Tag: Australian

  • strategic implications for UK and Australian universities

    strategic implications for UK and Australian universities

    Aston Education, a Hong Kong-based international education consultancy, has long supported students in securing places at universities in the UK and Australia. However, Hong Kong’s outbound market is changing.

    According to the Hong Kong Education Bureau’s data for the 2023/24 academic year, the growth rate of local students studying abroad stands at just 2%, significantly lower than global market averages. Factors behind this include Hong Kong’s stable job market and rising tuition and living costs overseas—both encouraging families to reconsider traditional study-abroad pathways.

    At the same time, migration incentives such as the UK’s BNO visa scheme have encouraged significant numbers of Hong Kong residents to settle abroad. This movement has contributed to local talent gaps. To help fill these, the Hong Kong government introduced the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) in late 2022. By September 2024, over 100,000 applications had been received, with more than 95% of successful applicants coming from mainland China. The result is a rapidly changing demographic profile and increasing integration between Hong Kong and the mainland.

    These shifts are mirrored in student priorities. Families—particularly those newly settled in Hong Kong from mainland China—are placing greater emphasis on employment outcomes when considering overseas study. Choice of destination, university, and programme is increasingly shaped by how international qualifications align with career trajectories back in Hong Kong or across the region.

    Against this backdrop, Aston Education has evolved its strategy. The demand from mainland China, especially the GBA, is growing rapidly. In 2022, around 661,200 Chinese students pursued study abroad, a sharp increase from earlier years. And the GBA continues to emerge as an integrated educational and economic region. Several Hong Kong universities have established campuses in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Dongguan, further strengthening cross-border academic links.

    For education providers, the GBA presents a unique environment. Language, policy, and cultural familiarity create a landscape where nuanced, locally embedded strategies are vital. With deep roots in Hong Kong and a working understanding of both Cantonese and Mandarin, Aston Education is well positioned to navigate this space. Our approach differs from traditional mainland recruitment: we focus on a culturally blended student population, many of whom see Hong Kong as a stepping stone for international education and regional employment.

    This shift is not just geographical—it’s philosophical. Understanding why students choose to study abroad, and what they hope to gain, is key to engaging the next generation. By working closely with institutions in the UK and Australia, we aim to provide tailored recruitment support in markets that are evolving beyond traditional patterns.

    As the GBA continues to gain momentum, opportunities abound for international universities ready to think regionally and act locally. Aston Education looks forward to contributing to this conversation—and to building more agile, informed partnerships that reflect the changing realities of the Asian education landscape.

    About the author:

    Boyi Huang is the managing director of Aston Education with over 15 years of experience in international education planning. She holds a postgraduate diploma in international education from the University of Bath She has guided students to top universities across the UK (Oxbridge and G5), the US (Ivy League & Top 20), and Australia (Go8). With strong experience in cross-border admissions and institutional partnerships, Boyi specialises in helping students from Greater China and Southeast Asia access world-class higher education through personalised strategies.

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  • Trump Admin Questions Canadian, Australian Researchers

    Trump Admin Questions Canadian, Australian Researchers

    The Trump administration has sent questionnaires to U.S.-funded Canadian and Australian researchers asking whether their research is a “DEI project,” whether it defends against “gender ideology” and whether it reinforces “U.S. sovereignty,” according to organizations in those countries.

    The Canadian Association of University Teachers, a federation that says it represents 72,000 employees, provided Inside Higher Ed a copy of one of these surveys. One question asked, “Can you confirm that your organization does not work with entities associated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties, or any party that espouses anti-American beliefs?” Another asked, “Does this project reinforce U.S. sovereignty by limiting reliance on international organizations or global governance structures (e.g., UN, WHO)?”

    David Robinson, executive director of the Canadian association, said his organization was informed of the questionnaires by U.S. Department of Agriculture–funded researchers who received them. The White House didn’t return Inside Higher Ed’s request for comment Wednesday.

    “It’s just unbelievable,” Robinson said. He said the U.S. government is trying to “impose a certain ideological viewpoint on research.”

    Robinson also provided a survey that he said Australian researchers received. It contains the same questions and more, including, “What impact does this project have on protecting religious minorities, promoting religious freedom, and combatting Christian prosecution [sic]?”

