Why Australia a home to world's seven student-friendly cities

Academician Peter Høj on what makes education Down Under a holistic and hands-on learning experience for international students
In the 'An India Economic Strategy to 2035' report released by the Australian government in July 2019, University of Queensland chancellor Peter Varghese AO had said, Australia's education relationship with India "needs to focus on postgraduate and research collaboration, on science and innovation, on forging partnerships to deliver cost-effective vocational education, and on partnering with India in the digital delivery of education."
India currently sends the largest immigrant population to Australia, making up 21.2% of all immigration in 2016-17."This can help students build links with a thriving diaspora community and access many home comforts," says Peter Høj, vice chancellor, University of Queensland (UQ), ranked at 47 in the QS Rankings and 66 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
"According to QS Best Student Cities 2019, Australia is home to seven of the top 50 best cities for students in the world. Moreover, three Australian cities make the Economist's Global Liveability Index 2019 top 10 list, signalling the nation's high standard of living and quality of life. As a multicultural country where 29% of residents were born overseas, international students are welcomed. Students here are able to work part time while they study, allowing them to offset their living costs," Høj adds.
WHY Go8
Australia's higher education market, according to him, may be home to only 39 universities, but seven of these institutions are ranked in the global top 100. What adds to the appeal are the eight research-intensive universities, ubiquitously called the Group of Eight (Go8) of which UQ is a founding member. Evidently, one in three international students who choose to study in Australia do so at a Go8 university for their rankings and global employability prospects.
RISE IN ENROLMENTS
The country's innovative, diverse and prosperous society may have contributed to the increasing enrolment of Indian students which at UQ has gone up by around 40% since 2017 and by more than 200% since 2013.
SCHOLARSHIPS

There has been a rise in Indian students' enrolment primarily in engineering, architecture, information technology, business, economics, law and science. However, there is an upward trend in educational studies, hotel and tourism management, arts and humanities as well.
TEACHING PEDAGOGY
"Within these programmes, students are encouraged to think critically and examine problems from multiple perspectives, a mindset which results in impressive graduate employability outcomes," Høj says.
In Australia, there is a strong focus on developing skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication by undertaking a range of varied assessment tasks. "While good academic grades during examinations is an important part of university life in Australia, so are developing skills that will enable students to develop holistically. Students also have access to more flexible learning options, where they have a greater choice of courses, majors and minors. This allows more targeted learning opportunities for students who want to specialise in certain fields, and can reduce the number of years spent studying," Høj adds.
JOINT PhD
As such, UQ has identified India as a strategic country under the University's Global Strategy (2018-2021). Last year, UQ and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-D) established a joint Academy of Research (UQIDAR) with the aim of developing a joint-PhD programme involving all disciplines. Attracting high-achieving students, the projects will address cross-disciplinary challenges pertinent to Australia, India and the global community, Høj informs.
The collaboration also enables broader researcher mobility with the opportunity for supervisors to spend time at each institute and to expand research linkages. Upon successful completion of the programme, students will be offered a joint PhD degree from both UQ and IIT-D. "The collaboration will involve strong industry linkages, whereby from year two, industry will be involved in supporting PhD students. The UQIDAR first cohort of PhD candidates will soon commence their reciprocal studies at UQ in January 2020, with the second cohort commencing their studies in India at the same time," Høj says.