Asialink, supported by the City of Sydney and Study NSW, is strengthening bonds between the NSW international education sector and the business community.
A forum, on Monday 30th October, will align objectives in the City of Sydney’s International Education Action Plan and Study NSW’s International Education Recovery Strategy.
With over 250,000 international students across NSW in higher education, VET and ELICOS alone, the forum will focus on enhancing the international student experience and employability – by engaging the business community.
The focus should come as no surprise; with 56% of international students having family or friends living in NSW the state also boasts some of the larger diaspora communities in the country. 2021 ABS census data shows NSW, with a population of over 8.1m, has more than 34% of residents born overseas. It is a richly diverse population.
The influence and capability of cities is also certainly the flavour of the month, with the Asia Pacific Cities Summit in Brisbane later in October (see TKN). Destination ‘Sydney’, both entrepreneurial and cosmopolitan, is a global capital regularly featured in a wash of rankings;
- 7th in the 2024 global QS Best student cities
- 4th in the 2023 Economist Intelligence Unit world’s most liveable cities index
Aiming to showcase Sydney and NSW as a first-choice international study destination, the forum leverages the opportunities brought about by the thriving $700b NSW economy that, if a country, would rank it the 21st largest GDP globally.
With more than 600 multinational companies based in NSW, accounting for almost half of Australia’s entire economic growth, the forum will benefit businesses interested in understanding the international student workforce. This is a must-attend for international education sector stakeholders, including representatives from educational institutions, government bodies, student support services, and industry partners.
Held at the magnificent Sydney Town Hall, the forum is a mere 20-minute stroll from the University of Technology Sydney (Australia’s highest-ranked global young university, 9th globally).
A keynote from Professor Eric Knight, Executive Dean and Professor of Strategic Management at Macquarie Business School, leads into a panel; “The untapped talent pool: Enabling employment and entrepreneurial pathways throughout international education”.
Paul Nicolaou, Executive Director of Business Sydney (see TKN), a champion of international students and the contributions they bring to cities, will moderate the panel’s exploration of entrepreneurial and employment pathways. The NSW innovation economy is key to attracting and retaining international students and graduates – and enabling them to flourish as part of Sydney’s global talent hub.
An interactive workshop will focus on social cohesion address how students can be engaged through stronger connections across Sydney and NSW. It will showcase the enrichment of the student experience in NSW, centred on the themes: Welcome (Arrive); Wellbeing (Thrive); and Work Integrated Learning (Succeed).
Fora bringing diverse groups and interests together ultimately serves the broader community and contributes to managing perceptions and generating opportunity. Congratulations to event leaders and attendees – students and businesses will benefit from the robust discussions.
The stellar speaker line-up is profiled here
Register for this Asialink event in Sydney here
Fun fact: Between them, alumni of the University of NSW and the University of Sydney have given rise to more unicorns than any other two Australian universities combined.
