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The Coast is being placed on the world map
2 December 2006
A week or so ago I was in Kuala Lumpur for a graduation ceremony for Business graduates. Over a hundred Malaysian students graduated and were enthusiastic about USC, and some wanted to visit the Coast. It was an occasion again, which reinforced the importance of cross-cultural ties to promote understanding and respect across regions. The Sunshine Coast is gaining enormous visibility internationally through the work of our staff, and also students who participate in exchanges or the ‘Go Overseas’ program.
Just how much the international program is growing was reflected in this week’s 2007 projections of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (International and Development).
In the late 90’s we had virtually no on-campus international students. In first semester next year, we will have around 600, over 160 of whom will be postgraduate, over 200 will be ‘study abroad’, and nearly 200 undergraduate.
Most of the students will come from Canada (111), the USA (100), Germany (93), France (40), Zimbabwe (39), and Sweden. Smaller numbers will also come to the Coast from 46 other countries spanning almost every continent of the globe.
The University website will be hit many thousands of times to obtain information, not just about the University but about the type of region we have here. The subsequent economic and cross-cultural benefits are immeasurable across the long term.
So many people in the community have helped our international students settle and feel at home for their period of study. Students in turn have appreciated that support, and are then able to fully enjoy the beauty of the Coast and the distinctive lifestyle advantages we have here.
As our international student numbers continue to grow to around 25% of our domestic student numbers, I hope that this generosity of spirit towards our international visitors continues in the community, because it will reap real rewards for the Coast and its image overseas.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast.