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An introduction to the Asian education scene
Asia is set to become the hottest property in international education terms in the years to come. It is universally recognised that the demand for international education (here defined as the provision of education by non-national organisations) is slated to grow exponentially, with more and more students looking away from their national systems of higher education for international experiences.
Asia is set to become the hottest property in international education terms in the years to come. It is universally recognised that the demand for international education (here defined as the provision of education by non-national organisations) is slated to grow exponentially, with more and more students looking away from their national systems of higher education for international experiences. According to Australia’s international education agency, IDP, the demand for higher education is forecast to increase from 37 million in 2000 to 159 million in 2025, with over seven million of these students studying outside of their home country. All the evidence suggests that the Asian region will be the central driver of this increase, with its expanding population, dynamic education scene and rapid move towards globalisation.
"At present, however, local universities and colleges have received increased competition in recruiting well qualified students from locally based international counterparts, offering robust postgraduate programmes, often taught by foreign-trained academics."
The thirst for higher studies amongst most Asian students is close to being unquenchable, with interest in postgraduate studies across all subject disciplines being particularly strong. For many years, the trend has been for students to seek postgraduate opportunities abroad to enhance their employment prospects and earning potential. Over 150,000 Asian students are currently studying in Australia, the UK and the USA on postgraduate programmes, with little evidence to indicate that these numbers are likely to drop in the coming academic year. Numbers of Chinese and Indian students overseas are particularly large, with more than 50,000 Chinese currently studying for Masters and PhD programmes in the USA and percentage increases in registrations in the UK well above three figures. But more interestingly, the rise of many Asian universities from Japan to South Korea offering degrees, particularly Masters programmes, in the English language is likely to impact on the numbers of postgraduate students leaving the region in the future. George Harada, from the Hiroshima University of Economics in Japan, has noticed that recruitment to his programmes offered in English is much greater than those offered in Japanese. As important, however, is the extent to which international students are “looked after” during their period in Asia, “Many international students have told me that our international office takes care of students better than many institutions, with staff knowing faces and names.”
At present, however, local universities and colleges have received increased competition in recruiting well qualified students from locally based international counterparts, offering robust postgraduate programmes, often taught by foreign-trained academics. Australian offshore campuses are particularly successful throughout the region, with traditional and online distance learning programmes gaining more and more interest from local students. These programmes are taught either with a local, often privately funded, educational partner or at a dedicated, physical campus, as is the case with European business school giant INSEAD and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Statistics recently released indicate that over 15,000 students in Singapore are studying for Australian qualifications by this method and the historically dominant programme of this kind, the University of London External Programme, still continues to teach over two thirds of its international students in the Asian region alone.
Increasingly evident is the emerging internal dynamic within the Asian region of students studying at other Asian institutions, located in neighbouring countries, for degree-bearing awards. Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian and Singaporean institutions are showing themselves to offer “international” education experiences to students from other parts of this region and, in some cases, other parts of the world. Recent newspaper reports indicate that China alone recruited 62,000 international students in 2001, enrolling them in over 360 schools, colleges and universities. This is nothing new in essence. For over twenty years, the region has been a vibrant destination for periods of academic and cultural “study abroad” experiences for thousands of US, UK and European college students, away from their, largely undergraduate degree, home campus. According to last year’s Institute of International Education Open Doors Survey, a range of Asian countries received a large number of US short-term student visitors. Leading the way was Australia with 8,066, an increase of 27% on the previous year; China, with 2,942; Japan with 2,618; South Korea, with 522, an increase of 18%; Thailand with 496; and Hong Kong with 470, an increase of 37%.
