Foreign students have a valuable contribution to make - University Wor... 1 of 4 http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20151020202... Issue 00390 20 November 2015 Register to receive our free newsletter by email each week SEARCH Advanced Search Global Edition / News / World Round-up / Features / Commentary / World Blogs / Student View / Academic Freedom Special Reports Special Editions Africa Edition / Asia Hub / Letters / Archives / HE Events Diary / About Us / Contact Us AUSTRALIA Foreign students have a valuable contribution to make Ly Tran and Cate Gribble 23 October 2015 Issue No:387 Like 64 Tweet Join us on 49 This Week 26 SPECIAL REPORT Cross-border student mobility is among the most prominent phenomena of tertiary education over the past 20 years. There are currently 543, 123 international students enrolled in Australia. Follow us on News Feeds The commentary by Bob Kinnaird depicts international students as exploited workers, desperate permanent residency hunters and in competition with local people in what he refers to as "the lower-end of the job market". Global Edition Africa Edition Disclaimer All reader responses posted on this site are those of the reader ONLY and NOT those of University World News or Higher Education Web Publishing, their associated trademarks, websites and services. University World News or Higher Education Web Publishing does not necessarily endorse, support, sanction, encourage, verify or agree with any comments, opinions or statements or other content provided by readers. To assume that international students are taking the jobs of locals is narrow and ignores the role of international education in job creation. International students contribute enormously to the Australian economy, generating around A$18 billion (US$13 billion) annually. Their economic contribution is not limited to tuition fees. It includes ancillary services such as accommodation, hospitality and increased travel and tourism. UNESCO report says that pressing problems have led to a shift in global science WORLD BLOG International students in higher education are responsible for attracting an additional 160,000 overseas tourists. Rather than taking away jobs, international education and international student-related activities support more than 100,000 Australian jobs. Beyond economic benefits More critically, the benefits in terms of creating transnational connections and global links that are crucial to Australian businesses, national prosperity and national growth are potentially huge. The benefits of international education to Australia go beyond the economic. The presence of international students on campus and in the workplace offer enormous opportunities in terms of developing the intercultural capability and outlook of domestic students and the local workforce. The current Syrian refugee crisis calls for more substantive answers COMMENTARY It is simplistic to suggest that by removing work rights for international students, young Australians, especially the low-skilled workers Kinnaird is most concerned about, will face less labour market competition and have better job prospects. This perspective ignores our current reality where greater national interconnections, demands of international engagement and regionalisation and increased labour mobility between national economies are the key features of the globalised world. Such a one-sided view is also at the root of the segregation between international and domestic students and between international students and local communities. In order to capitalise on the myriad of benefits associated with international education, breaking down these stereotypes and dispelling incorrect assumptions is imperative. Is Japan overlooking the importance of strengthening education ties in Asia? 20/11/2015 12:10 PM Foreign students have a valuable contribution to make - University Wor... 2 of 4 http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20151020202... Harnessing the benefits The real challenge for institutions, employers and the wider Australian community is how to recognise and harness the potential benefits associated with international education. A great deal has been done by various researchers, institutions and organisations like the International Education Association of Australia, or IEAA, and the Office for Teaching and Learning, or OLT, to develop strategies aimed at integrating the potential cultural and intellectual resources that international students bring into Australian classrooms, workplaces and communities and optimising the learning for all. However, more needs to be done to translate the rhetoric of benefits into practice and build a truly educationally, culturally and ethically productive environment on campus, in the workplace and the wider community. With Myanmar elections over, a focus on higher education reform is needed Top stories from last week’s edition One of Kinnaird’s main concerns surrounds the exploitation of international students in the workplace. He contends that international students are often exploited by employers from the same ethnic background. This can be an issue, but it is certainly not limited to employers from the same ethnic background. Instead our research shows disturbing levels of racism by white Anglo-Saxon Australian employers, particularly in sectors such as health and engineering. It is worth noting that our separate studies also show that, despite the disadvantages facing them, many international students in both the higher education and vocational education and training sectors are valued as hard-working and responsible employees who are capable of negotiating complex situations in the workplace. IRELAND Why Irish eyes are smiling in Horizon 2020 GLOBAL Global Innovation Exchange: the first Chinese university outpost in the US Our research has found that in many cases employers’ reluctance to provide work placements for international students has been reduced due to the growing recognition of the valuable contributions international students make to their organisations. Investigating international student success SOUTH AFRICA The flawed ideology of free higher education UNITED KINGDOM Universities face biggest shake-up for decades To ensure Australian employers benefit from international students’ skills, knowledge and transnational links, and to prevent international student exploitation, institutions and involved parties must work collaboratively to educate international students on their work