The international education sector can look forward to a period of stability, but it is one that will include international student caps, according to the University of Canberra’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Bill Shorten, in his address to the IEAA Scholarships and Fellowships Forum 2025 last week in Canberra.
In his first 120 days as a newly minted VC, Shorten’s also told Forum attendees that recognising caps will be in place, there is a “job to be done about sending a message that we actually do want international students”.
He called for the sector, with government and the media, to have a “much more unified and coherent message about the importance of international education here”. Shorten finished his address with a message to the sector to “use me as an ally…to help advance the case for international education”.
The two-day Forum was organised by International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) Scholarships and Fellowships Network Convenor, Alison White, and two Deputy Convenors, Johan Arnberg and Sanjog Parajuli. It was themed Transforming Uncertainty into Opportunity.
Below are some other takeaways from the Forum:
In his opening welcome message, IEAA Chief Executive Officer, Phil Honeywood reiterated concerns that IEAA and the sector have raised about changes to the New Colombo Plan (NCP) that increase the minimum length of stay for the NCP short term mobility grants.
Australian Government session
Although not in direct response to Honeywood’s comments, Forum attendees were referred by to Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s speech in August 2024 to the Centre For Asian-Australian Leadership for the rationale behind the decision. A copy of Wong’s speech is available here.
Two recommendations from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for improving the NCP process were:
- Focus: meaning that some grant applications are not fully formed when they reach DFAT or they lack structure.
- Selecting the right students: those who can demonstrate resilience and ‘hit the ground running’.
The Australia Awards is a significant investment by the Australian Government and the three key messages were:
- The experience a scholar has while in Australia has a critical role in how they view Australia when they go home. Scholars are finding it harder to connect with Australian students and the community.
- There is a need to raise awareness within institutions of the Australia Awards and its benefits.
- DFAT wants to improve alumni engagement and is in discussions, including with Universities Australia, about how it might do this.
Overseas sponsors
Australia is increasing in popularity as a destination for sponsored students as they move away from the US and UK due to political instability. Australia is still perceived as a safe destination.
Student and alumni panel
I chaired the panel session of sponsored students and alumni, and although the theme was about professional development and learning outside of formal study, the discussion was wide-ranging. There was one key word that kept coming up during the discussion and that was ‘networks’. The opportunities and experiences that the students/alumni described could almost always be traced to the networks that they had built.
Policy landscape and impact on Scholarships and Fellowships
I kicked off day two with a presentation on the policy landscape followed by a workshop where participants discussed some practical solutions to operating in the current environment.
Some of their suggestions were:
- Institutions operate in silos and links could be improved between recruitment and support services
- Build and maintain relationships with local communities
- Improve links with domestic students
- Give students the capacity to celebrate their stories
- There is an opportunity for people in the scholarships and fellowships community to keep decision makers better informed
- Be more mindful of how we fit in, rather than expecting others to fit in around us
Accommodation, cost of living, impact on scholars
Alison White, Network Convenor, gave a comprehensive presentation on some research conducted on challenges faced by sponsored students. White is hoping to publish a piece on this, so to avoid stealing her thunder, one key finding was that 31% of respondents reported that the Contribution to Living Expenses (CLE) was insufficient and did not cover basic living costs, while 64% reported the CLE was tight but manageable with careful budgeting.
There were other sessions held over the two days that have not been covered here and a full copy of the two-day program is available online.
In her role as an IEAA Board Member, Tracy is the Board liaison for the IEAA Scholarships and Fellowships Network. She attended the Forum in this capacity.
