Australia has spent the week celebrating its biggest export economy with a virtual showcase and conference for all professional recruiters and agencies sending students to study in the country.

Global Agent Week 2022 opened with a ministerial address from Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell.

“The Albanese Government supports our world-class international education sector,” Farrell said, highlighting commitment to the sector by the highest echelons of the Australian government.

“We are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful community for all. We will continue to work in partnership with you [the Agents] to prepare, welcome, and support our international students.”

Kate Young, Global Marketing Manager at Austrade, provided an update on the Study Australia brand and the Study Australia marketing toolkit. She explained what makes Study Australia, the country’s ‘Nation Brand’, unique.

Young provided details on how providers and agents could use the Study Australia Marketing Toolkit to “co-brand” with the Study Australia brand across social media, email headers, digital display banners, etc.

“We would welcome education agents to use Australia’s Nation Brand [in particular] in their next events,” she said.

The toolkit can be used by education providers, agents, study destinations, and government agencies —  “eligible organisations with the responsibility of promoting Australian education internationally.”

“We now have over 700 assets available for download and we are continually adding new content,” Young added.

“The Study Australia Partnership, comprising Austrade and all state and territory study destination agencies, is delighted to again host Study Australia Global Agent Week in 2022,” Helen Kronberger, manager, international education (global engagement), Austrade, told The PIE.

“The event has been designed especially for Australia’s global network of education agents, to support our valued representatives with new insights and policy information related to the Study Australia opportunity.

“This year, the event includes new sessions featuring current students, international alumni, destination experts and leaders within the global agent community,” she said.

“Australia has built a trusted reputation for education, for training, and for research globally”

Speaking online to agent attendees, Kronberger outlined the USPs of the study destination.

“Australia is also one of the most economically and politically stable democracies in the world — individual freedoms are valued and a strong and transparent system of law and government protects the rights of international students and all people in our community,” she said.

“Studying in Australia also means high living standards and a great student experience, with seven student cities ranked in the top 50 student cities globally (by QS).

“Australia has built a trusted reputation for education, for training, and for research globally, due to over 70 years of international alumni success and our 2.5 million alumni worldwide,” Kronberger highlighted.

As part of the Study Australia Partnership, the state and territory study destination agencies detailed the opportunities where education agents can access and utilise resources to help promote various destinations to prospective students, in their respective regions.

“If you are an agent who’s based outside of Australia, you can access Study Queensland’s global network of education specialists. They represent 11 markets across the world and can help agents in their local markets,” Nancy Ly, manager – Queensland relations, at Study Queensland said.

“We would welcome education agents to use Australia’s Nation Brand”

“Those based in Australia can get in touch with our different study clusters for more region focussed destination marketing assets and resources,” she added.

“At Study Adelaide, we are all about collaboration and we really value the idea of seeing what you [agents] would recommend in terms of how we can promote the destination better and working with you and your agency around that,” Jane Johnston, chief executive of Study Adelaide, highlighted.

Austrade’s global agent week ends on December 2 with a panel of leaders in the global education agent space discussing opportunities and key messages in promoting Australia education and training.

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Social justice has become a hot topic for educators all over the world, but there is still much work to be done and it will take a team effort.

In recent years, higher education institutions around the world have placed an emphasis on themes of social justice. Horrific events such as the murder of George Floyd have moved these conversations into the spotlight and prompted organisations to more actively engage with the fundamental issues of racism, inequality and ingrained prejudices in the academy.

However, much of the discussion in the UK is still centred around exposing discriminatory behaviour, whereas in the US many institutions are now shifting their focus to alternative values such as belonging, dignity and justice which centre the voices and experience of marginalised people.

In 2020, Dr Zainab Khan, Director of London Metropolitan University’s Centre for Equity and Inclusion, highlighted the scale of the work ahead citing the ‘litany of challenges hampering the advancement of race equity in higher education’ in the foreword to the University’s Race Equity Strategic Plan.

Two years down the line, progress is being made at London Met. We’ve placed social justice at the heart of all our decision-making and we’re seeing positive change in some of our key success indicators. Introspection of this kind is vital, but real change will only happen by reaching out and finding partners who share this commitment.

Collaboration

Although the context and challenges can be different in each country, the fight to break down systemic barriers can only be truly successful if institutions of all kinds work together more closely, sharing knowledge and expertise to advance practice and understanding.

We can learn a lot from the science community. International collaboration has long been a feature of scientific research, but it really gained momentum in the 1970s, thanks in part to developments in telecommunications technology. Drawing on the knowledge of others, sharing data, skills and competence has transformed our understanding of the world and helped to develop revolutionary new treatments.
The impact that this type of collaboration can have is perhaps most clearly shown with the science community’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Scientists reacted to a societal issue together and created life-saving vaccines in record time.

Last month, London Met announced a new partnership with the Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) group. The partnerships take a holistic approach to improving student outcomes across the entire student bodies of both London Met and its partners and come as part of a long-term strategy to invest in student success.

Professional services staff and academic faculty from both sides of the Atlantic will work together to develop interventions to support student success, continuation rates and graduate outcomes through joint action and research projects.

