Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

University City on the go in Adelaide

By Malcolm King - posted Monday, 12 September 2011


There is no comparison between the Anglo face of Adelaide 30 years ago and today. So many of the new 'residents' in the City of Churches are international students. While Adelaide is not yet an Oxford, Princeton, Leiden or Pisa - these are true university cities - it is heading in the right direction.

These towns have a large influence on the academic, political and cultural lives of their nation. They spawn printing houses, university hospitals and clinics, business incubators, bookshops, socially innovative experiments, accommodation, libraries and academic festivals.

In South Australia, the 'education industry' nets the state more than $1 billion annually and supports more than 6000 jobs. From 2002-2008, international student enrolments in South Australia more than doubled with a growth of 151.7 percent, the largest of any state or territory.

Advertisement

While growth has flattened recently due to the GFC, changes to visa regulations and the high Australian dollar, Adelaide is still well placed for University City 'lift off'.

The players and the problems

There are some hurdles though. Opposition leader Isobel Redmond's claims that the South Australian public is not getting value for its tax dollar by bringing international universities to Adelaide. In government, she would cut funding to the University City Project (UCP), the local Thinkers in Residence program and the Social Innovation Think Tank.

The new international universities such as Carnegie Mellon and University College London have a C classification and are therefore not deemed research universities. They cannot apply to the Federal Government for research funds. This is a lose-lose scenario when one is trying to build a university city based on research.

Recent news that Kaplan Inc will not proceed with its plans to accredit its courses in partnership with Adelaide University is a significant blow to the UCP. Kaplan had significant bureaucratic difficulties getting its programs accredited in the US. It had planned to start trading this year and it hoped to admit 5000 domestic and international students with many more enrolled online.

Cranfield University closed in 2010. Adelaide University signed an agreement in 2007 with Cranfield with the promise "of major benefits for both organisations and for the South Australian defence industry." Cranfield had focused on a student cohort that was supposed to emerge from South Australia's "booming" defence industries. It never happened.

Advertisement

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Adelaide has had more dramas than the Bold and the Beautiful and the Young and the Restless combined. Executive staff changes and the realization that the SA taxpayer won't fund the Victoria Square campus forever, has motivated the American not-for-profit university to lift its game. To survive, it needs to attract full fee local and international students.

Even so, CMU kicked a major goal in 2009 when students created a new mobile phone bus timetable system called 'Sandora' and its Master of Science in Public Policy is one of the best programs of its kind in the world. Recent hires of staff with Asia Pacific marketing experience will boost their numbers.

University College London is the success story of the UCP. Ranked in the top five of the world's best universities, the UCL School of Energy and Resources opened in 2010 and provides specialist teaching and research on energy and resources. It has created strong ties with Santos and BHP Billiton and has sustainable growth in students. Recently UCL and BHP Billiton announced an agreement to establish a $10 million (US) Institute for Sustainable Resources.

The giant American university chain Laureate Education will establish a campus called the International University of Australia in Adelaide in 2012. They teach a raft of programs including hospitality, design and adult education. This is a welcome development as the campus will fund itself and bring students from Europe and South America.

While international education is the state's largest service export sector and provides $8.6 million in tourism for the local economy, a recent poll by Education Adelaide found that 45 percent of respondents did not want more international students to come to Adelaide.

Such a high negative response suggests that locals confuse the media hyped 'boat people' with international students who are 'travellers' and not immigrants. Much more work needs to be done on local perceptions before grave misinterpretation and damage is done to the industry's reputation offshore.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has consistently placed Adelaide in the top 20 cities to live. There is good reason for this as international students consistently praise Adelaide as a place to live, study and work. The rankings were originally conceived as a scale for determining benefits to executives or knowledge workers sent overseas.

One has to be careful about the EIU as it reflects an upper middle class view of the world that places high weight on comfort and security over social responsibility, diversity, equity or sustainability.

While there is very little difference over the top 20 cities, Adelaide does well because it has good weather, is a medium-sized city, is geographically placed in a wealthy nation and has a low-density population. Many urban planners suggest that what retards Adelaide's development is its low-density population and mind-boggling restrictions to development.

Social and Cultural Growth

University cities are dynamic and ever-changing points of cultural convergence and intellectual action. A more highly qualified talent pool leads to a competitive advantage relative to other states plus international students who have studied in Adelaide become offshore brand ambassadors for the city.

Not every one agrees that the future economic health for cities relies on boosterism of creative professionals, bohemianism, cosmopolitanism and diversity. Some suggest that the UCP is predominantly a branding exercise, an expression of a shift towards entrepreneurial modes of city government.

Even with the aforesaid blockers to progress, I am optimistic that the UCP will take off but there is one major sticking point. It requires not only students but also trendsetters or 'the birth of cool'. While one may not find the new John Coltrane or clothes or furniture designers living off King William Street, for the UCP to work, Adelaide needs an 'out and proud' Gay and Lesbian culture to foster new ideas in taste and style. That may take some time.

Conclusion

DH Lawrence once described the novel Kangaroo as a "thought adventure," as a novel "where nothing happens and such a lot of things should happen." The same could be said of Adelaide.

A vibrant student population brings its own advantages in the form of urban renewal, fresh thinking and a revitalisation of the local culture. Adelaide is well placed for this to happen but vision never comes cheaply. While Adelaide is on track to become a global education hub, its future is only as secure as the political will to make it happen.

 

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in Campus Review recently.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

10 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Malcolm King is a journalist and professional writer. He was an associate director at DEEWR Labour Market Strategy in Canberra and the senior communications strategist at Carnegie Mellon University in Adelaide. He runs a writing business called Republic.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Malcolm King

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment 10 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy