requested the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to undertake a comprehensive survey of both domestic and international students' experience with sexual violence. The overarching 'Respect. Now. Always.' campaign has the laudable objective of seeking to create a safe environment for students, to reduce and eliminate sexual harassment and sexual assault, and to support those who experience it.
Our colleagues at Universities Australia are well aware that now the HRC results are released, it is going to be very difficult to control the messaging to offshore media. Few study destination countries have been willing to confront such sensitive student experience issues as this one. We hope that, globally, the international education community will see the 'Respect. Now. Always.' campaign as a genuine initiative to meaningfully address a challenge that all campuses must face. Recent commentary has focussed on Australia entering a 'Golden Age' for international student onshore and offshore delivery. Enrolment figures to date in 2017 would seem to bear this optimism out. However, complacency has never been part of the DNA of international education professionals. Clearly, as the year progresses, there are many challenges we still need to overcome. Phil Honeywood is CEO of IEAA.
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Image: THEPALMER (iStock)
IN THE
DRAGON'S GRIP CHINA'S SOFT POWER APPROACH TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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It seems that every week brings a new story about China’s expansion into global higher education. Having completely transformed its national system in a generation, China is increasingly looking outward, seeking to align its educational capacity with its geostrategic ambitions. Considering what is taking place in the West, this could be a pivotal shift. Under President Donald Trump, the US is abdicating its role as global hegemon, slashing spending on foreign aid and proposing to decimate longstanding international education programs that have seen the country educate far more world leaders than any other. Europe is preoccupied with Europe. And meanwhile Australian foreign aid as a percentage of GDP is now at the lowest level on record, and less than half of our level of spending in the 1960s. China is happily filling the void, and backing up its expanded diplomatic reach with new university alliances, expanded scholarship programs for incoming students, new overseas branch campuses, language schools and cultural promotion institutes.
So, what does this mean for Australia? China is our largest trading partner and has long been the largest source of international students, but it is now also the second most popular destination for Australian students learning abroad. So, more than any other country, how China thinks about international education matters to us.
We should not lose sight of the fact that despite China’s ambitions, the primary objective of its international engagement is still to enhance its own global integration. As is the case for most countries, internationalisation of higher education is for China first and foremost a means of promoting opportunities to harness the social and economic opportunities afforded by globalisation. At the same time, it hopes to enhance the international competence and competitiveness of the national workforce. Nevertheless, the projection of soft power is becoming over time a more significant driver of China’s international education strategies. It seeks to develop its political capital and actively shape its national brand abroad through educational linkages of various kinds. And China’s capacity to exert influence through international education is growing steadily.
Soft versus hard power It is no accident that an American, Joseph Nye, coined the term ‘soft power’ to describe the ways in which states seek to shape their international environment through the powers of attraction and agenda-setting, in contrast to ‘hard’ forms of power such as coercion and inducements that rely on military and economic strength. The US, as the largest provider of cross-border education, has always been clear that one key benefit has been its capacity to shape ideas, values and cultures in support of its perceived global interests. WINTER 2017 | 9
PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
Every week seems to bring a new story about China’s expansion into global higher education, writes Professor Christopher Ziguras. Should we be concerned about China's soft power approach to higher education?
Until Trump, that is, who appears to care very little what the world thinks, and who seeks to transfer as much funding as possible from the Department of State to the Department of Defense; that is, to rely much more on hard power than soft. Meanwhile, as China over time adopts a more proactive global role as a leading advocate of decarbonisation and free trade, like other world powers before it, higher education is becoming a key means of exporting its values and enhancing its stature. The challenge for Australia, as a small country but big international educator, is how to actively engage with these initiatives where our values and interests overlap, and to recognise when they do not.
China is our largest trading partner and has long been the largest source of international students, but it is now also the second most popular destination for Australian students learning abroad. So, more than any other country, how China thinks about international education matters to us. At present, China’s objectives in exercising educational soft power appear entirely consistent with the values that we have become accustomed to hearing expressed by the British Council, Germany’s DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) or the Fulbright Commission in the US.
Spirit of the Silk Road Take, for example, the University Alliance of the Silk Road, established in 2015 by Xi’an Jiaotong University and now involving more than 130 universities from 35 countries. The alliance’s manifesto, the Xi’an Declaration, proclaims that “the Silk Road is 10 | VISTA
a path to win-win cooperation promoting common development and prosperity and a road towards peace and friendship by enhancing mutual understanding, trust, and all-round exchanges” The alliance therefore will “advocate the spirit of the Silk Road – ‘peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit’ – to establish cooperative education platforms and further regional development”. What’s not to like? Not wanting to miss out on the action, four Australian universities are members of the alliance: the University of New South Wales (an executive member), the University of Newcastle, the University of Queensland and Charles Darwin University. We may not technically be in close proximity to the Silk Road, but why allow such technicalities to get in the way of the spirit of collaboration?
Balancing the scales of student mobility For over 30 years, China has encouraged and supported foreign students, since Vice-Premier Li Peng told an education conference in 1984 that “foreign student work is an integral part of diplomacy, and must serve the general foreign policy … With the economic development and the growth of international stature, China will accept more foreign students”. By 2008, China had made the transition from being a net sender of students to a net receiver, with the 223,499 incoming foreign students that year exceeding the 179,800 who left China. That China has become a major destination for mobile students is a matter of considerable pride, as it is for Australia.
