Draft National Strategy for International Education: Response to the Consultation

This response to the consultation on the Draft National Strategy for International Education, released in April 2015 by the Minister for Education and Training, addresses the strategy’s recognition that Australian universities’ reputation for research excellence is a key factor in attracting overseas students. Answering the consultation questions, Research Australia welcomes this recognition and maintains that the link between publicly funded research and Australia’s largest services export strengthens the case for greater public investment in university research. It suggests the vision should also recognise how international students enrich domestic students’ experience and contribute to Australian research. On Action 1.2, it points out that the indirect costs of research remain underfunded, that National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) competitive grant funding has been falling in real or nominal terms and is projected to keep falling, and that National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) funding is provided year to year and is being funded by cuts to the Sustainable Research Excellence Program. It warns that international collaboration initiatives under Action 2.2 will fail if they divert funds from existing grants. Its priorities are to reverse the decline in competitive grant funding over the forward estimates and to give NCRIS funding certainty of around seven years.