    Both surveys say “OMB”—standing for Office of Management and Budget—at the top. Chennupati Jagadish, president of the Australian Academy of Science, said in a statement Monday that “Australian scientists have been surveyed to disclose their institution’s compatibility with United States (US) foreign and domestic policy.”

    “Any reasonable assessment of the survey indicates that US Government funded research in Australia could be terminated because an Australian institution—not the research project—has links with several named countries, or links with the United Nations and its agencies, or impacts the protection and promotion of specific religions,” Jagadish said.

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  • Will Trump’s “anti-wokeism” change DEI in Australian universities?

    Will Trump’s “anti-wokeism” change DEI in Australian universities?

    United States President Donald Trump’s first six weeks of his second term has been defined by 76 executive orders, the disestablishment of the national education department and establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    One of the most controversial executive orders, which is a written directive signed by a president that orders immediate governmental action, was titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” signed on President Trump’s first day back in office on January 20, 2025.

    He directed all federal DEI staff be placed on paid leave and, eventually, laid off. He has also signed another Executive Order, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”

    DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, and refers to programs and committees that help people from underrepresented backgrounds (women, Indigenous, Black, for instance) get into, and stay in, jobs or courses those people wouldn’t traditionally participate in. It is largely similar to the strategy of the Australian Universities Accord.

    President Trump has also cut funding to schools and universities that do not cancel DEI programs. He labelled the programs “radical,” “wasteful” and said they demonstrate “immense public waste and shameful discrimination.”

    The full effects of these Executive Orders and DEI changes are yet to be seen because decisions regarding DEI will ultimately be made by the court.

    However, private companies in the US have walked away from internal DEI programs, including Meta (which has worked closely with Trump as of late), Google (which provides some services to the US government), Pepsi, Disney and multiple prominent banks.

    There has been no significant walk away from DEI in Australian private companies, and many universities continue to discuss how to bolster and “future-proof” internal DEI programs.

    Australia’s ambassador to the US from 2020 to 2023, Arthur Sinodinos, told the Universities Australia Solutions Summit last week that institutions are best off making decisions “based off their objectives,” but should enact genuine change, not just tick diversity boxes.

    Arthur Sinodinos said DEI should be about achieving true diversity rather than ticking boxes. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

    “My view on DEI is that [universities should] start from a posture that they want to make the best use of all the talent and resources available to them,” he said.

    “If you’re also interested in trying to expand the reach of higher education to groups that might otherwise be disadvantaged, you have to find ways to do that, but in a way that also addresses the genuine issue.

    “I think access to higher education is still important for a country like Australia, which has to make – given its population – the best use of the resources it’s got.

    “The argument that you can just leave it to the market, the meritocracy will still be there [is wrong]. Frankly, in the market, some people start with a head start with with inbuilt advantages.”

    President Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who was also on the panel at the UA summit, said he thinks DEI programs in the US have gone “too far to one side.”

    Former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said he thinks DEI has gone “too far” in the US. Picture: UA

    “One of the reasons you’re seeing the pushback against it in my country is that it went too far to one side. I don’t know where it is in this country, but at some point it may go too far, and the pushback will come.”

    He also explained why this Trump term is already more action-packed than his first was at this time: the President expected to win in November, 2024, but not in 2016.

    “Not only did [Trump] expect to win, [his team has] been working for four years on what they would do when they won,” he said.

    “What are we gonna do the first day? The first week, the first month, the first 100 days? Which is why we’re seeing all these executive orders. It’s actually four years worth of planning coming forward.”

    Mr Mulvaney said he thinks DEI could survive if its reasoning for existing is communicated in a tailored way.

    He said Trump’s administration is receptive to initiatives that improve efficiency, productivity and merit.

    “You could have a program that is good on on the climate, [for example,] but that’s not your selling pitch. That doesn’t register with the person you’re talking to,” he explained.

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    “You have to learn how to speak the language of the person you’re talking to. Don’t change what you’re doing, perhaps just simply change how you explain it.”

    UA chief executive Luke Sheehy was asked after his National Press Club address last Wednesday whether he thinks an “anti-woke” sentiment will affect how universities function.

    Luke Sheehy’s membership body discussed the impact of “Trump 2.0” at last week’s conference. Picture: UA

    “Obviously there’s a major disruption that’s happened in America with Trump 2.0 … One of the things we’ve learned is, once articulated in a certain way, positive sentiment skyrockets for universities,” he responded.