With this success comes familiar challenges. Local students complained recently on Chinese social media that entry requirements for foreigners applying to the country’s top universities are much easier than for Chinese students applying through the Gaokao national examinations. As our offshore numbers flatline or decline, Chinese institutions are just beginning to expand abroad. Peking University recently announced it will open a branch of its business school in Oxford early next year. This follows on from China’s first overseas branch campus, founded by Soochow University in Vientiane, Laos, in 2011, and which now offers undergraduate programs in international trade, finance, Chinese and computer science. On a more ambitious scale, Xiamen University’s campus in Malaysia, which opened in 2015, is planning to grow to 10,000 students in the first stage, which would make it the world’s largest international branch campus, with equal shares of students from China, Malaysia and other countries. Student numbers have reportedly grown from 200 in 2016 to nearly 2000 this year. A common feature of these campuses is that Chinese public institutions have the ability to invest considerable amounts in long-term projects with access to extensive scholarship schemes and without the need to be commercially self-supporting in the short term, as would be the case for Australian equivalents. We will likely see similar campuses in Australia before too long, and already a Chinese private education group has established an operation in Melbourne, the Global Business College of Australia.
Mandarin on the rise China’s educational soft power projection also involves the promotion of Chinese language and culture around the world through its Hanban organisation. This follows in the footsteps of similar state-sponsored cultural institutions, including Germany’s Goethe-Institut, the British Council, the Alliance Française, Spain’s Instituto Cervantes and the Japan Foundation. China’s network of Confucius Institutes (including 14 in Australia), and many more Confucius Classrooms in schools, have been established remarkably quickly since the scheme’s announcement in 2004. The success of these institutes allowed Tian Xuejun, the Chinese vice-minister of education, to proclaim on the eve of the recent Belt and Road Forum in Beijing that – with more than 460,000 people in 53 Belt and Road countries studying Chinese at 137 Confucius Institutes and 131 Confucius Chinese-language study classes – Mandarin has become one of the most important languages of communication between China and the countries involved. All of these institutions reflect the political and cultural views of the funding body, and tensions will invariably arise from time to time when they are seen to challenge core principles of the host university. This may sometimes lead to their closure, as occurred at Canada’s McMaster University in 2013 and the University of Chicago a year later. While China is increasingly active in shaping the way the rest of the world views it, a far more pressing concern is the management of public opinion within China and among Chinese communities abroad. This includes nearly one million of the country’s impressionable young people who are studying abroad at any one time. Clearly, China’s approach to the expression of political views conflicts with Australia’s core liberal democratic values.
This was displayed in recent reports in the Fairfax press and ABC’s Four Corners on the Chinese government’s efforts to monitor and influence the political activities of Chinese students, scholars and media producers in Australia.
The fresh air of free speech? Chinese students abroad face retaliation on social media if they choose to embrace the more liberal values of host countries, as evidenced by the backlash against Shuping Yang, a University of Maryland student from Kunming who praised the “fresh air of free speech” in the US during her commencement address. This is by no means a new phenomenon, and the challenge is not going to abate any time soon. Tensions reached their peak after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre prompting then Prime Minister Bob Hawke to allow all Chinese students in Australia to remain permanently if they so chose. As we know from other countries with large diasporic communities in Australia, such as Greece and Israel, it is inevitable that political disputes in the home country will extend abroad, and China’s challenge is that the controls on dissent that are applied at home are difficult, but not impossible, to maintain abroad. Still, actions speak louder than words, and the way in which China manages such cultural and political tensions will be the true test of its ability to shape the hearts and minds of its educational partners.
Professor Christopher Ziguras is President of IEAA and Deputy Dean (International), School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. This article was originally published in Campus Review.
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PRESIDENT'S COLUMN
China’s current target is to attract 500,000 international students, and with 442,773 last year, they will very soon meet that target – thanks in part to large scholarship schemes, more language preparation courses, more programs in English and improved work rights for international students.
Image: Cimmerian (iStock)
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HOW INTERNATIONAL IS INTERNATIONAL?
A greater understanding of national systems can support international engagement and create opportunities for students, universities and governments, writes Michael Peak.
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I was recently asked ‘How international is higher education (HE)?’, but how does one even go about answering such a question? Should we look at the number of international students that universities host each year? By this measure, the United States clearly leads the way, followed by the United Kingdom and then Australia. Or if we consider the mix of students on campus, the UK scores higher than US with 1 in 5 students in the UK having travelled there to study. In this regard, Australia could be considered even more international with closer to 1 in 4 students coming from overseas.
But would it be more appropriate to look at the trends? The growth in international student recruitment each year? Through this lens, the UK doesn’t fare so well, with numbers being quite flat over the last few years. Of course, international HE is not just about recruiting students. To get a richer picture one must also consider outward mobility of students, as well as that of institutions and programs (or transnational education), mobility of staff and researchers, as well as international research collaboration.
The shape of global higher education That’s the question that the British Council’s study 'The shape of global higher education' set out to address. The study was launched in 2016 and has been extended this year. We’ve looked at the national HE policy and regulatory frameworks in 38 countries and asked how conducive they are for international engagement in HE? What level of support is provided by national governments to help institutions engage internationally? Through this study we have collected over 1,400 pieces of qualitative data and made this available in the interactive Global Gauge of HE policy – a resource that aims to foster greater knowledge and understanding of HE around the world, and to support greater international engagement and collaboration. It's interesting to look at how the policy environment in different locations has evolved. International HE is not just about student recruitment, but this appears to be the starting point for many nations when it comes to supporting their institutions to engage internationally. The majority of countries have clear strategies and targets for student recruitment. A growing number are shifting away from their traditional status as ‘sending’ countries to position themselves as ‘international education hubs’. All but one country has streamlined its student visa processes, although only seven (out of 38) have opened up their labour market to international graduates.
