The International Agenda

Richard Larkins, AOVC and President

Monash University, Australia

What Do We Mean by Internationalisation?

• Students being educated in foreign country • International programs of universities offered in

partnership or on-line• International campuses• International exchange and “study-abroad”

programs• International research collaborations• International focus of curriculum

International Students in Australian Universities (2004)

• Australia with a population of 21 million (0.3% of world’s population) had 9% share of the global market in cross-border tertiary study

• 24.2% of Australia’s students are foreign (cf UK 11.3%, USA 3.5%)

• 228,555 foreign students undertake degree level higher education in Australia

Number of domestic and international students(Full-time Equivalent)

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

Act

ual s

tude

nt n

umbe

rs (f

ull-

time

equi

vale

nt lo

ad)

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

All DomesticPostgraduate

Total All Students

International Fee-Paying Students

Source: DEST Selected Higher Education Student Statistics.

Demographics of international studentsCountry of Permanent Residence - All Campuses

As at 31 August 2004

India5%

Indonesia9%

Singapore13%

China (excl SARs & Taiwan)

14%

Hong Kong (SAR of China)15%

Malaysia23%

Bangladesh1%

Norway1%

Thailand2%

Sri Lanka2%

United States of America1%

Viet Nam1%

South Africa1%

Taiwan1%

Botswana1%Japan

1%Korea (South)

1%

Why do Universities Admit Foreign Students?Universities’ perspective• Source of income• Builds links with other countries• Rich cultural experience for own

students• Establishes reputation

IDP choice factors for Australia (GSM 2003)High quality education 94%World recognised 89%Safe environment 89%Affordable cost of living 83%Employment overseas 82%English speaking 81%Employment at home 80%Affordability of tuition 79%Culturally tolerant 79%Life experience 78%

Issues Relating to Foreign Students in Australia

• How to maintain quality of education in presence of increased student numbers

• How to maintain English standards of students and staff

• How to avoid imbalance of cultural groups• How to achieve benefit from cultural

enrichment• How to support the students• How to avoid cultural ghettoes

Potential Problems for Universities with Programs Offered in Partnership or On-line

• How to maintain quality – risk to reputation

• How to avoid loss of IP• How to understand real costs • How to maintain research-teaching

nexus

Rationale for International Campuses

• Give a real international engagement and perspective that partnerships/twinning can never do

• Allows students from one country to pass seamlessly to another for different phases of his/her education (e.g.Global BA)

• Allows research on global issues to be conducted on global basis (e.g. sustainability including water and energy, public health, global movements, security, regulatory affairs)

• Establishes visibility, reputation if done properly

• Consistent with social justice objectives

• NOT – making money

Monash South Africa

Dilemmas in relation to International Campuses and Centres

• How to maintain quality and keep costs in control• Time taken to get to research and research training focus• How to avoid neo-colonial or paternalistic approach• How to convince local regulatory authorities and

universities that the campus is about quality, partnership and contribution and not about profiteering

So: High maintenance, not to be undertaken lightly, but real benefits

Student exchanges – 1993 to 2001

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001Source: AVCC UMAP Survey, 2001

Inbound students

Outbound students

Benefits of Study Abroad and Student Exchange Programs

• Great experience for students – educational and life

• All the benefits of learning in an international environment

• Build new networks of friends and professional colleagues

International Research Collaborations

• An essential component of modern research

• Access to international funding sources• Destination for postdoctoral students• Recruiting source

What are the Requirements for Successful International Research Collaborations

• How to make them significant and sustainable – how to turn MOUs into real action

• How to manage them all• How to choose partners – your

university will be known by the company it keeps

Monash University’s Approach to International Research Collaborations

• Let them grow organically, driven by mutual interests of researchers

• In addition, a limited number of defined partnerships with quality partners

• A focussed process of developing joint ventures –

e.g. IMRA, joint research laboratories with leading Chinese institutions including with Peking University Stem Cell Centre of Excellence, Sichuan University

Research Only International Campus

• The IITB-Monash Research Academy is a joint venture between two of the world’s leading research institutions.

• The Academy will operate as an autonomous, independent entity.

• The Academy will undertake multidisciplinary research in 6 (initial) thematic areas:

Advanced computational engineeringInfrastructure engineering.Clean energy.Water.Nanotechnology.Biotechnology and stem cell research.

• ICT enables distributed knowledge communities that collaborate and communicate across disciplines, distances and cultures

• ‘Virtual organisations’ that transcend geographic and institutional boundaries

• Eliminates the tyranny of distance

Virtual Organisations

Data Re-use• Public archiving of research data

allows for distributed and iterative analysis by multiple research teamse.g. Hubble telescope – Each year: a total of 20,000

individual observations– There are more research papers

written by “second use” of the research data, than by the use initially proposed

• Publishing data allows colleagues to ‘open the black box’ of research projects

• World-leading groups in distributed computing and data processinge.g. NIMROD system uses computing resources distributed through Pacific Rim to analyse huge amounts of data. – Allows first-of-its-kind analysis of climate data and models

• Largest pool of computational resources across campus (including idle desktops)

Computational Resources and Data Storage at Monash

International Focus of Curriculum

• We wish to prepare students for a life where business, industries and the professions are practised on a global basis

• Progressively, must bring in international balance rather than narrow parochial viewpoint

• Has especial relevance to professional education as more generalist education should already have this focus

• But balance with the desire of the students to have a local experience and education

G o 8 International Initiatives

• G o 8 DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scheme

• G o 8 European Fellowships (ECRs from Eastern Europe, 8 x $20,000)

• G o 8 with China 9 – MOU for DOGS to work together

• G o 8 with CIC in USA

What is the Philosophy Underlying International Focus for Universities

• Must prepare graduates to work in a global economy, global companies – international perspective essential

• Many research questions benefit from international approach

• A network of alumni in many countries a huge benefit to the university and country

• Understanding different cultures and religions intellectually and emotionally rich and rewarding

• It will lead to a more peaceful and secure world