    “If you offer a simple proposition: we have 4,000 fewer teachers than we need today ,and universities are the only way to get those skilled workers into the workforce to support young people; we need 132,000 more nurses, etc.

    “Then remove yourself from what happens on the front pages of newspapers and what occupies political pundits, and think about what the real Australian people need and want from the university sector.

    “My hope is that the more we talk about the important role of universities and our core mission in education and research, the more Australians, irrespective of whether or not they went to university or not, they see the value for us as part of our future.”

    The university sector’s declining “social license” has been a major topic of discussion of late for university leaders.

    There is a growing sentiment that universities, and the knowledge economy, needs to “show” society why they’re worth the funding and enrolments.

    “We always have more work to do. In an era where there is declining trust in institutions, I think it’s really important that universities invest in themselves in terms of how they engage with their communities,” Mr Sheehy continued.

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  • Melbourne has the best academic reputation of any Australian uni, Times Higher Education says

    Melbourne has the best academic reputation of any Australian uni, Times Higher Education says

    Melbourne University Campus in Carlton.
    Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty



    By: NCA Newswire

    in News, Rankings, Top Stories


    February 19, 2025

    The University of Melbourne has topped the list of Australia’s most prestigious higher education facilities globally.

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  • There is declining trust in Australian unis. Federal government policy is a big part of the problem

    There is declining trust in Australian unis. Federal government policy is a big part of the problem




    By: Graeme Turner

    in Analysis, Policy & Reform, Politics, Top Stories


    February 12, 2025

    As we head towards the federal election, both sides of politics are making a point of criticising universities and questioning their role in the community.

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  • Student visa numbers hit record despite Australian clampdown

    Student visa numbers hit record despite Australian clampdown

    Student visa issuances reached record levels in Australia late last year, suggesting that 12 months of policy upheaval have failed to suppress international education flows ahead of a federal election likely to be fought on migration.

    Visa grants to would-be university students applying from overseas reached an all-time high of almost 17,000 in November, the latest month for which Department of Home Affairs statistics are available.

    Monthly issuances have been at or near record levels since mid-2024, well exceeding pre-pandemic tallies and driving a surge in overall foreign student numbers. Higher education typically accounts for two-thirds or more of student visa recipients.

    The figures show that student flows have weathered some 10 separate policy changes unleashed to dampen overseas enrollments since December 2023. They include increased financial capacity requirements on applicants, a doubling of visa fees and a chaotic reprioritization of visa processing that has been blamed for soaring delays and refusals.

    The opposition Liberal Party, which is due to contest a general election by mid-May, has repeatedly berated the Labor government over student volumes since Australia’s post-pandemic reopening of its borders. The surge in student numbers, initially spurred by policies enacted by the opposition when it was in government, has been blamed for housing shortages.

    Liberal leader Peter Dutton promised “stricter caps on foreign students to relieve stress on city rental markets” during an election campaign rally on Jan. 12.

    While treasurer Jim Chalmers has attributed Australia’s lofty migrant tally to low departures rather than high arrivals, the latest statistics suggest both are contributing. And the figures do not include record numbers of applicants fighting to have their visa rejections overturned.

    The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the backlog of international students contesting their visa refusals in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal had doubled in five months to exceed 20,000 for the first time, and that two-thirds of visa rejections were being overturned by the tribunal.

    Meanwhile, overseas students are pursuing strategies to extend their time in Australia, including starting new courses or applying for asylum. Immigration expert Abul Rizvi said the tally of onshore student visa applicants had blown out to more than 100,000.

    Home Affairs data provided to a Senate inquiry in October showed that a long-term monthly average of about 300 asylum applications from overseas students had increased to about 450 since mid-2024, reaching 516 by August—the highest figure in at least five years, and probably since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

    Student visa grants could also increase following the late-December replacement of the controversial ministerial direction 107, which slowed down the processing of many visa applications, with ministerial direction 111.

    International education consultant Dirk Mulder said opinion on the new arrangements was divided, with some operators saying visa processing had sped up while others complained that it was slower than a year ago.

    Both camps expressed concern about the likelihood of further policy changes and the fate of institutions that had reached their “thresholds”—80 percent of the formerly announced international student caps, the trigger point for slower visa processing.

    One worry was that agents might stop referring students to universities and colleges in this position. “There is a large amount of angst as to how recruitment partners will work amongst institutions when they hit their 80 percent threshold,” Mulder wrote on his Koala news site.

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