LET’S GO CANADA

Governments Should Work to Boost Education Exports: Conference Board

ABROAD PERSPECTIVE

Belarus Plans Tenfold Increase


OVER THE COUNTER

South Australia Could Triple its Overseas Students by 2013: Study

GLOBE TIPPING

More on Chinese Cabs

LET’S GO CANADA-Governments Should Work to Boost Education Exports: Conference Board

A report released this spring by the Conference Board of Canada recommends a string of reforms to further Canada’s growth as an international educator—including mandating a federal government department to take the lead in promoting Canada overseas. Among the reforms is the creation of a national “brand”—which will only be possible, it adds, if federal and provincial governments work together to reduce the “jurisdictional fragmentation” of the Canadian higher education system. Canada has been lagging its rivals not just in the growth of traditional education exports, but also in new forms of schooling—offering online courses internationally, for example, or operating branch campuses overseas, according to the report.

Jennifer Humphries, vice-president for membership and scholarships at the Canadian Bureau of International Education told Overseas, Overwhelmed last week that May’s NAFSA conference in Montreal, which showcased Canadian universities, should be “the beginning of a new era” in making Canada better known abroad. If foreign students have an image of Canada as a less-than-exciting place to study (as was reported last month in the Montreal Gazette and other newspapers in the Canwest chain, as well as Overseas, Overwhelmed), it’s only because the country’s efforts to promote itself have lagged far behind those of the U.K. and Australia, making it a “well-kept secret,” she said.

Source: “Opportunity Begins at Home” can be downloaded for free, to registered users, from the http://www.conferenceboard.ca/

ABROAD PERSPECTIVE-Belarus Plans Tenfold Increase

The Belarusian government is planning a tenfold hike in its education exports over the next five years, the country’s deputy prime minister said in a recent government news release. “Training of one foreign student ensures material security for education of three Belarusian students and enhances the material support to educational establishments,” the news release added.
Some 2,500 foreign students now study in Belarus, bringing about $5 million per year to state coffers.

Source: “http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/E5AEDB3EB3E65FD4C225717E0021EE09?OpenDocument on Belarusian government web site

OVER THE COUNTER-South Australia Could Triple its Overseas Students by 2013: Study

With more promotion of Adelaide as a destina- tion for students, South Australia could easily be attracting 40,000 international students—three times its current number—by 2013, says a report recently written by a committee of the state’s parliament.

According to the chairman of the committee, however, Australia’s eastern states are competing more and more fiercely with South Australia for foreign students. And South Australia’s competitive- ness as a student location, he said, is being threatened by plans to make student unionism in the state voluntary—a move, he said, which will make it a challenge to maintain student association services.

According to Education Adelaide, a body for marketing the city as an international education destination, the South Australian capital is Australia’s fastest growing city for overseas students. They contribute some $400 million (Aus.) or $328 million (Cdn.) to the South Australian economy every year.

Source: “http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19313213%255E2682,00.html“, The Advertiser, May 31, 2006

GLOBE TIPPING-More on Chinese Cabs

Upon arrival at your airport in China, you should use only the taxis in the taxi queue. Staff at the queue are likely to have some basic English language skills, and are there to help you. All legal taxis should have an oval sticker in the rear window with the rate clearly marked. The meter should be visible in the radio panel or on the dashboard. When the meter is turned on, you should hear an automated recording— ”Welcome to our taxi” or equivalent—in English, after the Chinese-language announcement.

More useful information on taxi travel in China can be found in previous issues of Overseas Overwhelmed: http://higher-edge.com/docs/oov-3_32-20031112.pdf, http://www.higher-edge.com/docs/oov-3_33-20031119.pdf and http://www.higher-edge.com/docs/oov-8_26-20060125.pdf.

Please direct all questions and comments to editor@higher-edge.com
www.higher-edge.com/oov.htm