Message from the AAED Convenor
October 2021
Dear colleagues from ASEAN and Australia,
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October has been a pivotal month for the International Education sector in the Indo-Pacific region with increasing confidence that students will soon be able to resume face-to-face studies. International borders are starting to open, with planning being finalised to enable students to travel regionally by the end of the year. In Australia, the States of NSW, Victoria and South Australia are advancing their planning for the gradual resumption of flights and the selection of suitable on-arrival accommodation for international students who are fully vaccinated. Additional vaccines have been recognised to include China’s Sinovac and Covishield, an Indian made version of AstraZenaca.
In September, the annual PIE Awards 2021 were announced, celebrating innovation and achievement in global education. We congratulate all participants with a particular shout out to the Australian and ASEAN awardees; Deakin University Melbourne for Championing Diversity, the Australian Centre for Education (ACE) Cambodia as Language Educator of the Year, TAFE Queensland for the Australia Pacific Training Coalition as PIEoneer of the Year and finally the joint winners of the Student Support Award; Study NSW, New South Wales Government, Australia and Kaplan Business School, Australia. These awardees proudly address the central importance of delivering on quality and placing students at the centre of international education.
The Australian International Education Conference (AIEC), held its virtual conference earlier this month and there was a definite feeling that finally, after nearly 2 years of isolation, we will gradually return to face-to-face education, while recognising the continuing benefits of online delivery. Transnational Education (TNE) and EdTech continue to be a focus for future planning, as the sector imagines what the Indo-Pacific education landscape will look like as we learn to live with COVID-19. Our colleagues in the UK provide this month's newsletter with a helpful commentary on TNE challenges.
There is increasing recognition by governments and the international education sector that ASEAN is central to Australia’s future planning and in this month's newsletter we also include, in full, the speech delivered in Jakarta on September 9th by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Honourable Marise Payne.
During September, Monash University realised a long-term strategic goal by opening the first Australian university campus in Indonesia. Monash has had Foundation Studies program delivery in Jakarta for over 30 years and more recently established the Australia Indonesia Centre (AIC) partnership in Makassar, South Sulawesi hosted by Universitas Hasanuddin. AIC has developed strong cooperative programs with some of Indonesia’s premier universities, as well as the provincial government.
On a closing note, we congratulate Brunei for its role as chair of ASEAN 2021 during such a challenging year and welcome Cambodia as the ASEAN Chair in 2022, when we look forward to returning to face-to-face meetings with friends and colleagues from across the region.
Best wishes,
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Michael Fay
Convenor
ASEAN-Australia Education Dialogue (AAED)