If the visit of Michael Knight to China in April 2011 generated a flurry of media activity, then the release of Mr Knight's review in September, and the associated Government response resulted in a cascade of articles, editorials and online discussions, with coverage continuing throughout the remainder of 2011.

Coverage could be found on almost every media platform, including print media, news websites, blogs, discussion forums and community based social networking.  There has been well over 1,000 articles published since the release of the review, a figure which does not include discussions on social media. 

In news media, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. 

Many of the articles were reprints from the Australian media, whilst others editorialised, analysing each of the changes in detail.  Almost all of the reports focussed on the post study work visa as being the key, and most welcome, change, noting that it would make returning Australian graduates more competitive.

These views complement a recent report into Chinese graduate outcomes, which showed that domestically educated students are catching up with their foreign educated counterparts in terms of salary and position on graduation.  The report noted that a key factor in improved Chinese student graduate outcomes is foreign work experience, making the introduction of the post study work visa an important element of the Knight review in a China context.

Chinese media reports also commented positively on the reduction in financial requirements for some prospective students, as well as the streamlined visa processing for Australia's universities, although these comments were largely secondary to the post study work visa.

Many articles made general comments about the impact of the changes to Australia's international education sector, forecasting a positive outcome.  Articles often used colourful language to illustrate this, for example, one noted that "the dawn had arrived for Australian education".

Media reports also compared the changes favourably to student visa programs of other countries, namely those of the US and the UK.  In particular, articles compared the introduction of the post study work visa in Australia with the recent changes in the UK, which restricts post study work options for international students.

While the Chinese media response to the Knight review has been overwhelmingly positive, there has been a small amount of coverage expressing concerns about the changes.  In the main, Chinese media has expressed concern about the infrastructure capacity of Australian Universities and the Australian Government to cope with an increased number of students and visa applications. 

AEI Beijing has put frequent updates about the review on our Chinese language Weibo account.  Comments focussed on the post study work visa, with each of these posts being reposted around 300 times, and the translated FAQs on this item being forwarded around 100 times.  Reposting continues into January.  Like the media reports, the comments were strongly positive, however a very small number of bloggers expressed concerns about the impact of the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement on applicants from traditionally high risk areas, an important factor for Australian Universities preparing their streamlining arrangements to be aware of. 

AEI Beijing has briefed the Ministry of Education, who expressed no concerns with the proposed changes, and noted that the review supports the Chinese Government's internationalisation policies in their 10 year plan, which is to "continue to support Chinese students to pursue international study opportunities".

The DIAC, AEI and Austrade sections of the Australian Embassy in China jointly ran information sessions in late 2011 for education agents and other in country education stakeholders in Beijing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Xi'an.  These sessions were largely focussed on the Knight review, and again, questions asked during the sessions were concentrated on the post study work visa.  While agents demonstrated a good general understanding of the changes, they were unsure of the implementation timeframes, and we would encourage Australian education providers to spend time with their agents, ensuring they are completely across the changes and associated timeframes, particularly in preparation for the streamlined processing.

An education agent survey was also undertaken in late 2011 by Austrade China, and this survey indicated that 90% of respondents believed that the Knight review would be helpful or very helpful to the Study in Australia market.

For further information about this update, please contact AEI Beijing.