Mission to entice overseas students

STUDY Gold Coast has started work on an aggressive campaign to ensure the city remains Australia’s favourite classroom for international students.

Its first offensive is to capitalise on the city’s low COVID-19 rate, its affordability and warm climate to lure internationals from southern states and entice them to study on the Gold Coast during the winter months.

Study Gold Coast chief executive Alfred Slogrove said new data revealed there were still more than 13,000 internationals studying on the Coast. Another 5000 internationals were studying virtually through local providers, but were physically located elsewhere. Precoronavirus, more than 32,000 students from 130 countries were studying across the city.

“The international education sector is worth more than $1.3 billion to the local economy and education itself is worth almost double that,” Mr Slogrove said.

With border closures a roadblock for those wanting to live and study on the Gold Coast, Mr Slogrove said he’d prefer them to open “sooner rather than later”.

“But my approach would be to have a border management plan to ensure those who arrive from other states are not putting anyone’s health at risk,” he said.

While domestic students would also be targeted, Mr Slogrove said Study Gold Coast’s focus was on internationals “because they were more likely to choose a warmer climate and safer city in which to study”.

The Australian yesterday reported universities in Queensland and Western Australia stood to miss out on an influx of thousands of international students in the next few months because their state governments had declined to take a plan to national cabinet for the return of international students.

It is understood the Federal Government will back a push by the NSW, Victorian and South Australian governments to bring in a few thousand students in a pilot program that will precede the anticipated large-scale return in the first semester next year.

Study Gold Coast has compiled a series of eight short videos showcasing the safety, affordability and lifestyle benefits of the Glitter Strip. It will be rolled out to agents across the globe. This “primer” campaign is to keep internationals thinking about the benefits of studying on the Gold Coast so that when travel restrictions are lifted they’ll choose here.

Mr Slogrove said parents were also more likely to support their children in a move to study in Queensland rather than London or New York because “we’ve weathered the COVID-19 storm really, really well”.