How Can the University of Melbourne Capitalize the Opportunities For Australia and What Should Its Value Proposition Be?
Table of Contents
2.2 First conceptual framework. 4
2.3 Second conceptual framework. 5
How Can the University of Melbourne Capitalize the Opportunities For Australia and What Should Its Value Proposition Be?
- Introduction
Australia has become an international education hotspot for a lot of international students by presenting itself as a lucrative study destination. Australia was becoming more attractive as a study destination, since the geo-political landscape has been changing due to Brexit and restrictions of the international mobility regarding the UK and the US. Because of the enrolments of more than 550,000 international students in 2016, the value of international education in Australia has grown with 18.5% (Altbach & Knight, 2007).
The constant and rapidly growing economy of Australia has attracted students to the Australian education system, and the attraction of international students has increased and expands every year. The educational system of Australia is designed in a way that meets the needs and the requirements of students setting them to be fully satisfied to bring the solutions to different problems of humanity around the world.
The excellent economy and favourable environment have been significant factors that attract international students to the Australia educational system. With over two hundred universities, the international students are different options to choose from; this will not limit their choice according to the various courses they are willing to pursue. When comparing the cost of living for the students who are studying in most universities in Australia, we find that the cost of living is typically lower in most of the cities which host several universities in Australia. Sydney city, for example, has five times more economical cost of living compared to other different environments offering tertiary and university educations (Harman, 2005). Another factor that also attracts students is that most of the Australian schools provide free tuition for their students.
Different systems of education in Australia give the students verities and options to choose from according to their talents and skills. There is a well-developed program which is focusing on technical and professional skills for the students who are willing to pursue further education but are facing stressful financial situations. The educations system of Australia also gives room for those students who are not having a plan for pursuing higher education to obtain the certificate of technical integration. The program for CIT is an online program that also incorporates the students to have practical experiences and necessary technical skills. With the guarantee of functional integration, the students will be prepared for entry-level jobs for the opportunities within the professional sectors (Childress, 2009). There is educational inequality in Australia where the system is very expensive, and therefore it favours the students who are well off. The poor students are not able to manage high schools for higher learning.
- Theoretical Foundation
The crucial argument of this paper is how the University of Melbourne can adjust its value and attract a more significant number of international students who have chosen Australia as their best options for further studies and higher learning. The university will look at how to accommodate students from different socioeconomic statuses and from diverse cultural ground.
2.1 Literature Review
The purpose of this literary work is to look at different ways by which the university can fully capitalize on its opportunities. The university can organize for the activities like faculty research whereby different professors will participate in conducting research and then publish the articles and academic journal this will give the university opportunity in the international face of education and attract many students (Altbach & Knight, 2007). By the university organizing conferences within and outside the country, it will show its potential for admitting the international students. The participation of the university in giving and offering community service is a very crucial and worthwhile endeavour. The community activities will provide international students with the opportunity to explore and adventure in the local community, which is a memorable experience. The community services offered by the university will also help the international students to network with the individual within the community.
Theoretical Framework
There are different theoretical frameworks which can help to determine what attract the international students to a given university, or what can make student prefer a given international school and not the other.
2.2 Value Proposition Canvas
This is a tool which assists in ensuring that a given product or service are positioned towards what the clients’ values and their needs. The objective of this research is to get the necessary improvements that the University of Melbourne can apply to attract most international students. Again it will save time and unnecessary spending on the modifications which are not required by the students as it provides clarity messaging on the core need of the students. The framework can be a drawback when used in the educational sector because, in most cases, it deals with the clients who are buying different products and can change from one product to another after giving it a try. The process of trying different schools is not an option for most students (Pokorná et al., 2015). The limitation of using the value proposition canvas is that different customer segments mixed into one shade where clients will have different priorities when choosing a product.
Figure 1: Value Proposition Canvas framework
On using the framework, the university understands the potential target, and you can see that the job to be done is to attract the students to Melbourne. The pains when it comes to Melbourne University are that it has inadequate scholarship funds. Melbourne University is recognized as an international university and receiving awards are some of the gains. When we look at the side of products and services, we see that Melbourne University understands the target audience very well. Besides the fact that Melbourne University has operated for a very long time, we can say that there is a fit between the left and right of the value proposition canvas.
2.3 Crossing the Chasms Framework
This is a theoretical framework which was developed to make the improvement on the gaps created by other structures and to bring the simplicity on the relationship between two different parties. This proposed model can be used whereby the university will identify the international students who are willing to study at the University of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne will frame what they are offering unique from other universities in a few sentences then send it to the willing international universities. The drawback is that it is tough to identify the students who are willing to join the university before they apply and show interest. The limitation of this framework is that the university will not reach many international students at the same time.
