Global higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds has named the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US as the leader of its graduate employability ranking for a second year in a row.

The QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022 take a closer look into how well universities are preparing students for the world beyond higher education, using various ratings of employer partnerships, sectoral leaders among alumni and location-adjusted graduate employment rates.

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Universities in Australia and New Zealand, where borders have remained closed to international students for over 18 months, have found innovative ways to keep online learners engaged by setting up special learning centres in China.

And student ‘hubs’ elsewhere in Asia are supporting students enrolled in different universities overseas, and who would otherwise be isolated at home with online learning.

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Moving halfway across the world isn’t the only way to reap the benefits of exchange programmes. Virtual exchange programmes — where participants connect with peers and institutions from anywhere in the world — achieve the same perks, like meeting new people, breaking down tired cultural stereotypes and bringing classroom learning to life.

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Course accreditation is the formal recognition of a course by an accrediting body. In Western Australia, the course accrediting body is the Training Accreditation Council (TAC or the Council). Accredited courses fill a gap in skill requirements that are not covered by national industry training package qualifications. They must be developed in accordance with the AQTF2021 Standards for Accredited Course​s​​

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ASQA has approved an extended transition period to a number of courses, including 52707WA Graduate Diploma of Dermal Therapies, 52709WA Graduate Diploma of Cosmetic. CPC30318 Certificate III in Concreting, HLT21015 Certificate II in Medical Service First Response, HLT31015 Certificate III in Ambulance Communication (Call Taking), HLT31115 Certificate III in Non-Emergency Patient Transport, HLT41015 Certificate IV in Ambulance Communications (Dispatch), HLT41115 Certificate IV in Health Care, HLT51015 Diploma of Paramedical Science, BSB52415 – Diploma of Marketing and Communication, BSB52215 – Diploma of Legal Services, BSB50815 – Diploma of International Business, BSB50618 – Diploma of Human Resources Management, BSB50415 – Diploma of Business Administration, BSB50215 – Diploma of Business, BSB40515 – Certificate IV in Business Administration, BSB40215 – Certificate IV in Business, BSB31215 – Certificate III in Library and Information Services, BSB31115 – Certificate III in Business Administration (Medical), BSB31015 – Certificate III in Business Administration (Legal), BSB30415 – Certificate III in Business Administration, BSB30115 – Certificate III in Business.

You will be able to find the complete list by visiting www.asqa.gov.au/rto

The nuclear engineering program prepares students for careers in high-tech industries including nuclear science, nuclear medicine, mining and resources, energy, manufacturing, aerospace, space exploration and defence.

The funding aims to support scholarships for approximately 20 domestic students to obtain a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from UNSW’s School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, along with top-up scholarships and research expenses for research students. Funding will also support work placements with industry partners and other professional development opportunities for the Tyree Scholars.

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The latest published market study on Global Education & Training Market provides an overview of the current market dynamics in the Education & Training space, as well as what our survey respondents—all outsourcing decision-makers—predict the market will look like in 2027. The study breaks the market by revenue and volume (wherever applicable) and price history to estimate size and trend analysis and identify gaps and opportunities. Some of the players that are in coverage of the study are Kaplan, ITT Educational Services, QA, Interaction Associates, Benesse Corporation, Osiris Educational, Abu Dhabi Vocational Education and Training Institute, Global Training Solutions, Apollo Education Group, Computer Generated Solutions, Desire2Learn, NIIT, Career Education Corporation (CEC), New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, New Oriental Education & Technology Group & Creative Education.

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The Western Australian government has announced it will be deploying ‘career practitioners’ across 70 high schools in the state next year to help students explore work and study options after graduating.

Education and training minister Sue Ellery announced the multi-million dollar initiative on Wednesday, saying that it would help set students up for successful futures.

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International students form long lines outside Melbourne foodbank

A food charity in Melbourne is helping international students hit hard by lockdowns, providing supplies for almost 2 thousand students a week.

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NSW releases ‘return to VET’ guidelines, visit here.

If you follow Education Issues Australia on Twitter, or have LinkedIn, or Facebook accounts, you may have noticed a report developed by the @edissuesaus. The research identifies some serious and systemic problems with the current regulatory body. More information can be found by visiting this link.

A copy of this has also been presented to the senate as well. Since 2017-18, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has closed more than 1100 RTOs. According to ASQA’s response to a Question on Notice, over this period, the cancellation rate has reduced from 54 percent of decisions to only 5 percent in 2020-21, a significant decrease from the previous year.

How can a regulator move from having cancellations account for 54 percent of all decisions to only 5 percent of all decisions while making no changes to the policy?

