For the first time in two years, Australia has joined Canada as a first-choice study destination, with a two per cent increase, according to research released by IDP. The Emerging Futures 4 survey, conducted by global education specialists IDP Education in August 2023, reveals that student perceptions of the individual destination countries are changing and study choice is being impacted.
Australia saw increases in perceptions of several important factors, including ‘graduate employment opportunities’ and ‘post-study work policies’. Students continue to choose Australia for its ‘high-quality of education’ and because it is a ‘safe country for international students’, with these factors seeing a 3.6 and 3 per cent increase, respectively. Canada, on the other hand, has lost two per cent since the previous survey.
The research, which collates the views of more than 10,000 prospective, applied and current international students, shows that Australia remains the top choice for students from Nepal, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Current students studying in Australia reported a satisfaction rate of 7.5 out of 10, higher than the UK and Canada, and just behind the USA with an average of 7.8.
This point reinforces the work Rob Lawrence has conducted over many years. ‘The Asian Student’ series of research he started in 2000 and was recently updated in 2022. It found that in 2000, 33 per cent of students interviewed rated Australia as their first choice destination, while last year it had raised to 78 per cent. The familiarity with Australia is much greater. In 2000, 29 per cent had residing networks, and 17 per cent had family who had studied here previously. Fast forward, and these figures are now 86 per cent for residing networks and 44 per cent for family members who had studied here.
Back to Emerging futures.
Students continue to choose Australia for its ‘high-quality of education’ and because it is a ‘safe country for international students’, with these factors seeing a 3.6 and 3 per cent increase, respectively.
Simon Emmett, IDP Connect Chief Executive Officer, said changes in perceptions and factors that students consider in their decision-making show the top-four destinations should not rely on previous positive sentiment and high rankings.
“Policy changes, dynamic shifts within institutions and global economic conditions all have the power to affect a destination’s standings,” Mr Emmett said.
Joanna Storti, IDP Connect Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement APAC, said: “Global competition for international students remains high. While Australia is clearly attractive for international students at present, it’s imperative that their voices continue to be heard by policy makers and institutions so that Australia remains a leading choice for students.”
Cost of living and related issues, such as securing affordable student accommodation, continue to be a concern for international students with more than a third of current international students studying in Australia (35 per cent) saying their rental accommodation close to campus cost more than they had budgeted, while just under a third (32 per cent) said they had rented accommodation further from their campus than desired to access more affordable accommodation.
For more information about the Emerging Futures research, click here.