All but one country has streamlined its student visa processes, although only seven (out of 38) have opened up their labour market to international graduates. Although the study looks at measures in place at a national (rather than institutional) level, it's clear that providers have an influential role in driving and shaping national policy. A case in point would be the Knight Review in Australia, where institutions were able to use robust evidence and data to (re-)inform policy decisions and trumpet the domestic benefits of internationalisation and more open, streamlined visa policies. Australia too is a leading country for transnational education (TNE). Many other countries are now waking up to the benefits of TNE – whether to support capacity building and raise quality standards, or to widen the global reach of a nation’s institutions. However, we found that more focus is given to permitting TNE and less regard given to quality assurance and recognition frameworks (27 out of 38 countries allow TNE provision domestically, but only nine have strong measures in place for quality assurance and formal recognition). For a national system to provide comprehensive support for international HE engagement, it makes sense to take a coordinated approach. Indeed, our analysis shows that as countries provide more support for student mobility policy, support for TNE also increases. However, in other areas, there is less coordination. For example, 82 per cent of countries actively fund international research and embed structures to encourage greater international collaboration, but only 68 per cent support these efforts with streamlined visas to allow researchers and academics to pursue their research interest beyond national borders.
The study also allows us to consider the regional dimension of international HE. It is clear that the increasing regional harmonisation of HE systems is facilitating student mobility and research collaboration. Countries within Europe were found to offer the strongest support for international engagement. East Asia and Australia also performed strongly. These regions (specifically the EU and ASEAN) have schemes in place, or being developed, to facilitate student mobility, collaboration among quality assurance agencies and mutual recognition of academic qualifications. Regional agencies in other locations – most notably Latin America and East Africa – may have similar ambitions. It will be interesting to see how these HE systems evolve, and the support they provide to institutions, students and researchers looking to engage internationally. So, to answer the question ‘How international is HE?’, it really depends on what you want to look at. Through this study we now have more information to assess the national environment for international engagement in HE. A greater knowledge and understanding of national systems can support international engagement, and help to create opportunities for students, universities and governments.
Download ‘The shape of global higher education (Vol. 2)’ at bit.ly/2uAZVtQ Michael Peak is the senior advisor for education research at the British Council. WINTER 2017 | 13
GLOBAL HE POLICY
HE is increasingly international in all its dimensions: staff, students, research, course content, physical (and virtual) presence, and more. Rather than ask how international a country’s higher education may be, a more revealing question could be to ask how international (or internationally open) are national HE systems?
ENGAGING STUDENTS AS PARTNERS
CHANGING THE WAY WE TALK ABOUT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
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Thinking about students as ‘customers’ has serious implications for teaching and learning. If we really want students to engage, we need to move beyond a market-driven rhetoric, writes Wendy Green. For several decades now, we have spoken of international education as both an economic enterprise and a civic mission. While some argue that a healthy balance between these two imperatives is possible, many acknowledge – with concern – the increasing dominance of neoliberalism in our talk. This neoliberal turn is playing out unevenly across the globe. Arguably its presence is felt most keenly in the Anglophone countries of the Global North. Australia, in particular, has developed a reputation “for over-commercialising education [and] focussing on dollars over collaboration” (Phil Honeywood, Vista, September 2012). The long awaited Australian ‘National Strategy for International Education 2025’ did little to counter Australia’s mercantile reputation. It restates our “commitment to… advance international education by identifying new products, new opportunities for expansion, and building on our current presence in the existing markets”. As Craig Whitsed and I argued in University World News, the strategy “clearly demonstrates a lack of vision for the potential of an internationalised curriculum and its transformative potential for all students”. Of course, this increasing commodification of international education has to be seen within our broader discursive landscape: students are commonly referred to as ‘consumers’, and the curriculum as a ‘product’, ‘delivered’ by lecturers. In this landscape student satisfaction is key. This kind of talk has serious implications for students’ engagement in their learning.
The problem with the ‘student as customer’ Ideally, education in (and for) a globalising world enables teachers and students to live and work with others ethically and effectively across cultural and national borders. Internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) is widely regarded as the means by which universities develop these capabilities. IoC engages us in reflecting critically on our own cultural identities and developing a global imagination. It is essentially a transformative process, for staff and students alike. What does the configuration of education as a product – a commodity packaged by teachers and purchased by students – rather than as a process of discovery and co-creation mean for IoC? Does it mean that the intention of IoC is fundamentally compromised? Certainly, if students en masse have internalised the dominant market-driven rhetoric, then the answer must be a depressing ‘yes’. However, according to new research on perceptions of the student-as-consumer rhetoric, student responses vary widely (Michael Tomlinson, 2016). Some are ambivalent about the concept, some identify with it partially, some actively resist it. As Tomlinson concludes, not enough attention has been given to students’ understandings of their experiences in our increasingly market-driven universities. If we are to understand the way students imagine their role – and work with them to re-imagine it – we need to speak with them, and about them, differently.
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Image: Rawpixel (iStock)
Changing the way we talk Margaret Thatcher once famously claimed that “There is No Alternative” to neo-liberalism. Fortunately, when it comes to (international) education, there are alternatives to Thatcher’s ‘TINA’ principle. In Globalizing Education Policy, Fazal Rizvi and Bob Lingard argue that we must construct alternative ‘social imaginaries’ to the dominant neoliberal construct. By social imaginary, they mean something more than intellectual understanding; they are talking about how we internalise discourse, how it shapes our understandings of reality and (re)creates our sense of identity and belonging. The recent emergence of the concept ‘students as partners’ (SaP) in higher education literature suggests a powerful – and quite radical – alternate social imaginary. As Elisabeth Dunne and Roos Zandstra (2011) explain: The concept of ‘listening to the student voice – implicitly if not deliberatively – supports the perspective of student as ‘consumer’, whereas students 16 | VISTA
as change agent explicitly supports a view of the students as ’active collaborator’ and ‘co-producer’, with the potential for transformation. In short, SaP means involving students, academics and other university staff as active, critical, and agentic partners in all aspects of education. As a metaphor, SaP works to reposition teachers and learners in relation to each other and to the work they undertake. SaP clearly has broad appeal. Within the UK, the Higher Education Academy commissioned the development of a ‘Students as Partners’ Framework’, which has since been used to guide their strategic enhancement programs. In the final year of the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT), SaP was the focus of its Transforming Practice Program on Student Engagement. The response across North America has been equally enthusiastic. McMaster University in Canada, for example, holds an annual International Summer Institute on Students as Partners.
