Not-So-Foreign^©
A Bulletin for International Education Professionals
Volume 7, Issue 8; February 27, 2008

The PDF version of this week's issue can be found here.

1)  THE PLAYING FIELD – Melbourne study boom hits $10.8 billion U.S.
2)  ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - European higher education sector needs revamp
3)  OVER THE COUNTER - Scottish university to open campus in Singapore
4)  GLOBE TIPPING – Language Resources

1) THE PLAYING FIELD – Melbourne study boom hits $10.8 billion U.S.

Australia continues to be a popular overseas education destination for Indian students even as media reports about attacks on Indian students rise. Students from India are arriving in the Australian city of Melbourne in droves. More than 30,000 Indians are studying in Victoria, including up to 10,000 enrolled in cooking and hairdressing courses, according to Federal Government figures. Chinese nationals are the biggest student group with more than 100,000 located across Australia, followed by around 63,000 Indian visa holders.

The foreign student industry is worth $11.7 billion ($ 10.8 billion U.S.) to Australia, with about 300,000 students here. Dozens of private colleges have sprung up to meet the demand sparking off concerns that some institutions might have dubious standards. According to the Herald Sun, Monash University demographer Dr Bob Birrell said that the big jump in Indian enrolments confirmed his earlier research that the courses are a popular gateway to permanent residency.

Source: "Melbourne study boom hits $11b,"
Herald Sun, February 22, 2008

"Australia unsafe? Attacks on Indian students rise,"
The Times of India, February 12, 2008

2) ABROAD PERSPECTIVE - European higher education sector needs revamp

Europe's higher education sector needs to be revamped if its universities are to participate in the global competition for the "very best minds, funding and reputation." This was one of the issues discussed by academic and industry representatives at the 2008 European Business Summit held recently at Brussels, Belgium.

According to summit participants, other reasons behind Europe lagging behind other countries in the global higher education system include chronic under-funding, over-regulation of university governance structures, lack of autonomy and an isolationist mindset which prevents cooperation between universities, industry and business. Creating sustainable partnerships between universities and businesses was one of the ways forward identified to overcome these problems.

Source: "EU universities 'too homogeneous' to be competitive,"
EurActiv, February 25, 2008

3) OVER THE COUNTER - Scottish university to open campus in Singapore

Scotland's Queen Margaret University (QMU) is the first U.K. university to open a campus in Singapore. The new venture, which will be called QMU Asia Campus, is a joint project with the Singapore-based  East Asia Institute of Management.

Universities across the U.K. are looking at newer ways to attract overseas students and increase revenues by setting up offshore campuses and increasing their distance education offerings. Heriot-Watt University, another Scottish university, has opened a campus in Dubai.

Source: "Scottish university to open campus in Singapore,"
The Herald, February 20, 2008

4) GLOBE TIPPING - Language Resources

For those travelling to a new country and unsure about the languages spoken there, Travlang's Travel Resources provides links to useful sites related to languages, such as a guide to what languages are spoken in which countries, online language-learning sites and, online dictionaries.

Not-So-Foreign^© is a publication of Higher-Edge
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