May 03, 2022
Australia Urged to Speed-up Learning Abroad at Centre of University Programs
L Learning Abroad in Australian Universities’ latest report has urgently called for the need to speed up global mobility programs. The recent report states, “Learning Abroad, or global mobility, programs have developed well beyond semester-long reciprocal exchange programs to embrace credit-bearing and extra-curricular short-term experiences; faculty-led and centrally-designed global study tours; global health placements; global studios and research experiences; as well as global internships and work placements.”
The report mentions how learning abroad helps students grow as they have awareness of foreign policy initiatives and global democracies. Learning abroad positively impacts students’ experience of, and engagement with, higher education, and improves their employability outcomes.
…learning abroad, or global mobility, programs have developed well beyond semester-long reciprocal exchange programs to embrace credit-bearing and extra-curricular short-term experiences…
Speaking to the media, EAA research manager Kirrilee Hughes weighed in on some aspects of the report, more specifically the fact that post pandemic, the level of learning abroad has dropped. She stated, “ We were outperforming the US, UK and Canada, and we need to because of our geo strategic position. We need to be getting young people out there.
Australian degrees don’t have things like portability of degrees that exist in, say Europe for example, so this is a key opportunity. We were doing such a great job and it is vital we regain that momentum.” She further added, “We know that there’s a large cohort of students who won’t be able to have that global experience during their university years. Advocates for learning abroad will tell you it’s that first experience that seeds the next one, so those students may still have those experiences in their early working years or initial days in their profession but it pushes everything back a lot.”
According to Kirrilee, pre Covid pandemic saw Australia as the leader in global mobility programs, with one in four (23%) Australian undergraduate students participating in learning abroad (23%) compared to 16% in the US, 11% in Canada and 7.4% in the UK.
Now that travel restrictions are ending, experts urge the government to improve global mobility programs to allow students access to quality global education. Phil Honeywood, IEAA chief executive, was one of the parties that has urged the government to speed up the process. Speaking on the issue he said, “Global research confirms learning abroad as one of the most important experiences an undergraduate student can participate in. Now that travel restrictions in Australia and across the world have eased, it is essential that we work together to ensure that participation in learning abroad programs by our young people returns to, and exceeds, pre-Covid-19 levels.”
Posted in News and tagged News, Learning Abroad, Australia, Education
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