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Dear colleagues

Each year a team from UWS travels to Hong Kong and Singapore for graduation ceremonies for our students offshore.

These surpass, if possible, those at home in the floral gifts, family photos and audience ebullience. The Chancellor, still in his robes, is always besieged by graduates wanting commemorative photos with him, parents, grandparents, children and classmates.

Our colleagues from partner institutions and universities are always on hand, sharing the occasion and working to ensure each is a success.

In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University - our “oldest” offshore partner, with whom we have been teaching programs in nursing and primary health care - turns 50 this year and we extend our warm congratulations to our friends as they mark this occasion. At Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Industrial Centre, which provides courses to prepare students for careers in industry, reaches its 30th year. Again we celebrate this event and the successful partnership that has marked our jointly taught awards in Applied Science (Occupational Health and Safety), as well as a Master of Public Health which is taught with another department of the University.

One of the greatest pleasures of these events is the chance to host alumni functions and to catch up with the news of these enthusiastic groups. This year the Australian Senior Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong, Mr Peter Osborne, addressed the group. As UWS marks 30 years of teaching business courses, Mr Osborne took us on an entertaining and insightful journey through 30 years of business between Hong Kong and Australia, reminding everyone of the importance of our strong links. In the photo below I'm standing with the Chancellor, the President, Stephen Li (third from right), and the Executive of UWS Alumni Hong Kong.

I travelled on to give an invited address on Australian higher education in Beijing at an international conference of women university presidents and was overwhelmed by the pace, people and industry of this dynamic city as it prepares for the 2008 Olympics. There are over 20 million students at university in China, and the government is investing heavily in new institutions, and further building those that are well established. Students from all over the world come to China for higher education, just as Chinese students travel to earn degrees and live overseas for a few years.

We in Australia have become accustomed to being a successful ‘player’ in the international student ‘market’. The fee income we earn is equivalent to one third of our entire academic salary bill. We do well to remember that these students who have become the life blood of our universities have choices. They do not have to come to Australia, or to UWS. To our staff and domestic students the message must be that international students are contributing much to UWS – culturally, economically and personally. We should all go out of our way to make them feel welcome, provide an exceptional educational experience and, for the time they are here, ensure they are made to feel at home.

Professor Janice Reid
Vice-Chancellor

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