City of Melbourne plan to entice overseas students revealed

A bold plan to entice overseas students to Melbourne as the border reopens has been unveiled as the city seeks to revive the lucrative education sector.

Overseas students will be feted with free tickets to experiences such as the new zip line and NGV under a $30,000 plan by City of Melbourne to revive the lucrative international education sector.

With students due to start returning to Australia from Wednesday, the council’s program will also include special health support services, job seminars and staging of a Melbourne International student week at Federation Square.

There are about 70,000 foreign students in Melbourne — a 53.5 per cent decrease on March 2019 when the pandemic led to the closure of international borders.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said creating opportunities for students to discover and enjoy Melbourne would be key to welcoming them back in 2022 and beyond.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp says pre-pandemic international students contributed $13.7bn a year to the state’s economy. Picture: Getty Images

“We want to do everything we can to attract international students back to Melbourne, and that starts with offering unforgettable experiences in our great city,” she said.

Students will get free tickets to attractions like Firefly Zipline on the Yarra River, NGV, Melbourne Museum, and events at Queen Victoria Market.

There will also be help with job searching, mentoring, health and “food security” issues.

Ms Capp said that before the pandemic, international students contributed $13.7bn a year to the state economy and supported nearly 80,000 jobs.

But last month, federal Education Minister Alan Tudge warned Australian universities to stop relying so much on high fee-paying students from China and India, with some institutions having as many as 80 per cent of their foreign students from one country.

Overseas students will be gifted tickets to experiences such as the new zip line under a City of Melbourne plan.

“This creates financial risk for those institutions, but it can also diminish the student experience – for both Australian and international students,” he said.

A council meeting approved the program on Tuesday night, and said funding would expand as more students arrived.

Education and innovation portfolio lead councillor Davydd Griffiths said the strategy aimed to address the challenges of COVID-19 and protect Melbourne’s reputation as a global education hub.

“Melbourne is a university city, which offers a fantastic student experience. Earlier this year, it was recognised as Australia’s best student city, and the sixth best in the world,” he said.

The council will also lobby the state government for extra funds to expand activities and support programs.