Hospitality at heart of

Students seek out four key features

CERTAIN ingredients make all the difference between a good and great university city – and a lot of it comes down to good old fashioned Australian hospitality.

Having reputable higher education institutions, of course, is an enormous factor in any prospective student’s tertiary decision.

But CQUniversity Cairns Associate Vice-Chancellor Jodie Duignan-George said another irrefutable checklist needed to be ticked off.

Will I feel welcome there? Is it safe there?

Is it easy to get around?

Is it a prosperous region? “This question is asked for several reasons,” she said.

“A prosperous region signifies good employment/internship opportunities, that the city has a good vibe with things to do out of school hours.”

Put simply, Cairns needs to prove itself as a liveable, fun, functional city – and that requires teamwork.

“All the leadership organisations seem to be producing their own collateral without much co-ordination,” Ms Duignan-George said.

JCU Pro Vice Chancellor International Melissa Banks said cities and countries that were truly successful in the sector had skilled migration and student visa policies purpose-built to reel in international scholars.

“If those policies are not encouraging and conducive to students coming to Australia, they will simply go elsewhere,” she said.

“New Zealand and Canada offer very generous post-study work rights.

“The UK recently introduced post-study work rights after a period of almost stagnant growth after they removed them for international students.

“But ultimately, it’s the messaging around safety and welcoming that really matters.

“Australia in general is pretty good at this and in Cairns I

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One factor is particularly simple – sketchy public transport will sign a death warrant for a city’s international education prospects.

“Really regular, quick, convenient public transport makes such a difference,” Ms Banks said.

“With JCU located out at Smithfield, it’s quite difficult to get to and from the city unless you have a car and not all international students will want a car.”

Boredom killer.

“Great education cities around the world are alive with culture,” Ms Duignan-George said.

Ms Banks said the whole community needed to be on board.

“We would love Cairns to think about how it can position itself as a study destination, not just a tourist destination,” she said. will be another

Studying IT at the Holmes Institute on Lake St

Cairns is close to home and there are a lot of PNG students here. At the moment, I’m 50-50 about what I will do after I finish my studies. If I can get an opportunity to stay here, I think I will take it.