AIBC, along with the Indian Consulate General in Perth, hosted a session on “Realising our potential with India through international education” on 14 June. Leaders from the top five Western Australian universities, the Consul General for India in Perth, Amarjeet Singh Takhi and the AIBC leadership shared their views with over 90 participants on pertinent issues such as the mutual recognition of qualifications, an efficient visa system, applied learning and patents and the need to replicate special economic zones like the GIFT city in India.
The panel was facilitated by AIBC WA Chapter Committee Member, Dr Parwinder Kaur MAICD, who is also Associate Professor, UWA School of Environment and Agriculture.
The panellists comprised Derryn Belford, CEO – StudyPerth; Jake Garman, Dean International Business Operations, Edith Cowan University; Professor Jaya Dantas – Dean International Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University Professor Jennifer Howell – Pro Vice Chancellor – Global Engagement, UWA; Justin de Sousa, National Director – International, University of Notre Dame; and Kelly Smith, Pro Vice Chancellor – International, Murdoch University.
The insights which emerged from the session include:
- Need for an equitable pathway with two-way mobility for this to be a sustainable partnership.
- Increasing the recognition in India of Australian qualifications and vice-versa,
- Australia must streamline an efficient and transparent visa system to facilitate bilateral exchanges
- India needs to replicate the GIFT City (Special Economic Zone) concept, to provide opportunities for foreign universities to establish a base, given the growing demand
- Australian education institutions need to adapt to applied learning, celebrate patents as much as they celebrate research publications and embrace an embedded end-to-end ecosystem for students to explore entrepreneurship as part of their learning;
- Australia to reduce disparity or gap in the domestic and international student fees;
- Greater support for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community and need for role models