Austrade media release
11 May 2007
Australia’s education industry is looking to build on the impressive growth in the number of Latin Americans studying in Australia at this year’s Australia Festival starting next week in three Latin American countries.
More than 10,000 Latin Americans are currently studying at universities, vocational institutions and English language colleges across Australia, with the number of Peruvian students alone coming to Australia to study growing 150% over the past 4 years.
According to Australian Education International (AEI) the number of Latin Americans enrolled in education and training programs in Australia in 2007 will exceed 20,000, up from 7,500 in 2004 – the fastest growth rate of any region in the world.
Austrade’s Trade Commissioner in Lima, Nicholas Baker, said that educating Latin America’s students creates immediate business opportunities for Australia’s education sector and helps build valuable long term cultural and economic ties and networks.
“Thousands of Latin Americans have already chosen Australia as their primary overseas study destination and we have the potential to recruit up to 2,500 Mexican and up to 1,500 Peruvian students by 2010 generating large income for Australia’s educational institutions.
“As these alumni return home they also create new opportunities for Australia as businesses can take advantage of their affinity towards and awareness and understanding of Australia and tap into former student networks across a region of more than 450 million people.
“Australia is more than ever ready to expand its share of the services industry pie in Latin America and satisfy what is proving to be an insatiable appetite for innovation and high quality products and services such as education,” Dr Baker said.
The largest number of participants ever from the education sector will promote their institutions during the festival and add to the rapidly growing ranks of Latin American students currently studying in Australia.
More than 30 Australian institutions including the University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, Griffith University, University of Queensland, Bond University and the University of Technology Sydney will be vying for the attention of prospective students at events being held in Mexico, Peru and Argentina between May 14-25.
Vocational education is also proving popular with several TAFE colleges exhibiting as well as the Cordon Bleu group of schools appealing to the boom in gastronomy and tourism in Latin America.
The Australia Festival 2007 will showcase Australia as a destination for study, business, tourism, fashion and youth culture at events being held in Mexico City, Lima, and Buenos Aires which are expected to draw thousands of visitors.
The aim of the Festival is to bring Australian education providers and business reps to the market to meet prospective students, their parents and local institutions to foster academic exchanges and recruit students who offer Australian universities more diversity and a greater ethnic mix.
The sponsors of the festival include Australian Education International (AEI), Tourism Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR), Qantas and Billabong.
Austrade’s Trade Commissioner in Lima, Peru, Nicholas Baker, is available for media interviews.
For market information on Mexico, Peru and Argentina visit www.austrade.gov.au/Country/default.aspx
ENDS
Media contact
Adam Blight
Tel: +61 2 6270 7168
Mob: 0412 890 599
Email: adam.blight@austrade.gov.au
For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre. |