People who don't live here or don't focus on the region might not realize how much. The idea for some in the west that the region will one day have the purchasing power of western countries seems inconceivable. But at least the idea is in the minds of most people alive today that the region will be important. And an important part of the regions transition is education.
Each year there is about 3 million students classified as international. About 550,000 or just under 20% of these come from Asia alone. With UNESCO quoting an average growth of 12% of international students globally every year, this number only seems likely to grow.
The most popular destinations have traditionally been English speaking countries such as the US, the UK and Australia and some European countries like Germany. Asian destinations like Singapore and Japan were considered second best options, for those who couldn't afford "better education".
In fact, this view is already old. Many countries in the region are starting to see the need to specialize in knowledge. Korea has education specializing in electronics, graphic design and even video game design, Singapore and Hong Kong are highly focused on finance and business education, and even Thailand is developing a good reputation in Asia for robotics and pharmaceutical research.
As the economies and incomes have been growing in the region, so has the desire to import foreign knowledge in the form of teachers and education systems, giving rise to the Asian international education industry.
Both the US and Australia have been capitalizing on this industry for a long time - classified as a service export, like tourism - which brings in approximately US$20 billion a year for each country. In Australia, it is the 3rd biggest industry by value, below coal and iron ore, but above gold.
Asian countries are seeking to entice these students to their countries with cheaper prices, and a more globalized faculty and student body.
Many countries have set aggressive targets:
- In 2007 Singapore announced plans to increase its number of international students from 50,000 a year to 150,000 by 2012
- Malaysia has also set a target of 100,000 for 2012
- In the next 5 years, Japan hopes to increase student numbers from 100,000 to 300,000
- Korea has expressed desire to increase international students by 100,000
For these targets, most countries are targeting other Asian students rather than Americans or Europeans.
One way this is being done is with offshore campuses.
Some American, British, Australian and other European universities are taking the market seriously, creating and operating campuses in Asian locations. Here are just a few:
- Webster University operating in Thailand
- Monash University in Malaysia
- University of Wales et al in Singapore
- John Hopkins University in China
These universities offer the same accreditation and curriculum as their western counterparts. They gain by accessing an increasing market. The local communities gain by having access to established universities academic experience and reputation.
Part of the reason these big universities are taking the region seriously is that domestic homegrown universities are rapidly improving in quality, prestige and research output.
If one can speak English moderately well, there are competent international programs offered in Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan and Korea. Perhaps more.
With growing education prices in the west and an increasing importance of Asia in global affairs, we may well one day be sending western kids to Asian universities.
