Cooperation and Opportunities between Australia & Korea in the field of

EDUCATION

Korea Education Market

In 2015 the English language teaching industry in Korea is estimated to be worth $17 billion.

77 % of 15 year-old Korean students participate in out-of-school hours tutoring compared to 19% in Australia.

116,942 Koreans attend universities overseas.

Steady rise in Jogiyuhak (Early Study Abroad) educational migration.

Emerging trends in Korea

Korea’s DRIVE for a “Creative Economy”

Internationalisation and restructuring of Korean Higher Education

Expansion of the vocational education

High tech and free-market approach to educationNB Korea won 1st prize from UNESCO for ICT in Education in 2007.

Australian Education Industry

Market Opportunities

The VET & postgraduate sectors show great potential for growth. NB 70% of the 28,000 Korean Working Holiday Makers convert to student visas to take VET courses.

There is significant potential for policy transfer regarding how to develop the VET sector in Korea.

In eLearning there is great potential for Aust/Korea promtion and co-production of eLearning material and content. Naver, community online cafes, Facebook, YouTube, Kakao story and Instagram

Austrade borderless education forum in October 2016

Market Challenges

Schooling in Australia for Korean high school students has been decreasing due to competition from other special schools in Korea.

Middle-class incomes are under pressure from slowing wage growth & the high costs of housing & private education (ICEF).

Spending on overseas education as a whole fell by 14% between 2013 & 2014 (The Korea Times).

Demand overseas English language study slowed - proliferation of English learning resources & delivery in Korea.

Australia’s education brand is not as recognised as that of the US, which deters many Korean students from choosing Australian education.

What Australia and Korea can do…

Encourage Australian students to consider Korea as a mobility destination. Note the ENDEVOUR

SCHOLARSHIPS & NEW COLOMBO PLAN.

Promote the quality of Australian education & highlight proven graduate employment outcomes.

Commit to collaborative efforts to position Australian higher education as a premium option in the

Korean market.

Support Korean alumni networks of Australian institutions to build their numbers & influence.

Try harder to attract high-quality Korean doctoral students.

Both countries encourage and grow sustainable partnerships through collaborative research (NB complementary research strengths of Australia (in basic science) and the RoK (in applied science and commercialisation of research)

Leverage Working Holiday Maker program (28,000 Koreans per year second to UK).

$1 million in Scholarships for South Korean (former North Korean) students at UTS

To sum up, my story….

I know from personal experience if you have a positive experience in a foreign country when you are young it can be the beginning of a life long love affair with that country….