Globally Connected, Julia Gillard speech at AEI Industry Forum 2008, Melbourne Convention Centre

It’s a great pleasure to be here to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution that international education – from primary school to postdoctoral research – is making to Australia’s education system and national prosperity.

The scope of that contribution is truly impressive.

Exports of $11.7 billion in 2006–07 mean that international education is now our third-largest export industry, making it of huge financial and employment significance to Australia.

International education is also important to Australia’s international trade. With well over a million international alumni who have studied in Australia and returned home, and more than 450,000 current enrolments across Australia, these ‘people connections’ are vital to the future prosperity of our country – constituting part of what’s known as the ‘global supply chain’ and ensuring that Australia is truly ‘globally connected’ going into the future.

In addition, many alumni choose to settle in Australia as skilled migrants, helping us more directly – by meeting our economy’s growing demand for skilled employees.

But international education’s significance is much broader than economics. It reaches into every sphere of our lives. And it reflects the intrinsic values of education itself – the spread of knowledge, skills, understanding and cross-cultural dialogue.

It’s a central part of our international diplomatic efforts and contributes to the development of good relations with our neighbouring countries.

In the widest sense, it produces global citizens who form networks and collaborations to:

* foster wider international business engagement;
* achieve diplomatic solutions to world pressure points;
* develop innovations in science and technology to improve quality of life and environmental sustainability;
* tackle global challenges like climate change; and
* embrace cultural differences that enrich our social experiences.

Dare I say it; a prime example of the power of international education today is our Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister, whose ability to engage with the world, including China, is doing so much to promote awareness about us abroad.

And, of course, international education plays an enormously beneficial role assisting economic development in some of the world’s poorest countries. It allows people from developing nations to access world class education and be exposed to advanced social, legal and financial systems beyond the limits of their home countries. By interacting with us, people from developing nations gain access to innovative ideas and broad networks of people with common interests.

The reverse is also true. Many benefits flow our way, as our own students study overseas in greater numbers and are exposed to other cultures and education systems. Such exchanges deepen and improve our own education system and I look forward to seeing a real growth in numbers of Australian students taking the opportunity to study overseas.

To encourage more Australian students to realise this opportunity, the department will be launching a ‘Study Overseas’ online portal in the middle of this year. This practical tool will highlight the benefits to Australian students of an overseas study experience.

What this all adds up to is the fact that continuing to develop a globally competitive, high quality international education system will be a crucial element of the Education Revolution. Ensuring the curriculum across all stages of education in Australia is internationally relevant and world-leading, is paramount.

Reaching the Prime Minister’s stated goal of making us one of the most highly educated and skilled nations on Earth is an internationally-focused task.

For the full speech visit the website: http://mediacentre.dewr.gov.au/mediacentre/Gillard/Releases/GloballyConnected.htm