Australia Releases Draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework

The framework gives a platform to the Australian government and the international education sector to work together so that international education can continue to deliver benefits to the Australian economy, communities and international students.

Study in Australia: Recently, the Australian Department of Education released the draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework which puts Australia on the front foot to ensure the quality, sustainability and integrity of the country's world-class international education sector.

Through this new framework, the government is taking an active role in supporting - a managed system to deliver sustainable growth over time, a sector built on quality and integrity, and Australian providers to take high-quality education and training to the world.

"The Framework will be finalised and released later in 2024, following consultation with key international education stakeholders, including the Council for International Education," said the government's statement.

Australia-India International Education Relationship

The draft said that by working together, the countries can be leaders in research, education and technology in the region and beyond. The three key pillars of the relationship are:

• Enhancing people-to-people links, mobility and employability
• Strengthening institutional partnerships and research collaboration
• Delivering mutual benefits through education

"The strategy is an opportunity to build partnerships and deliver quality education that contributes to India’s economic growth while also educating Australia’s and India’s future workforces," stated the draft.

Australia is committed to supporting the Indian Government’s National Education Policy 2020 agenda to have 50 per cent of its learners through school and higher education, including vocational education and training, by 2035, added the draft.

Australia has a diverse span of research partnerships with India with increasing research outputs in biological sciences, health sciences, biomedical and clinical sciences, engineering, and information technology. The Australian Government continues to support research capacity building, with the Department of Education funding two important programs which were announced during the visit of the Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the sixth Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) in August 2022:

• Australia India Unnati Research Collaboration Grants Program: The program was introduced to improve existing research projects or provide seed funding to encourage collaboration and promote new opportunities with India in four targeted sectors. Twelve Australian researchers across nine universities were awarded grants of up to AUD$30,000. They were supported by Indian partners from more than 20 higher education institutions, research centres and industry.
• Australia India Research Student (AIRS) Fellowships: These supported Australian and Indian research students and early career researchers to undertake short-term placements. It helped in broadening collaboration, strengthening research networks, and increasing academic mobility between India and Australia. A total of 59 fellowships were awarded to research students and early-career researchers: 33 Indians and 26 Australians.

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