Australia Reveals $10m International Education Innovation Fund

The Australian Government, in a bid to boost and assist its international education sector, has announced to invest AUD 10 million in six new initiatives.

This development comes to support the implementation of the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030 and also to help the nation's education sector globally for the future.

Announcing the same, the Acting Minister for Education and Youth, Stuart Robert, said that these initiatives would work as pillars for the existing schemes to help grow the sector and to recover from bruises of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Also Read:Ukraine-Russia Tensions: Indian Students Arrival, Evacuation, and Helpline Numbers

Robert called Australia an attractive place to study for foreign students. Though there's still a significant impact on student numbers due to the virus, that pushed Australia's international education sector under pressure.

And that is why the new strategy is crucial. He added that this announcement will support a range of initiatives that in a way will help the country to hold back its position as a global leader in innovative, high-quality international education.

Apart from the AUD 45.2 million support measures that were introduced alongside the new strategy, the Australian Government is in talks to provide AUD10 million worth of initiatives as funds under the International Education Innovation Fund, he said.

So overall, the funded initiatives now include AUD 2.2 million support for post-doctoral placements in the country, AUD 450,000 support to lookout for more opportunities for diversification across the sector, an AUD 1.5 million aid to pilot transnational education products to help the country's providers to identify and leverage new offshore opportunities in partner countries across South East Asia, South Asia, Latin America and North Asia.

Also Read:International Students Currently Stranded in Ukraine Scramble to Find Safe Shelter

Another AUD 1.3 million will be provided to pilot a set of VET micro-credentials for international students that will try to help meet skills gaps. A fund of AUD 4.25 million is going to be delivered for critical skills courses in partner countries and another AUD 300,000 to work on and develop best practice guides on international student engagement.

All of these initiatives have been put forward by the Expert Members of the Council for International Education, with outcomes, as earlier mentioned, aiming to support priorities under the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030.

Source: The PIE News