Lightning Talk Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency Conference 2019

Leveraging the Australian Advantage in Transnational Education: Is Ethnocentrism the Only Option? (#51)

Dipu Sebastian 1 , Gregory Harper 1
  1. Torrens University Australia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Australian education is world renowned for its integrity and quality and is underpinned by robust TEQSA regulatory frameworks. Historically, Australian education has played an important part in the capability development within our region through initiatives such as the Colombo Plan and more recently the New Colombo Plan. The rapid economic growth in our region and in particular the rise of the Indian and Chinese economies presents enormous opportunities for our tertiary education sector, particularly in the transnational education (TNE) landscape. Some of the opportunities include,

  1. contributing to the acute skills shortages in our region through quality online and in-country delivery.
  2. learn and share knowledge through research collaborations to combat complex social and business problems such as dealing with climate change and other issues arising due to the rapid economic growth.
  3. contribute to building Australia’s soft power in our region through education and ensuring our future prosperity is maintained through trade and investment opportunity in these markets.

The presentation will invoke discussion on the following issues,

  • How prepared are we as an institution and as a sector more broadly to realise these opportunities?
  • What are our current challenges in TNE within our region?
  • Do we have the flexibility to tailor our offerings in a manner that does not compromise our quality but also meets the needs of our offshore markets in our regions?
  • What support do we need as a sector from our regulator to leverage this opportunity in a way that is sustainable?