What can ‘students as partners’ teach us about internationalising the curriculum? In speaking with students in and outside of classes during my 20 years of teaching in universities, I have found (like Tomlinson) that they make sense of their learning environment in varied, and often unexpected, ways. Research shows that internationalised curricula, as designed and taught by teachers, is often experienced and understood differently by students. In some cases, students expect a far more challenging experience than the one they encounter. They want more than to know about other countries; they want to apply their new knowledge through interaction with others, and to develop an ethical stance to complex global issues. Yet, other students do not engage with, or see the value in, opportunities offered by IoC to develop a global disposition and intercultural capabilities.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
Students want more than to know about other countries; they want to apply their new knowledge through interaction with others, and to develop an ethical stance to complex global issues. The gap between IoC as planned and enacted by academics, and as experienced by students, is a significant problem. If global learning objectives are invisible or seem inadequate to students, they will struggle to articulate and enact the capabilities required to live and work ethically in our interconnected 21st century world. By engaging with students as partners, we can help bridge that gap. We might finally begin to unleash the potential that Joseph Mestenhauser observed back in 1998: faculty, he argued, typically fail ‘to translate’ their students’ varied life experiences into the ‘exceptionally valuable … curricular educational resource it could be’.
Engaging students as partners in global learning
For example, what does ‘partnership’ between staff and students mean, and what might it mean in universities when there are obvious differences in power, knowledge, recognition and reward for the work of those on either side of the ‘partnership’? How can we, how should we, negotiate power in the studentstaff partnership relationships? Other questions have to be raised, given the fact that SaP originated in the Anglo-American education systems, in response to particular conditions in those countries. What sense might those from other (pedagogical) cultures make of the concept, and how might engaging with different cultural perspectives on staff-student partnerships change the way we conceptualise them?
I have been awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship to develop innovative learning and teaching practices focused on the theme of engaging students as partners in global learning. During 2017, this fellowship is allowing me to work with staff and students on collaborative, innovative projects, that address various dimensions of global learning.
Rather than see these questions as barriers to SaP, I hope the fellowship will provide a fertile space for critical, creative and constructive engagement with the possibilities and the challenges of changing the way we talk about the role of students in relation to each other, to their lecturers and other staff, to their institutions and our local-global societies.
These projects are developing within single disciplines, across multiple disciplines, and in cocurricular programs. By the end of this year we hope to have evaluated and written a number of case studies, which illustrate how students and staff can work as agentic co-designers of learning in, and for, a globalising world.
Find out more at utas.edu. au/engaging-students
This work is not without its tensions. As I have written in my blog, reimagining students as partners brings several vexed questions to the surface.
If you’re interested in joining the ‘students as partners in global learning’ fellowship community, please contact w.j.green@utas.edu.au. Dr Wendy Green is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania and Convener of IEAA’s Internationalisation of the Curriculum Special Interest Group (SIG).
References Dunne, E. & Zandstra, R. (2011), Students as change agents – new ways of engaging with learning and teaching in higher education, London: Higher Education Academy. Mestenhauser, J. and B. Ellingboe. (1998), Reforming the higher education curriculum: internationalizing the campus, Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press. Rizvi, F. and B. Lingard. (2010), Globalizing Education Policy, New York: Routledge. Tomlinson, M. (2016), Student perceptions of themselves as ‘consumers’ of higher education, British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38:4 (pp.450–467).
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A LEAP OF FAITH SEXUALITY, RELIGION & THE INTERNATIONAL LGBTQI+ EXPERIENCE Coming to terms with religion and sexuality is no easy journey, let alone for international students grappling with multiple identities and a whole new culture, writes Zen Andra.
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It takes much resilience to survive as a gay international student in Australia. Most of my fellow LGBTQI+ international students and I have followed a similar path. Many of us start by rejecting our true identity, due to the conservative religious and cultural values of our home countries. We come to Australia to study and experience the freedom to express our sexuality in a more open environment. This means having to live with multiple identities, or face being disowned by our own family back at home.
Many international students in Australia come from upper-middle class families. I am no exception. Despite my initial reluctance to travel and leave the luxury life behind me, I needed to take a risk and do what was right for me. The expectation to marry a woman, have children and deny my identity as a gay man would haunt me forever otherwise. Needless to say, my upbringing did not prepare me for the independence required to study overseas. The shift from being a spoiled child who had everything served to me on a silver spoon, to being away from family and having to tackle even the tiniest matters of life, was tremendous.
As a Muslim, I prayed five times a day as part of my daily routine. I used those times to wish for death. I was not praying to God to help me exorcise my homosexuality; even then, I knew it was an essential part of me that could not be changed. As a Muslim, suicide was not an option – that would result in me going straight to hell. After more than two years of constantly wishing that God would take things into his own hands, and yet finding myself still alive, I decided I’d had enough of living with my sadness. I decided to explore my sexuality discreetly.
A kid in a candy store
Image: Marc Bruxelle (iStock)
A wish to God At the age of 19, I realised I was in trouble. I was very religious and the people around me were strongly judgemental of anything ’abnormal’. My first concern was my beloved family. I knew how my parents would react and I knew the likelihood of having to see a psychiatrist in a hopeless attempt to rid me of my homosexuality. The only being I could turn to was God. As a Muslim, I prayed five times a day as part of my daily routine. I used those times to wish for death. I was not praying to God to help me exorcise my homosexuality; even then, I knew it was an essential part of me that could not be changed.
