Australia named worlds 3rd best country for university
education
February 8th, 2008 - 5:51 pm ICT by admin -
Sydney, February 8 (ANI): A survey of overseas pupils has projected
Australia as the third best country in the world in terms of
university education.
As many as 11,000 prospective students from 143 countries
participated in the survey.
The surveyors found that after Britain and the US, Australia was
the third preferred study destination among the
subjects.
The International Graduate Insight Group, which conducted the
survey, has also discovered that the prospective pupils considered
Australia to be a safe country.
The students thought that Australia had universities with a good
reputation, and was an easy place to find employment after
graduation, showed the survey.
Kevin Brett, a spokesman for the International Graduate Insight
Group Australia, said that study also revealed the areas Australia
needed to improve to compete with the world’s leading
countries.
The study suggests that Australia is lagging behind its main
competitors when it comes to the reputation of Australian
university qualifications, the Australian quoted Brett as
saying.
The UK has benefited from its five-year prime minister’s initiative
to secure leadership and sustain managed growth of UK international
education, he added.
Brett further said: The next challenge for the sector is to
strengthen its reputation worldwide. This invites an Australian
prime minister’s initiative - one that should be on the agenda of
the Australian 2020 Summit.
Scott Sheppard, Queensland University of Technology deputy
vice-chancellor (international), welcomed the findings of the study
as a positive reflection on Australian education.
The survey was pretty spot on. In general, the stereotype is the US
is the top choice and the UK will always run number two. The fact
that Australia is number three is fair and is supported by the
data,” he said.
He, however, insisted that the surveyors would have found Australia
to be even more popular had they looked at student interest on an
individual country level.
In China, Australia is considered number two rather than the UK
because of the increased support and protection of students by the
ESOS (Education Services for Overseas Students) Act, he said.
(ANI)