There has been a growth in international students enrolling at Australian universities in 2016.
University of Wollongong Director of International Engagement and Coordination Peter Day said there has been a recent influx of UOW international student enrolments.
“UOW is getting more and more popular to the international student market, as we rebrand the university to get ourselves more of a place in the ‘Sydney’ line of vision,” he said.
According to the Department of Education and Training, universities in NSW have seen a 30,000 student increase in international enrolments since 2013.
A high percentage of international students are migrating from Asia – most significantly China and India. Almost 50,000 Chinese students are enrolled in Australian universities, a 23 per cent increase from last year.
Latest figure show 40.5 per cent of UOW students are international, with the most popular fields of study being business management and engineering. The increasing number of international students has seen a rise in cultural clubs, language classes, and workshops around the university.
“International students from Asia – especially from China, prefer our method of learning and the fact that we have hands-on projects,” Mr Day said.
“Even students who complete an undergraduate in their home country apply to do their masters or equivalent in Australia.”
UOW recently underwent a $1.8 million visual rebranding, changing the logo and the colours of the university. “It represents the rich red of the Illawarra flame tree set against a dark navy blue background that is indicative of UOW’s established place as a top-ranking Australian institution with growing international reach,” UOW Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paul Wellings said
“We aim to put ourselves on a higher international scale – we are already investing in facilities in places like Dubai and Hong Kong, and we have marketing campaigns in other places around Asia, but a lot of the time it’s due to word of mouth from the students who already attend UOW spread the word back home – and it’s that kind of image we’re aiming for,” Mr Day said.