News and Opportunities
Austrade update 7 December 2011
07 Dec 2011
Austrade Update provides news about recent Austrade activities of interest to the education sector.
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Korea Australia Alumni Gala Dinner 2011
The Korea Australia Alumni (KAA) held its annual gala event on 23 November at the JW Marriott hotel in Seoul, with the support of Austrade. KAA President Chris Lee introduced the Australian Ambassador to Korea, His Excellency Mr Sam Gerovich, who welcomed the group of almost 400 Australian alumni.
The event provided a chance to recognise the strength of the alumni, who are actively participating in a large cross section of industries in Korea. Not only was it a fantastic networking opportunity for all, the event also celebrated the Year of Friendship — 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and Korea.
Guests in attendance congratulated this year’s winners of the Australian Government’s Australia Awards, as well as viewing two short feature films showcasing Australian education and prestigious Korea-Australian alumni.
Following the formal opening ceremony, participants enjoyed a buffet dinner, including Australian wine, cuisine and an opportunity to network, before the main entertainment of the evening.
This year’s gala event entertainment program was led by famous Korean comedian Mr Yong-Chul Kim, who treated guests to an interactive program that saw up to 40 people on stage participating. Finally, thanks to the overwhelming support of all our sponsors, many of the alumni walked away with some fantastic prizes in the lucky draw.
A special thank you to all the event’s kind sponsors including gold sponsors (Australian Education International, Curtin University, Central Queensland University, NSW TAFE, Victorian Government, Austcham Korea, Bada Education Centre, Kokos International) and silver sponsors (Macquarie University, UTS:Insearch, University of Melbourne, Blackmores, Perth Education City and IDP).
The next KAA gala event is scheduled to be held on 25 October 2012, in conjunction with the 2012 Study in Australia Exhibition. All participating institution representatives should take advantage of this excellent opportunity to meet with their alumni representatives and members in Korea. More updates to follow in the New Year.
The Korea Australia Alumni (KAA) holds its annual gala event on 23 November at the JW Marriott hotel in Seoul.
Snapshot of October round of agent events in China
Following the March and June rounds of education events in 2011, October was the third and final marketing season of international student recruitment activities in China. In addition to the China Education Expo (CEE) roadshows organised by the Chinese Government, many prominent education agents organised their own education exhibitions. These events have been very popular among Australian providers in recent years.
The Austrade China education team continued its intensive support to these agent events across China. The team joined 25 selected agent events in nine cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Harbin, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, and Chongqing) with various forms of support, including study in Australia seminar presentations and face-to-face talks with students and parents. It is in line with Austrade’s priority of effective engagement with education agents.
It was noticed that this year’s events attracted more visitors than last year. According to most of the agents and the participating institutions, there was an increase in study in Australia -related enquiries in recent exhibitions, which could be seen as a positive sign that the study in Australia market in China is warming up.
The agents and Australian institution representatives in particular, warmly welcomed the Australian Government’s response to the Knight Review. Almost all of the agents believed the student visa changes will be very helpful in their study in Australia related promotion. Seminars on this specific topic were arranged at every event and the visa policy was a strong selling point for Australia.
The feedback from the exhibitions has largely echoed key findings of Austrade’s latest China Agent Survey, details of which are available here.
Questions relating to these education events can be directed to Ms Molly Liu, Education Manager, Austrade Shanghai.