I came to Melbourne with the expectation of a typical love story: marrying an Australian man, building a life together and living happily ever after. I knew nothing about gay culture or sexual health. I also did not know that, in Australia, there were such things as gay rights and that, for many people around the world, this remains a daily struggle. My lack of knowledge about LGBTQI+ rights and sexual health resulted in many difficulties with my new life in Australia. In the beginning, it was hard to make friends with the locals. My broken English and poor self-confidence meant that I ended up developing friendships only with other international students. They have since become my main source of information and support. My only real connection with locals was through dating or casual sex. I soon realised how important speaking English fluently was to making deeper connections. I felt lonely and missed my home country so much.
My international student friends also had little or no education about sexual health. We believed that, as foreigners, we would get less support from (or it would be much more expensive to access) Australia’s health care services. We supported each other based on assumptions, rather than facts. Yet sexual health needs for gay men are completely different to those who identify as heterosexual. After six months in Melbourne, I was in a deep depression. I thought I was at risk of HIV and was too scared to get a sexual health check-up. I was also scared of losing my current student visa, and not being able to apply for another, because of HIV.
Getting help After some encouragement from several friends, I took my first step to attend a sexual health clinic. The positive changes started there. I was referred to a counsellor and was informed of all the available services, whether they were specifically for gay men or LGBTQI+ individuals. From there, I not only became more aware about my sexual health, but started to make a new group of friends – from an LGBTQI+ social workshop; through volunteering, mentoring and training; and even various sports clubs. Getting connected to these services was a huge change for me and I was able to get more involved in the community that I was initially terrified of.
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Image: Soumen Nath (iStock)
I am one of the lucky ones. I decided to access and connect with the community that could support me. Many others are still terrified of their sexuality and sexual health, and decide not to take any further action. LGBTQI+ international students who come from more conservative LGBTQI+ international countries are the hardest students who come communities to access, from more conservative but they are the ones who need the most support. countries are the Fear is our ultimate hardest communities enemy. As the first gate through which many to access, but they are students the ones who need the international walk, education providers most support. can play an important role in tackling this fear. The solution for me started with building my connections, which led to more knowledge and awareness. Connecting international students to the available services in their region is essential. This includes dedicated sexual health education; information about (and how to access) LGBTQI+ organisations and community, and ensuring that students know which services are confidential. 22 | VISTA
Education providers can also enhance their connections with LGBTQI+ and human rights NGOs to improve their support for international students. Demonstrating support with rainbow flags, gender neutral bathrooms, clearly identified queer spaces and even brochures with LGBTQI+ inclusive language are also important steps. In the end, it is all about creating a positive vibe. Encourage students to not be ashamed of who they are. The memories and experiences I have collected along the journey to becoming a proud LGBTQI+ international student have been invaluable. I only hope that my experience can help other students on their own journeys. Zen Andra completed a Master of International Development at RMIT University and is now a development practitioner and human rights activist. Zen will speak at the Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) in October as part of a session on international LGBTQI+ students. For more information, visit aiec.idp.com
ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE OF INTERNATIONAL HDR CANDIDATES Download IEAA's new guides for international HDR candidates, supervisors and research training managers.
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INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION, IMMIGRATION AND RESEARCH: A NEW ZEALAND SUCCESS STORY A recent landmark study on stay rates has highlighted the success of New Zealand’s decade long policy to attract international PhD students. It comes at the very time that immigration is under the political spotlight, writes Brett Berquist.
New Zealand’s vibrant research eco-system has many fathers. There is the creator of modern atomic physics and forerunner of the nuclear age Ernest Rutherford. There are the pioneering agricultural scientists that followed him and, from the University of Auckland, medical scientist Professor Sir Graham Liggins – known for his pioneering work with premature babies. It’s a system supported through public and private funds, producing blue skies and market-end research. Adding to the richness and success of this eco-system is a revolving door at our border, welcoming in international PhD students and bidding farewell to domestic students who leave to study and research at international institutions.
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Moving Places The importance of internationalisation to our research community has always been understood implicitly, but new data has recently facilitated a more comprehensive analysis. The catalyst for this reflection comes with a recently released research paper from New Zealand's Ministry of Education, 'Moving Places: Destinations and earnings of international graduates'. ‘Moving Places’ takes an indepth look at international students studying in New Zealand using Statistics NZ’s integrated data infrastructure (accessing five different types of government data) to build a deeper understanding of life after graduation for all international students who studied here between 2003 and 2011.
Image: Education New Zealand
The research is ground-breaking due to the quantity and quality of the data it uses. Tax data, benefit data, visa information, census data and education data gathered from tertiary institutions is used to determine what 132,415 students did once they finished their studies. The scale and depth of this research is extraordinary and offers insights to the global international education sector. Of particular interest are the insights about the 2005 policy to offer domestic fees to international PhD students when studying at one of New Zealand’s eight universities. The policy’s original goal was to strengthen the country’s research system and support skills acquisition. Interestingly, it is only now that we are taking a look at whether the policy delivered on the objectives.
The analysis comes at a time when international education has risen to become New Zealand’s fourth largest export, tracking well ahead of the Government’s 2025 target. It also comes at a time of record immigration – with a net gain of 71,900 migrants for the year to March 2017 – and the country’s infrastructure (particularly in Auckland) is under acute pressure. Housing and transport have failed to meet demand. The country’s largest city, Auckland, which also attracts the largest number of immigrants and international students, is under an immigration spotlight. Politicians believe the immigration numbers will only retreat when the Australian economy strengthens, curbing the return of New Zealanders to our high growth economy and reinvigorating the traditional trek across the Tasman to Australia for work and lifestyle.
