Unis told to look to region for partners

UNIVERSITIES are being told to establish exchange programs with transferable credits with at least one major Asian university.

EVERY Australian university should have a presence in Asia, and establish an exchange program with transferable credits with at least one major Asian university, the Asian Century white paper says.

Murdoch University's professor of Southeast Asian studies David Hill said the exhortation for all universities to have a presence in Asia was unusual and unclear. Universities had diverse missions, some with a more logical connection to their own region in Australia, while others had a more obvious international role.

He said it was usually more efficient to pursue credit exchange arrangements collectively through university consortiums.

"It is very easy for universities to sign memoranda of understanding and very difficult to go beyond to build genuine, sustainable relationships," he said.

Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne, said the time was ripe for universities to work up plans for offshore activities in Asia.

He saw yesterday's launch of the white paper as signalling the beginning of months of detailed policy development, in which the government would be open to funding ideas consistent with its vision. "The chance now is to lift study in Asia from a small activity to a big one at some universities."

Although universities already strong in Asia might be expected to take the lead, there was an opportunity for outsiders to establish themselves by seizing the strategic opportunity represented by the white paper.

Professor Marginson said OS-HELP loans were an obvious vehicle for the government to bankroll an expansion in outward student mobility.

However, to generate momentum it might be worth offering Asia-specific subsidies for student travel, at least at the outset.

The paper does not make clear how much extra money might be spent on study in Asia, nor how it might be delivered.

Kent Anderson, pro vice-chancellor (international) at Adelaide University, said credit exchange between Australian and Asian universities would go beyond familiar double-degree programs. Under a credit exchange arrangement each institution vets the content and quality of what the other teaches and agrees that the results of one are equivalent to those of the other.