We’re still waiting for responses to a few important questions, such as:

• Why has ASQA failed to provide any information about Recognition of Prior Learning, which is used to qualify its auditors, to anyone who has asked?
• As to why ASQA is refusing to provide information on how many Auditors have been employed who do not possess both requisite qualifications as specified by the Standards for VET Regulators?
• Approximately how many RTOs have been renewed without audit since the current ASQA Chief Executive Officer began working for the regulator?

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Higher Education:

It is an unfortunate sign of the times that this summit is being held virtually, like so many other things at the moment.

Large parts of the country are in lockdown, internal borders are closed, and families can’t travel to see loved ones.

For our universities, I know many campuses are empty and staff are working from home.

For more information, Click here.

Vocational education and training:

Widespread school closures affected over one billion students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vocational education and training (VET) sector has faced particular challenges during the crisis, most notably the fact that the digital learning environments that most education institutions had to rely on during closures don’t work as well for practice-oriented learning – a core component of VET instruction – as they do for academic learning. This report looks at comparative statistics and policy information collected by the OECD across a number of education systems to track the impact of the pandemic on the VET sector.

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While Asian Australians continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions, some young women have managed to break through the “bamboo ceiling”.

The ABC spoke to four finalists in the 2021 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians Awards — a nanotechnology engineer, a ballet dancer, a human rights lawyer and a telco executive — about the challenges they have faced in their careers.

The awards are an initiative of the Asian-Australian Leadership Summit, and the ABC is a media partner.

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Recently, my colleagues and I swung a half-tonne telescope onto the roof of the physics building at the University of Western Australia. For a tense moment, my career hung from a crane hook.

The telescope is the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere and represents a new generation of space communications using lasers.

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Maintaining accurate and up-to-date provider information is a requirement for training providers.

Accurate delivery location data is important to provide students with surety and understanding about how and where your courses can take place.

The information you provide in asqanet will be reflected on training.gov.au. If you haven’t already done so this year, please check and update your delivery locations in asqanet. This will ensure you meet your obligation to keep ASQA up-to-date under section 25 of the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act (2011).

This includes checking that asqanet is showing accurate records for:

• the physical address and postal address for the head office
• the physical address of the organisation’s principal place of business
• the physical address of the sites or campuses from which VET courses are delivered on a permanent basis (whether in Australia or offshore)
• website address.

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Due to the current outbreak of the COVID-19 strain of the coronavirus many higher education providers have switched to online delivery of all or many of their courses. Some providers have a lot of experience in online teaching while others are new to the experience. The same is true for the students in higher education. At a time where many students have to get used to a new way of studying and learning, TEQSA would like to offer some resources to assist students in their adjustment to online learning.

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India and Australia on Saturday, September 11, 2021, and expressed concern over the situation in Afghanistan and hoped that its territory would not be used for terrorists’ activities and doesn’t become a safe haven for terrorists.

Speaking to the media after the first 2+2 dialogue between India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh with their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton, Jaishankar said the two sides had a “very detailed exchange of views” and the India-Australian approach was very similar.

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India on Saturday urged Australia to sympathetically address as soon as possible the difficulties being faced by Indian students due to the travel restrictions put in place by that country in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue was taken up during deliberations when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue here with their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton.

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Remote learning and its detrimental effect on their study have forced many teenagers to rethink tertiary education.

Morgan Vella and his friends used to hold high ambitions for what life would look like after graduating high school: leaving their regional Victorian town for university in the city, enjoying a world of busy dormitories, student bars and lecture theatres.

But two years and seven lockdowns later, the Kyabram P-12 College year 12 student says a lot of his friends have simply “given up” and plan to complete their Victorian College of Education (VCE) certificate without an Atar.

“I’m still aiming to get to university but a few of my friends aren’t going at all any more. The pandemic has totally changed their career options because they see them as unachievable,” he says.

Year 12 students struggling through extended periods of remote learning are rethinking career paths due to ongoing uncertainty about how the pandemic will continue to disrupt their lives.

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International students in the UK contribute £28.8 billion to the country’s coffers annually – an equivalent of every citizen being on average of £390 better off – new analysis has revealed.

The costs and benefits of international higher education students to the UK economy report found that international students add a net economic benefit of £25.9bn across every part of the UK, along with a total £2.9bn spend on the use of public services.

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International students enrolled at Canadian institutions have said they are unable to withdraw from their courses and get refunds due to college policies and visa processing delays.

As part of applications for study visas, students using the fast-track study permit Student Direct Stream were required to pay for a full year of study up front, as well as a Guaranteed Investment Certificate of CAN$10,000.

However, some of these students have been waiting for long periods of time to have their applications processed – including one who has been waiting since March 2020.

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