Work rights, immigration and international education That spotlight has taken on a political shade with a general election set to take place on 23 September. As with the UK and the US, immigration is an important election issue. In the same week that Australia dumped its temporary 475 visa for skilled overseas workers, New Zealand’s ruling coalition led by the National Party also moved to tighten visas around low skilled workers. With an eye on the election, the centre left Labour Party is calling for a sharp cut to migrant numbers. Meanwhile, the nationalist New Zealand First Party has targeted international students with leader Rt Hon Winston Peters calling for the removal of work rights. “We're going to restore the integrity of our export education policy which was, 'Economy A' pays New Zealand to educate their students and when they finish they go home.” WINTER 2017 | 25
New Zealand PhD enrolments 1998–2015 6,000 5,000
Near parity
4,000 3,000 2,000 14%
1,000 0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Domestic PhD students
Attracting international PhD candidates This brings us back to New Zealand’s strategic policy to attract international PhD students and the returns this policy has delivered. Since 2005, international PhD students in New Zealand have paid the same fees as domestic students. This policy was designed to attract international students who could support and grow New Zealand’s research community. The program has been extremely successful. Since 2005 the number of international PhD students has climbed to make up 45 per cent of the total PhD cohort. We have done this in a highly competitive international market for these top end students – so much so that we’ve had the strongest growth among OECD countries in the international makeup of our PhD cohort. The investment in the international PhD students – estimated in 2017 to be NZ $40 million (AU $37 million), virtually the equivalent subsidy for domestic PhDs – can be seen in significant increases in the scale and quality of the country’s research outputs. 26 | VISTA
International PhD students
These students have supported research particularly in the areas of natural and physical sciences, engineering and related technologies. The return on investment is also reflected in the global rankings of all New Zealand universities; all eight universities have improved their positions despite massive investment in their own universities by countries such as China. The ‘Moving Places’ research has limited its study of these high value students, confining most of its findings to PhD graduates under the age of 30 (which means most are excluded). Still, it tells a powerful story. The Ministry of Education is working on an update to the report, which we hope will delete this low age filter for PhD outcomes. The research found that 40 per cent of international PhD students of all ages stayed in New Zealand for their first year after graduating. Five years after completing their PhD, 25 per cent remained in New Zealand.
The value of international PhD graduates to New Zealand is reflected in their incomes, which ‘Moving Places’ describes as “very good compared to other graduates.” International PhD graduates working in management and commerce, engineering (and related technologies) and information technology had the highest incomes, two years after completing their doctorate.
Academic impact The PhD fee strategy has also had an academic impact. Prior to this, the rate of citations for New Zealand research was .96 per cent of the world average. By 2015, it had risen to 1.26 per cent. New Zealand universities have not only doubled the body of PhD students, but increased their research output. At the University of Auckland, on average, each international PhD student produces 2.7 authored or coauthored papers, 1.1 authored or co-authored book chapters and 3 authored or co-authored conference papers.
New Zealand has long recognised the value of its citizens living abroad to its research, innovation and business communities. The KEA organisation proudly links half a million New Zealanders in what it calls a borderless nation. It’s a country that understands mobility and the importance of people coming and going to its society and economy. So while international PhD graduates leave New Zealand, it is well understood that they become part of that group abroad who continue to contribute to the country. The graduates inform international rankings and also become intrinsic to New Zealand’s international research networks and global connectedness, all of which underpins a strong 21st century economy. When combined with the significant numbers of domestic graduates travelling overseas for study and work, the data paints a picture of a vibrant, mobile ecosystem of researchers. In all, 77 per cent of NZ researchers develop a portion of their career overseas. Studies show that research publications with international collaboration have a higher impact through greater citations by other researchers. This is one of the key pillars of innovation. Students are typically mobile, and it is this quality in all of them that is of high value to businesses and organisations as they experience life, study and work in different communities and ultimately bring this cultural knowhow home.
Measuring economic, social and cultural impact In recent years it has been heartening to see an increasing awareness of the importance of international education and
exchange to New Zealand’s economic, social and cultural success. The ‘Moving Places’ research supports this understanding with solid data to inform policy and discussions in our field.
NEW ZEALAND POLICY
This has contributed to New Zealand closing the gap in research impact from 18 points behind Australia, to just five for the 2010–14 period.
As the international education sector weathers the winds of antiimmigration sentiment, it is critical that the positive contributions of the sector to a country’s society and economy are not overlooked. This should begin with greater consistency and transparency across how we measure stay rates and determine success for our national IE strategies. What better place to start than alignment between Australia and New Zealand on how we measure stay rates and define success? As a sector, we need to work together to establish stronger consensus on measuring this and communicating its value to the general public, particularly now at a time where immigration is increasingly at the political forefront in many nations. It’s at this very time of rising tensions on immigration that our experience of international mobility is increasingly relevant. Ernest Rutherford left New Zealand in 1851 with a scholarship to Cambridge. His career took him to McGill University in Montreal and then to the University of Manchester. His is a story of student mobility, an international career and international success with the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1908 and later splitting the atom. Download 'Moving places: Destinations and earnings of international graduates' at bit.ly/2uvXlon Download ‘NZ’s international PhD strategy: a holistic analysis 2005– 2015’ at bit.ly/2uwa8qO
Brett Berquist is International Director at the University of Auckland and a member of IEAA's Research Committee. WINTER 2017 | 27
Image: Warchi (iStock)
THE POWER OF REPUTATIONAL CAPITAL Having worked so tirelessly to achieve a five-star 'reputational capital' rating, it is beholden on all involved in Australia's international education sector to continue to build on our national brand, writes David Nelson.
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Is international education Australia’s most valued and sustainable export? Currently valued at AU$22 billion, it is Australia’s third largest export behind coal and iron ore. While minerals experience cyclical highs and lows, international education has been on a 30-year growth curve, except for a minor blip in 1998–99 due to the Asian economic crisis and a manageable contraction from 2010–12 when the Australian dollar was around parity to the US.
The viability of traded goods and services depends on comparative advantage and Australia’s international education sector was relatively quick to establish and build on a cluster of such advantages (see diagram, p. 30). Comparative advantages, as the name implies, are relative to international competitors and tend to fluctuate through time. Movements in exchange rates, challenging economic conditions in key student source markets, fallout from college closures, safety incidents with students can all have adverse effects.
