Why Int'l Education is Crucial for Australia's Higher Education Sector

One is written by Dr. Jessica Gallagher, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement and Entrepreneurship), The University of Queensland. She has given a number of reasons why international engagement is crucial for Australia’s higher education sector. She is not happy with the negative news and commentaries regarding the dependency of international students in the Australian education sector. Higher education of Australia is not bringing only the money to the economy it is also forging a global partnership.

She claims the following in her article; which we agree with her too.

Australian Higher Education is best in the world that is why students from all over the world are attracted to study there. 7 Universities ranked in the top 100. Because of the contribution of education and choices of international students, the reputation of the Australian education sector is high.

It contributes $37.6 billion to the Australian economy last year. Australian institutions educated global leaders. Diversification is necessary and over-reliance on any one market is not good for any sector and this applies to the Australian education sector too.

More than 40000 students benefited from Australian scholarships since Colombo Plan started.  

Australian Universities and Government are investing for student exchange and international internships that will bring new experiences to Australian society.

Australian universities are forming global partnerships and help to solve global challenges. Professor Paul Young from The University of Queensland is collaborating with partners in Norway, the USA, and so on is an example of it.

Universities are trying to tackle the current situations and they are able too. She says, “International education is not just dollars and cents-it is about improving lives in every possible sense.”

The original story is at the following link;

https://asiasociety.org/australia/why-international-engagement-crucial-australias-higher-education-sector 

Impact of Covid-19 in International Education Sector

I am in the International Education business. So, I am keeping an eye on the impact of it in the education sector. Everyone is suffering and universities, colleges, and their students as well as staff are also hard hit by the job loss or pay cuts. All Australian Universities are suffering now and they are planning to cut their staff to reduce spending to sustain. Following news published which has given the details news about these difficult situations of Australian Universities.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/04/australian-universities-to-close-campuses-and-shed-thousands-of-jobs-as-revenue-plummets-due-to-covid-19-crisis

https://asiasociety.org/australia/why-international-engagement-crucial-australias-higher-education-sector

The UK also in great need to boost the international education business and trying to attract more international students to come out from this shortfall of the current Covid-19 pandemic and its LockDown. The following news will give more detailed information in this regard too.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universities-minister-sets-out-support-for-international-students?fbclid=IwAR2lF2GPkXjig9mRgMa_6YHsw4CKSda5ffNZRGYyb3J-ObtUv6BnnCpQWko

In addition to it, in order to be in the business, many colleges and universities are marketing through a series of the webinar, promotion and online classes.

I hope situations will come in normal soon. 

LOCKDOWN

LockDown is a situation you confined yourself inside your surroundings only. All the movements are restricted and no further activities are allowed.  Human is expected to remain at home or wherever they are at the time of its announcement. Vehicles are stopped. Institutions are closed. Borders are sealed. Restaurants are closed. Shops are forced to close down. Travels are banned. Restrictions imposed to move one place to another place. The only objective of LockDown is to avoid the risk of the Corona Virus which is spreading rapidly all over the world.

LockDown is a new word and this so much popular to each and every one. Even those, who do not understand simple English words, are able to speak those two words. Not only pronounce it, they understand its meaning too. This is because all the people on the planet are affected by Corona Virus and government of each nation decided to impose LockDown to mitigate the risk of spreading scary Covid-19 Corona Virus.

Due to this new disease, people are suffering and more than three hundred thousand (300000) died globally and more than 6500000 are infected at the time of this writing.  This disease is originated in Wuhan City Hubei Province of China in December 2019 and started to affect the people. In order to avoid and stop the risk of this disease, the Chinese Government announced Lock Down on that particular city for a few months. Then they rapidly tested people to found out whether they were infected or not. Other governments also imposed the same modality. This model is also advised by the Health Professional and expert including World Health Organization (WHO).

As the present world is connected to each other due to the available of the easy transport facilities and people are moving in place to another, this easy transport makes not only possible for people to travel, this also became the major problem to carry deadly viruses by the people and hence the spread of this virus is unprecedented all over the world.  

During this LockDown period, hospitals are open. Pharmacies are open. Doctors, nurses, other staff are working. Security forces are working. Despite the probability of infection of the Corona Virus, those people are working to treat the people. We are just staying at home safely. But those people are working and we really thanked and appreciate them. Besides hospitals and pharmacies, foods and grocery shops are open in the limited time every day such as 7-10 in the morning.

As the times of the LockDown are extending from one week to one month to 3 months, people started to suffer more because of other problems such as scarcity of food due to the shortfall of the available job and money. People are likely to die due to hunger than the danger of the Corona Virus. So, governments all over the world are trying to be flexible on LockDown. Modalities of the movements of the people are likely to come soon. Then the economic activities will come into movement and life will likely be normal soon. But, social distancing and other health measure issues are needed to maintain by the individual person.

Just Being Selfless-Author Unknown

An 18-year world student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.

They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $ 2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $ 1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $ 400. They promised to honor the cheque at the soonest possible. “No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $ 1600, and told the two boys, “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left.”

The boys were surprised and thanked him profusely.

It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being. Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think, “If I help them, what would happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately, when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover-who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food and grains to feed the starving Polish people.

A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You should not be thanking me, Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students to go through college. I was one of them.”

The world is a wonderful place. What goes around, come around!

Previously published at The Himalayan Times on 21 Oct 2013

The Power in you -Author Unknown

There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were chasing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in his hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “ I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque, and pushed into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, you can pay me back at that time.”

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The business executive saw in his hand a cheque for $500000, singed by John D Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized.

But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought. With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payments. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long, he had been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it was not the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

“I am so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D Rockefeller.” And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long, he had been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it was not the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

Previously published at The Himalayan Times on 21 Oct 2013

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good, you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Secrets of Life (Author: Unknown)

An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and asked, “I understand you are a very wise man. I would like to know the secret of life.”

The old man looked down at the youngster and replied, “I have thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words.”

“The first is to think. Think about the values you wish to live your life by.”

“The second is to believe. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you have done about the values you are going to live your life by.”

“The third is a dream. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you are  going to live by.”

“The last is a dare. Dare to make your dreams become your reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.” And with that, Walter E Disney said to the little boy, “Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare.

Previously published at  The Himalayan Times on 21 May 2012.