NLC National Education Conference

In addition to the individual student focus, international students in Australia have been active participants in student organization for many decades. The structures, affiliations and objectives of these organizations have changed in many ways over time, and this has been particularly apparent in the last 2 years with all student organizations, domestic and international under threat and being forced to question their existence.  Revisiting the Vision is particularly relevant to international students’ organizations because of these challenges. How have the campus organizations changed over time, have the students involved changed and have the reasons for involvement changed? Is the reason that a national body was created still relevant?  What makes a national body relevant, and what reasons now surround it’s existence? 

Education Outcomes

What are the focuses of education providers in international education today?  The many facets of international education provision throughout a provider’s structure impact on the approach providers take towards their progress as internationally recognized education providers as well as towards their treatment of international students each day. How has the vision of international education inside an institution changed over the last two decades? Do international students who constitute up to 25% of the student population serve more than just a revenue source?  What do institutions do to ensure they maintain a vision of a best practice, high quality and consistently improving industry to ensure positive education outcomes for all international students? 

Government and Industry

International students provide approximately $10 billion to the Australian economy. Through this it is very apparent that it is not just the education providers that benefit financially from this important export. All stakeholders in the international education industry entered with a vision and a purpose.  This conference theme encourages the investigation into the original visions of stakeholders and revisiting this vision in terms of their involvement in ensuring they maintain a vision of a best practice, high quality and consistently improving industry.  

The Federal and State Governments of Australia determine the direction of international education through their regulative requirements, promotion of their institutions and states and also through their vision of the future of education in Australia.

This conference will revisit the vision of all governments and question how all governments seek to work collaboratively with all stakeholders in the international education industry and continually aim to provide the highest standard of international education, such as students are promised when they are recruited to study in Australia.  The national path towards this excellence is the imminent implementation of the new ESOS National Code of Practice, and Student Visa changes.