The partnership agreements we’ve signed with HBCUs so far make sense because in each case our values and missions align. For us and our partners, pursuing social justice is truly at the heart of everything we do, not just a strategy aspiration or an add-on.

An international perspective

London Met is proud to be one of the UK’s most inclusive universities. As our international student numbers continue to grow, we can see the value that diversity brings.

“For us and our partners, pursuing social justice is truly at the heart of everything we do”

Indeed, that diversity is vital to everything we do and is key asset in our fight for social justice. Our student partnership agreement commits our whole community to a process of continuous, collective engagement to co-design solutions for the challenges we face. We see our students as equal partners in decision-making at every level of the institution, and value contributions from members of our local community too.

Tackling inequality is a vast, complex and nuanced task. It’s quite right that institutions scrutinise and challenge their own practices, but action in isolation will not break down systemic barriers. That will only happen with collaboration locally, nationally and internationally – universities must look beyond their walls if they want to make a real difference.

About the author: This is a sponsored post by Ben Sawtell, Head of Communications at London Metropolitan University. He has more than 15 years’ experience in communications within the University, health and private sectors.

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Digital learning platform FutureLearn has been acquired by Global University Systems, with former UK universities minister Jo Johnson announced as chairman.

The deal will allow Netherlands-based GUS to provide FutureLearn with access to its proprietary AI-powered career management solution, widening FutureLearn’s offering to provide fully-fledged career advancement, linking learners with content, accreditation, mentorship and career opportunities.

Andy Hancock, CEO, FutureLearn, said the partnership is “a great outcome for FutureLearn”.

He told The PIE, “As part of GUS, FutureLearn will now have scale to take its offering to learners and to educational partners across the world, including in areas where FutureLearn is not currently operating.”

FutureLearn plans to expand to Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean, giving students in these locations access to thousands of courses, helping them build career-relevant skills and gain internationally recognised certifications.

“Demand for improved higher education is growing strongly in the developed and developing world. FutureLearn adds yet another educational offering to the GUS group,” Hancock added.

“Demand for improved higher education is growing strongly in the developed and developing world”

“We’ve secured a strong, strategic partner with broad sector knowledge which can support the scale and investment we need.”

In a statement, FutureLearn, which launched in 2013, said that the partnership will “enhance career opportunities for millions of learners”.

Aaron Etingen, founder and CEO of GUS, said he is “delighted” that the organisation can play a role FutureLearn’s story and assist in adding to the some 19 million students FutureLearn has educated to date.

“In just under 10 years, FutureLearn has become the largest and most impactful online learning platform,” said Etingen.

“Over the last 20 years GUS has developed proprietary, AI-powered career management capabilities which can strengthen the FutureLearn platform and unlock access to global markets.”

GUS already owns a number of for-profit higher education institutes such as Arden University, the University of Law, St.Patricks College and the London School of Business and Finance.

Johnson, who was appointed chairman of the board of FutureLearn, said that the company is in an “exciting stage in its growth to become a world leading platform for learners seeking to reach their personal and professional goals through short online courses, microcredentials, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.”

“No company has greater potential to bring world class learning opportunities to more people,” added Johnson.

An advisory board was also announced, chaired by former cabinet minister David Blunkett and Douglas Blackstock, president of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. Further appointments are expected to follow.

According to FutureLearn, the partnership will also increase its support for the United Nations Development Programme’s Sustainable Development Goals, which include ensuring equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, and substantially increasing the number of young people and adults who gain skills relevant to employment and entrepreneurship.

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The British Council officially launched its Alumni UK network for international graduates of UK universities in Singapore at the start of the Going Global conference.

Welcoming delegates and alumni to Eden Hall, British High Commissioner to Singapore Kara Owen, emphasised that the UK education system draws “the best in the world”.

“Here in Singapore where our history is very long and close, half of the current government cabinet have studied in the UK,” she said.

“UK universities provide students with a fantastic, solid starting point for their careers. But we all know that it’s not just about what you’ve done in the lecture hall, but experience that you get in the UK is about so much more than that. It’s got something to do with breadth, diversity, international flavour of our universities.”

The global network will allow graduates to continue learning and sharing their experience and expertise with others, the British Council stated.

“Our goal with Alumni UK is to keep that connection and energy going by building a vibrant global network for graduates of UK institutions,” Regional director East Asia at British Council, Lucy Watkins, said.

The online platform will also offer “offers a suite of online resources and opportunities for alumni to strengthen connections”.

“We want to make Alumni UK the largest active network for international UK alumni in the world,” Watkins added.

“Our goal with Alumni UK is to keep that connection and energy going”

“In my role as UK International Education Champion, I focus on increasing cooperation with governments and institutions in a series of countries around the world,” said Steve Smith.

“And I’m very glad to report that really one of the greatest assets we have in doing that are our alumni, who are the best ambassadors really for what the UK can do in terms of education. This is why I’m so pleased that the British Council is launching Alumni UK with a truly global offering for alumni to re-engage with anyone wherever they are in the world.

“I look forward to seeing it grow and hear the stories of the benefits that alumni take from it and the contributions they will make to it.”

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