Australia's student satisfaction levels would be the envy of any company or industry. Indeed, having the courage and foresight to survey 65,000 students lies in stark contrast with many other industries. Establishing a competitive, sustainable advantage Even so, Australia's international education sector has now reached a tipping point in establishing a competitive (sustainable) advantage, which few export products or services enjoy. Competitive advantage, as long as it is maintained, should allow for continuing growth and resilience against unforeseen unfavourable events. The sector now enjoys critical mass with 554,179 international students from 192 countries in Australia in 2016. An estimated 55,000 students were also here on non-student visas. International commencements (student visas) in 2016 were 414,292 – an increase of 11 per cent on 2015.
When you think that many of these students enrol on trust, reputation and feedback from previous students, it is clear that Australia’s international education sector – through its reputational capital – is now effectively and powerfully positioned globally. This is all the more remarkable given the number and diversity of international education providers (over 2,500) and the regulatory framework within which the sector operates. As a ‘people’ business, involving high level student contact/services pursuant to lifelong aspirations and the fulfilment of dreams, there is high propensity for things to go wrong (i.e. risk). However, student feedback points to extremely high levels of satisfaction.
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COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES Quality and flexibility of education offering, QA and student wellbeing, regulatory framework, affordability, proximity, English speaking country, study/leisure lifestyle, study work rights, flexible study/pathways, student support services, multicultural society, industry/government partnership, global recognition of qualifications, government positioning offshore (e.g. Australia's Future Unlimited), PR opportunities, large diasporas, breadth of research.
TOP 5 REASONS FOR CHOOSING AUSTRALIA Reputation of qualification 95% Reputation of education 94% Personal safety and security 93% Quality of research 92% Provider reputation 92%
OVERALL STUDENT SATISFACTION HE 89% VET 87% ELICOS 89% Schools 77%
REPUTATIONAL CAPITAL
SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Figure 1. This diagram illustrates the transition of Australia's international education sector, from a cluster of comparative advantages to a single, powerful point of competitive (sustainable) advantage.
Reputational capital: the greatest competitive advantage of them all Reputational capital is the brand your name carries globally, or in a particular market. At the individual company or education provider level, it is what differentiates you from your competition and drives referral and repeat business. Wordof-mouth referrals rely entirely on reputation and cost little or nothing to generate. Some might argue that knowledge is one’s most important asset but, in reality, it is reputation. Reputation capital is about trust; to gain trust you must deliver on what you promise. This is true for the individual, the organisation and the sector in general (Develop your Reputation Capital, Roger Ingbretsen.) 30 | VISTA
Note the prominence of ‘quality’ in four of the five key drivers as to why international students choose to study in Australia. The levels of student satisfaction would be the envy of any company or industry. Indeed, having the courage and foresight to survey 65,000 students lies in stark contrast with many other industries. While levels of customer satisfaction are accessible for leading brands and individual companies, a wholeof-industry picture is hard to come by – except for concentrated industries like airlines, supermarkets, health funds and the Telcos. Where consumer choice is limited to 3–4 options you would expect client satisfaction to be relatively high, although this is not the case with health funds and the Telcos.
Tourism is probably the closet match to international education, in terms of client base, number of industry players and industry/ government partnership. While the tourism industry reports regularly on key data – including number of nights and spend per tourist – I could see no reference to client or tourist visitor feedback. Australia’s international education sector is now strongly positioned globally through its reputational capital, which is providing a powerful, competitive sustainable advantage. It has been estimated that the sector employs 130,000 people throughout Australia (Deloitte Access Economics). It can also be argued that all of these people contribute to the collective value proposition and branding position. It is to the great credit of the many sector and government leaders who have established a collaborative partnership and a regulatory framework conducive to quality assurance, growth, student wellbeing and stability. The 1000s of international students who graduate each year are Australia’s ‘brand’ warriors and activities like alumni engagement and development are clearly of strategic importance. Having reached the tipping point, reputational capital should be front and centre of all individual provider, sector and government activity. It takes time to develop, especially to the point which the international education sector currently enjoys from its ultimate critics (i.e. students). However, reputational capital is also fragile and can be quickly eroded if quality assurance, student wellbeing or service delivery slips. Having worked so tirelessly to achieve a five-star reputational capital rating, it is beholden on all involved in the sector to continue to build on the ‘study in Australia’ brand. David Nelson is Director of Macrofocus.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: EDUCATION AND EMPLOYABILITY Is employability the holy grail for international students? Nannette Ripmeester and Sevi Christoforou explore the mismatch between international study experiences and employability expectations.
Let’s start with the million dollar question: Is it the role of education providers to provide their international students with the skills that get them hired upon graduation? A question like this cannot be boiled down to a simple yes or no answer. It’s complex and versatile nature calls for a frank discussion between all parties involved – providers, students and employers. The answer must also move beyond fixed concepts of educational training. We thought it was time for a ‘Career Chat’ between global employers, international students and education professionals to explore the alignment between career needs, employability expectations and related motivations to undertake international study. We interviewed all three stakeholder groups and asked them a similar set of questions to understand whether there is a (mis) match between international study experiences and employability expectations.
Student expectations The international students we interviewed highlighted the relevance of the job market in their study abroad choice. Looking at what successful international alumni of an institution have achieved is common practice. One of them explicitly said: “I would never have made the plunge without knowing what job opportunities my education could bring me.” Does this mean they choose an education abroad and an education institution based solely on job market opportunities? Not quite. This is a generation that was encouraged to follow their passions in their career choices. And that’s what they did! However, future employment prospects shine through their study decisions on all levels. Research confirms that international students are on the quest for successful career prospects. The article 'International Student Expectations: Career Opportunities and Employability', published in the Journal of International Students, shows better job prospects are the second biggest motivator for students who choose to study abroad.
