Universities brace for Chinese student hit after COVID

The Sydney Morning Herald 06 March 2021

Australia’s universities face the prospect of a prolonged Chinese student drought as reports sweep through the multi-billion-dollar industry that Chinese agencies are being encouraged by local authorities not to send students to Australia, write Lisa Visentin and Eryk Bagshaw for The Sydney Morning Herald.

The universities first began receiving these reports towards the end of February, at which point the advice not to recommend or advertise Australian universities appeared to be circulating only to agents in smaller regional cities. By 25 February, university sources confirmed some reports had expanded to include Beijing and Shanghai, China’s two largest cities.

Group of Eight Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said her member universities – which include the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne – had heard the reports but their veracity remained unclear as there had been no official notification from Chinese authorities. “There is definitely something afoot. Either agents are being told not to direct students here or they are being told not to mention Australia as an option for study. But we’ve had no official notification from anybody,” Thomson said. “It is not a positive development and it is one we are certainly very concerned about.”
Full report on The Sydney Morning Herald site

Receive email updates from UWN

Global newsletters    Africa newsletters    Other
    (other includes related events and webinars)

Data will be processed according to our standard terms & conditions.

Research focuses on production of jet fuel from halophytes

UAE University staff

With an eye to developing a clean, alternative aviation fuel to reduce carbon emissions, researchers at the United Arab Emirates University have been focusing on the production of jet fuel from sustainable resources such as halophytes, which are salt-tolerant plants that could be cultivated on a wider scale in the region’s coastal areas.

The value of being human: How teachers can work alongside AI

Michael Milligan

Artificial intelligence is now a part of our evolution in technology and teachers need to be encouraged to find ways to bring AI into the classroom and have students use it in a way that is beneficial to them in the long term.

Ground-breaking research on seawater biodesalination

UAE University staff

As water scarcity reaches critical levels globally, a research team at the United Arab Emirates University seeks to revolutionise seawater desalination practices, offering a path to mitigate water scarcity while championing environmental preservation.