rights and enhance their work readiness. FINLAND Ministers pave way for increased education exports GLOBAL The IEAA’s recent employability symposium and employability guides are an important first step. However, more can be done. Widening access The expanding middle class in many Asian countries is driving demand for tertiary education which cannot be met locally. Australian institutions (both onshore and offshore) are filling an important gap and providing tertiary education opportunities to many students who would otherwise miss out due to limited capacity in their home country. Kinnaird’s argument that Australia should target only "high-yield/high fee courses" and rich students is unjust. This raises the issue of equitable access to international education. Ensuring more minority students in the US get the opportunity to study abroad FEATURES Private HE funders winning over doubters, says report GLOBAL Six key elements of an entrepreneurial university SAUDI ARABIA Merger prompts fears for future of higher education NETHERLANDS Instead our research shows that international students from lower-income families turn to international education as a means to transform their economic status and professional prospects. They accumulate loans from their relatives and local communities and take their study abroad seriously in order to ensure good return on their investment. Kinnaird’s stereotype that poor overseas students "have to work 40 hours or more a fortnight just to stay alive" and his associated implication that rich overseas students are not caught up in this circle and are thus more deserving of the opportunity and access to overseas study is problematic. Entrepreneurship education is now in all universities UNITED STATES Who came out on top in the battle for European Research Council funding? What a mass exodus means for scholarly publishing As we have indicated, more work does need to be done to both educate international students about their work rights and prosecute employers found to be engaging in exploitative practices. 20/11/2015 12:10 PM Foreign students have a valuable contribution to make - University Wor... 3 of 4 http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20151020202... However, it is important to remember that most domestic and international students in Australia work part time. In addition to providing an income source, part-time work offers international students important exposure to the Australian labour market and the opportunity to hone their professional, social and communication skills and develop local networks. International students are a heterogeneous group. Depicting all international students as desperate permanent residency hunters, as in Kinnaird’s article, is incorrect and dangerous. In a previous article for University World News, we pointed out that while securing permanent residency can be a purpose for studying in Australia, it is not always the primary nor the sole motivation for international students. Often students hope to gain some local work experience to complement their Australian degree in order to position themselves well in the home country or international labour market. Some see themselves living between two nations and view citizenship as flexible. Others are committed to returning permanently and contributing to their home country’s development. Research also indicates that between a half and two-thirds of international students returned home after graduation in 2011-12 and the rest remained in Australia on a temporary visa, further study visa, tourist visa or permanent residency visa. The changing nature of the labour market means that a degree is no longer enough to guarantee graduate employment. Heightened competition for entry level positions, far less certainty surrounding employment prospects and the growing need to ‘stand out’ in a crowded graduate labour market has resulted in international students placing growing emphasis on acquiring post-study work experience. The experience of the UK highlights that removing work rights would have a detrimental effect on the international education sector. Rather than viewing international students as taking jobs from young Australians or “feeding the growth in Australia of a vast under-class of temporary visa holders desperate for work and ripe for exploitation”, the benefits of international education, including the enormous untapped potential, must be showcased to the wider Australian community. For the majority of international students the opportunity to study and work in Australia is something they prize highly. International students want to contribute. Valuing international students and identifying strategies to encourage their participation in all aspects of Australian society stands to benefit all concerned. Ly Tran is a senior lecturer at the school of education, Deakin University, Australia, and an Australian Research Council DECRA – Discovery Early Career Researcher Award – fellow. She has been awarded two grants on the teaching and learning for international students by the Australian Research Council. She is a member of a project entitled ‘New Colombo Plan: Australians as international students in Asia’ with colleagues from Deakin University and the University of Adelaide. Tran’s research and publications can be found in this profile. Cate Gribble is a senior research fellow in the faculty of arts and education at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Her current research focuses on international student mobility, migration and employability. In 2015 Gribble was awarded the inaugural World Association for Cooperative Education, or WACE, research award to investigate international students’ experiences of work integrated learning in Australia and Canada. Gribble’s research and publications can be found in this profile. Related Links AUSTRALIA Foreign students exploited as temporary workers 20/11/2015 12:10 PM Foreign students have a valuable contribution to make - University Wor... 4 of 4 http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20151020202... Receive UWN's free weekly e-newsletters Email address * First name * Last name * Post code / Zip code * Country * Organisation / institution * Job title Please send me UWN’s * Global Edition Africa Edition Both I receive my email on my mobile phone I have read the Terms & Conditions * Advertising / Sponsorship / Terms and Conditions / Contact our advertising team ISSN 1756-297X Copyright University World News 2007-2014 20/11/2015 12:10 PM