When using this framework, the innovator is Melbourne University who is seeking new ways on how to access the students. The early adopters are the international students who have already joined the university. The old majority is practically minded students, and if the university provides attractive information, then they will join. Late majority are the students who have heard about the university are weighing the different options. Laggards are those international students who cannot enter the university due to economic reasons.
- Research Methodology
The study was based on the qualitative research method. The University of Melbourne tends to have various opportunities as one of the renounced institutions of higher learning in Australia; therefore, it is critical to comprehend its efforts on promoting international relations through aggregated statistics and on the University operation and funding angel. An institution of higher learning is obliged to identify the needs, opportunities, and expectations of the students, both local and international, override the gap that exists between the provision of education and facilitation of international relations as a system.
3.1 Data Collection
This study focused on the University of Melbourne. The survey was conducted during summer because, at this time of the year, the institution always receives more applications from international students. During the study, the desk and field approaches were employed.
A primary source was used as the questionnaires were issued to the international students, The University of Melbourne management, and few officers from the office for Foreign Affairs, Australia. The semi-structured interviews that were issued were ideal since it allowed for more questions to be incorporated based on the direction of the discussion. The primary source was suitable since it addressed an issue at hand. The flexibility of the response allowed for a heightening of the needs of the University to capitalise on the opportunities for Australia to facilitate new international relations.
3.2 Data Analysis
A desk analysis was introduced, and then a review to the international students, university administration and, and office for Foreign Affairs, Australia, was administered; the retrieved information was then cross-checked. The University of Melbourne web-page was analyzed, and physical visits to the school were initiated to validate the information source. Each opportunity by the University was then compared to the results regarding the perception of promoting international relations. The desk analysis showed that the university vision is described as interaction students’ scholarship programs facilitated by various entities, including the government. Each of the stated services was analyzed individually to be able to retrieve actual data.
3.3 Research Credibility
The measurement testing procedure is the validity test, which is applied to assess and measure whether the information that was retrieved from the database measures what is meant to measure. The validity test was conducted with Using Wait Events with Timed Statistics to measure database performances.
Limitations
There is no electronic database that entails all the information was required to conduct the study; however, various considerations were made based on timeliness and subject coverage. The different databases with the same information had to be cross-checked to minimize limitations.
- Findings
Models of Funding of University Expansion and Economic Fluctuations
When the university capitalise on its opportunities, to divert to various levels of correlations between funding in higher education and GDP fluctuations based on the different countries. Again, it is necessary to realize the variety of non-economic factors that tend to impact on funding in higher education (Harman, 2005). Comparably, higher education financing tends to significantly impacted by the economic crisis, which interrupted the Fordist model concerning the Australian economic expansion. Moreover, some other private resources are boosted by the maximization in various private financing for research and other commercial activities within the University; some of such funding is from other countries as well. Nonetheless, in Australia, the optimization in private resources is facilitated by a recommendable increase in fees, sustained income from the international student enrollment, and grants such as scholarship grants.
In Australia, the retreat of the share of public financing based on loans and student fees coincides with the overall income. The variance in substitutive resources tends to highlight more on the association between trends in resources and the expansion of opportunities indicated by each student’s spending. Nevertheless, the key factors influencing the alterations in funds per student are challenging to unravel since the indicators face the enrolment and evolution of various programs within the university. An increased funding per student may be due to the result of a well-funded expansion or even reducing funding.
The UK: The Shift From a Binary to A “Unitary” System: Changes and Continuities
The expansion of higher education in the UK has been facilitated by several institutions, indicating the philosophy that informs their initiation, access policy to international students, dedication to teaching and research, and their public relations. Regional differentiation also helps to understand the drastic expansion of higher education in the UK. The growing local public sector of higher educations founded on the autonomous university sector is referred to as a binary system; it was a milestone of expansion. Most such institutions ultimately became universities under the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, terminating the binary system (Durkin et al., 2012).
The binary system seemed to be a way to give access to a unique form of higher education and provide such to different students. The motivation to facilitate horizontal differentiation tends to be driven by an institutional emphasis on academic, teaching, and research undertakings generally represented by the university mode of enrolment. However, during the initial stage of the university’s expansion, the public sector institution faced a significant change in its method of registration. Through the various looming opportunities that the university brings, such as better marketing, the Australian government can use such capitalization measures to build on its new forms of international relations. The relations tend to have various benefits such as enlargement of the international market and enhancing economic growth. The government can focus on the University of Melbourne’s reputations to build on their overall image to attract more alliances.
