Future Cairns: Universities plan for Cairns to lure local and international students

After losing more than 31,000 international students during the pandemic, Cairns universities are now looking to entice people from overseas to study in the region.

Now is the time for the Cairns region to lock in a strategy to encourage our best and brightest students to remain here and to attract global talent to study in paradise.

The Demographics Group expert Simon Kuestenmacher said Cairns’ two universities need to meet several challenges in order to recover from losing more than 30,000 international students due to Covid.

“The pandemic caused international student enrolments from Cairns to tumble from their peak in May 2019 of 101,778 to 70,766 in May 2022,” he said.

Demographics Group director Simon Kuestenmacher said Cairn need to solve the big issue of student housing and he suggested the American college campus model might be a solution.

“Our data revealed that previously China, India and Brasil were the top three countries sending tourists and students to Cairns, but the pandemic lockdowns in China means only 3 to 4 per cent will return to Australia.

“But expect to see up to 70 per cent of Indian students numbers as they have a larger youth population.”

James Cook University Vice Chancellor Simon Briggs said the success with and development of any region economically is underpinned by the presence of a world class university.

“A serious challenge in our region is the completion rates of high school are much lower than in capital cities, so the number of graduates in FNQ and NQ are about half what you see in Brisbane,” he said.

“Retaining students in the region is key to Cairns success on all levels as 85 per cent of our graduates stay here.”

James Cook University vice chancellor Simon Biggs, said the change facing all regional higher education is to attract the best local and international students, as “85 per cent of our graduates stay in the region.” Picture: Brendan Radke

At the 2022 Cairns Youth & Careers Expo at the Cairns Showgrounds. Cairns State High School captains Annabelle Christie and Eoghan Kuiper spoke with JCU lecturer in biomedicine Jess Watt about studying medicine after graduation. Picture: Brendan Radke

Central Queensland University Vice Chancellor Professor Nick Klomp said when funding for their new CBD campus lands in their bank account, the project will add life and bring business to the city.

He said the increase of student numbers which have doubling since CUQ was established in Cairns will boost the region’s economic activity.

Originally published as Future Cairns: Universities plan for Cairns to lure local and international students