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Translating international study into tangible skills Most striking in our interviews was the fact that many international students struggled to translate their international study experience into the skills that employers seek. This was echoed by staff across the globe. Yvonne Jordens, Head of Career Services of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said: “In general there is a poor understanding of job requirements among most recent graduates. Students need more support to understand self-knowledge, opportunity awareness, decision making, action planning and job hunting skills.”
Turning acquired knowledge into desirable skills needs guidance. The current generation of students is actively searching for it. They feel they lack something, but do not know exactly what that something might be or how to find it. Turning acquired knowledge into desirable skills needs guidance. The current generation of students is actively searching for it. They feel they lack something, but do not know exactly what that something might be or how to find it. Is employability their holy grail? Ngoc Nguyen, a Vietnamese student who just returned from her study abroad experience in Europe was quite clear. “A study abroad experience is my holy grail and for many of my peers. A job upon graduation? I assume that my university supports me in making that transition. To me that’s not even a question, I expect it as part of the package.”
The employer perspective Several of the global employers we interviewed believe there is much work to do for the education sector.
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According to Selene Siregar, recruiter at Michael Page in Jakarta, “I believe many graduates still need guidance when it comes to what they can offer to prospective employers. It is quite challenging to know for sure which skills and knowledge are applicable to which prospective employers. Most graduates will include all of their skills and knowledge and hope that employers will be able to identify the skills needed by them.” Brett Berquist, Director International at the University of Auckland, believes we need to provide more support and guidance around the job hunting process. “Students need to develop an understanding of what employers are looking for. They often see the recruitment process as a mysterious black box, that requires a great deal of luck. We need to help them present their skills in ways that speak to employers.” But how do we demystify that black box? When we ask students what they have gained during their study abroad experience, they respond with “it was nice”. When prompted, they may say “fun and interesting” and when truly forced they may move beyond the superficial. Katie Orr, Director International of the Canadian Nova Scotia Community College, underlines the strength of community colleges regarding the link to the labour market, “but despite our strong links to employers, I do see a gap. Students need to learn how to articulate their learning to employers and particularly what they have gained during their study abroad period. They need to move from ‘it was nice’ to a wellrounded argument on which skills they learned and how to use those skills for that prospective employer in particular.” Only when students can explain what they have to offer will they be able to convince employers it is worthwhile to invest time, energy and money in them.
Adding a little romance to the employability game In our work at Expertise in Labour Mobility, we provide many career related events, from workshops to country specific CV checks and apps (such as CareerProfessor.works) that gamify international career advice and intercultural training. In our experience, we find it helps to use the analogy of a romantic relationship. Students suddenly sit up and pay attention! We encourage them to translate their international study experience into skills an employer understands and treat a job interview as they would a first date: “Paint a rosy picture of your abilities and how you intend to behave in the relationship. Do not just talk about what you want to gain, do not mention you only intend to stay for a maximum of two years, but make it mutually beneficial, understand what the employer is looking for and try to show you have or are willing to develop those abilities.” If we listen to employers this is exactly what they hope students will do. It is not only about what a company can do for a candidate, says Andrea Maischein, who is Head of Talent Acquisition EMEA at Philips and responsible for 170 international recruiters. “It is about what a candidate likes to do and wants to achieve. That is the most important question in a job interview and the most difficult one for graduates to answer.” Let’s face it: the relationship analogy isn’t too far fetched. In a good relationship, you don't want to mould a person to your liking. You are dating that person for who they are. Maarten Vaags, Manager Training, Recruitment and Development at Vopak, adds: “When someone says ‘cool international company’ as their motivation to work for our organisation, I’m straight away on guard. We want people who are able to pitch themselves and who can tell us what they can add – that does not work if you do not know yourself.”
We encourage students to translate their international study experience into skills an employer understands and treat a job interview as they would a first date. Is employability the holy grail? Is employability the holy grail of international education according to employers? No, not on its own. They all deem it important because “it usually means that the person has good language skills, they should be more culturally savvy, have a more international mind-set and should be more adaptable – all very important assets for the labour market.” The true holy grail seems to be ‘know thyself’. And this is exactly where education providers can play a major role: to support students by helping them to understand the meaning and the value of their international study experience and to show them how to turn that knowledge into practice.
Nannette Ripmeester is Founder and Director of Expertise in Labour Mobility, The Netherlands. Sevi Christoforou is Intercultural Trainer and Careers Advisor at Expertise in Labour Mobility, The Netherlands. Reference Nilson, P., Ripmeester, N., (2016), 'International Student Expectations: Career Opportunities and Employability', Journal of International Students, Volume 6, Issue 2, ISSN: 2166–3750, United States of America, Retrieved from www.labourmobility.com/wp-content/ uploads/2016/03/jis2016_6_2_14_ international-student-expectations.pdf
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EDUCATION DIPLOMACY IN THE 21st CENTURY : IEAA RESEARCH ROUNDTABLE 2017 Tuesday 10 October Hobart, Tasmania
Key themes ■■ Future forecasting ■■ Education as aid and its impact on international public diplomacy ■■ Public advocacy and the role of international education associations.
Find out more at aiec.idp.com 34 | VISTA
TAFE Directors Australia 2017 6–8 September 2017 Adelaide, Australia tda.edu.au EAIE 2017 12–15 September 2017 Seville, Spain eaie.org English Australia Conference 2017 20–22 September 2017 Adelaide, Australia eaconference.com.au Engaging Students as Partners in Global Learning 9 October 2017 Hobart, Australia utas.edu.au/engaging-students Australian International Education Conference 2017 10–13 October 2017 Hobart, Australia aiec.idp.com International Association of Universities 2017 18–20 October 2017 Accra, Ghana iau-aiu.net ISANA–ANZSSA 2017 5–8 December 2017 Gold Coast, Queensland isana-anzssa.com
CONFERENCES
Australia-Indonesia-ASEAN Symposium 2017 22–24 August 2017 Jakarta, Indonesia ieaa.org.au/asean
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