Aussie boost to vocational training

Soon, Indian students interested in pursuing a vocational course in Australia can get a certificate without physically leaving India. With stricter visa conditions imposed on students interested in such courses, initiatives have been taken to provide skills-development to Indian institutions.

On a visit to The Hindu, the board members of the Australia-India Council (AIC) said vocational education is shaping up as a major area of interest and there will be greater engagement in this sector with the faculty and students of Indian institutions.

Support for vocational training will include determining the course-content, providing certification and training teachers. “It will also involve capacity-building and infrastructure improvement in polytechnics,” said David Holly, Consul-General for South India.

To ensure a safe environment for international students, the federal and State governments in Australia signed the International Students Strategy that evolved in 2010. “This requires registration of institutions, prescribes a code of conduct for educational agents, ensures safety of international students,” said Mr. Holly.

In addition, students will be able to access online publications available at Australian universities such as Monash University, University of New South Wales and University of Queensland, key partners in AIC.

“The University of Madras is one institution that may be involved in this programme as it currently runs an Australia programme. The initiative will facilitate 15 - 20 students' access to online resources at once,” he said, adding that the programme will be funded by the AIC.

The Board members said the council plans to provide linkages in areas that have not been targeted previously. Gillian Whitlock, a board member, highlighted new areas in which knowledge partnerships can be fostered between the two countries. “Heritage studies, film and media studies and cultural studies have not been traditional areas in which exchanges have been made previously,” she said emphasising that more work could be done to benefit students.

The Knight Review that was released last year has made recommendations to enhance the student visa programme. “A range of areas were reassessed making it particularly beneficial for students wanting to study in Australia and to ensure a quality level of education for the volume of students who apply. Recommendations have been made to consider English test scores apart from the IELTS,” said Mr. Holly.

With higher education as a key driver to improved bilateral relations, the top Australian universities are also scouting for research partners with premier science and technical institutions in the country, especially in south India.

The five premier technical universities — Curtin University, University of South Australia, RMIT University, Queensland University of Technology and University of Technology, Sydney — are visiting Chennai and Bangalore to identify specific discipline areas and specific relationships so that they could apply for funding of exchange of research scholars and faculty.

“There are key professors with connections to India and who have the capacity to stimulate new research underpinning for funding from the Australian government (mainly) and the Indian government,” said Prof. Jeanette Hacket, chairperson, during her visit to Chennai.