China, India partnerships a two-way exchange for education

Now more than ever before, emerging global superpowers China and India are looking to Australia for higher education opportunities.But worldly international students want more than just a degree – they want a diverse experiences, and opportunities to build life-long networks, as part of their antipodean adventure. 

Visiting India and China this week, the higher education leaders we’ve met in both nations are determined to forge partnerships to give their students international opportunities that will stand out from the crowd.In countries where you count the population by billions, that’s no easy feat.

Sure, just over half of higher education students coming to Australia seek out Group of Eight institutions.But that leaves more than a quarter of a million prospective students every year, less seduced by a prestigious name, and more determined to diversify their CV. 

It’s also important to note that 26 per cent of international students last year were gaining vocational qualifications, and another 21 per cent were enrolling in English Language Intensive courses – both key strengths for CQUni. What does all this mean for us? And why does it mean myself and the International team are traversing Asia as we speak?

Basically, CQUniversity has never been better placed to show off our strengths to prospective international students – our comprehensive curriculum, our industry partnerships and networks, and our commitment to social innovation and change.University leaders I’ve met this week have been very excited about CQUniversity’s growing reputation for social change, and the networks we have forged in pursuit of our social innovation strategy.

Rapid social change has seen both China and India look for a new generation of changemakers, ready to tackle issues around environment, social inequity and growing opportunity, for their communities.

China and India already represent our biggest international student cohorts at CQUniversity.

And both nations have already been well-represented in social innovation activities across our campuses, including entering The Big Idea competition, attending the Social Innovation Studio in Gladstone, and gaining scholarships to attend the Ashoka U Exchange in Miami.

The skills, knowledge and networks these participants have developed can only boost their employability, grow their perspective, and benefit their communities.

Meanwhile, it’s not just international students that benefit from these experiences – working alongside our staff and domestic students, the exchange of diverse experience and international perspective is invaluable for all of us. Growing our partnerships with international institutions is key to ensuring the knowledge and experience exchange continues in both directions, and we all benefit from opportunities.