Value Proposition: Inclusion and Social Drift
The University of Melbourne has been at the forefront in promoting equal education to all its students regardless of the country, race, or even gender. The rise in gender participation happened, including the teacher training sector. The institution has been attempting to eradicate the traditional perception that women should not go to school in most countries; the University has supported many women through their scholarship programs. There has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of women in the university sector, enhanced by part-time and evening modes of enrolment (Pokorná et al., 2015). Over the decades, the non-university sector was advocating for the progression of gender equity. Women’s involvement tended to expand more under the post-1992 unitary system. The progress towards attaining parity needs to facilitate the persistence of some forms of gender inequalities associated with access and participation across courses. The university has made a preposition on the role played by institutional differentiation in facilitating gender equity with the critical impetus offered by other sectors.
Internationalisation of Education
The study emphasises on the number of students who would be enrolled in the future, and this would, in turn, result into a drastic GDP growth and that of the university (De Wit, 1995). Most of the enrolment increase tends to be due to extended demand in the pacific region and East Asia. The market report indicated that in the absence of enough local higher education capacity, many of the international students are seeking for reliable quality education. Nonetheless, the efficient domestic capacity was determined as the significant element that enhances the demand for international education; other factors may also include the growth in the number of middle-class families who can afford education for their children.
Moreover, the University of Melbourne has promoted quality research, developed its reputation, and has the quality and well-trained staff thus. It has efficiently embraced the Internationalisation of higher education.it has also improved its quality assurance standards continuously and reviewed its system regarding the international criteria. Therefore it can update by incorporating an international perspective via global strategies.
Additionally, the University of Melbourne has been regularly conducting international research activities in alliance with other academic institutions, therefore establishing valuable connections for the collective venture with other nations resulting in an effective international relation. Some of the well- advanced nations assisted the developing countries in developing local capacity for higher education with effective value prepositions via execution of various policy reforms and promoting investment in education and other sectors of development. Enhanced international alliance tends to have strengthened the quality of education in some of the nations (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Moreover, Australia has continuously promoted higher education through various activities such as cross border supply of education services. The continuous earnings from education linked distance education and correspondence courses, among others. Another mode encompassed onshore training that assisted in attaining revenues from expenditure related to fees and other services incurred by international students. The final style was due to earnings from the offshore offering of international education, which correlated to revenues from the overseas campuses.
- Conclusions
In conclusion, the University of Melbourne has been conducting international research activities in collaborations with other institutions, therefore enhancing valuable connections for the collective venture with other nations resulting in an effective international relation. Such interventions have helped Australia with issues on international relations and general GDP. The current geo-political situation offers opportunities for Australia to enhance their position as ‘The Hot Spot for International Education’ thus attracting more and more international students from all over the world. The constant and rapidly growing economy of Australia has attracted students to the Australian education system, and the attraction of international students has increased and expands every year.
The educational system of Australia is designed in a way that meets the needs and the requirements of students setting them to be fully satisfied to bring the solutions to different problems of humanity around the world. The progressive economy and favourable environment have been significant factors that attract international students to the Australia educational system. With over two hundred universities, the international students have varied options to choose from; this will not limit their choice according to the various courses they are willing to pursue. When comparing the cost of living for the students who are studying in most universities in Australia, we find that the cost of living is typically lower in most of the cities which host several universities in Australia. Sydney city, for example, has five times more economical cost of living compared to other different environments offering tertiary and university educations.
Through the various looming opportunities that the university brings, such as better marketing, the Australian government can use such capitalization measures to build on its new forms of international relations. The relations tend to have various benefits such as enlargement of the international market and enhancing economic growth. The government can focus on the University of Melbourne’s reputations to build on their overall image to attract more alliances.
Moreover, the program for CIT as an online program has also incorporated the students to have practical experiences and necessary technical skills. With the guarantee of functional integration, the students will be prepared for entry-level jobs for the opportunities within the professional sectors. The different options within the Australia educational system will give the students chance to choose what is best for their carrier. Nonetheless, in Australia, the increase in private resources is driven by a recommendable increase in fees, sustained income from the international student enrollment, and grants such as scholarship grants. In Australia, the retreat of the share of student fees coincides with the overall income.
- Recommendations
- The university management should include employee professors from different parts of the globe who will be accommodative to international students. When there are different professors from different countries, they will bring different life experiences from a diverse cultural background, which will give international students opportunities to explore.
- The university should give bursaries to help the international students who are from a poor background to facilitate their school fees. This will attract international students from a humble background and provide them with the opportunity to further their studies.
- The university should incorporate different training programs which will attract the students who cannot manage the higher educations.so that different international student will have the opportunity to join the University of Melbourne.
- The university should encourage online learning as this will make many international students who cannot travel to Australia for further studies to register and learn as international students from their respective countries.
References
Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of studies in international education, 11(3-4), 290-305.
Childress, L. K. (2009). Internationalization plans for higher education institutions. Journal of studies in international education, 13(3), 289-309.
De Wit, H. (1995). Strategies for the Internationalisation of Higher Education. A Comparative Study of Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States of America. EAIE Secretariat, Van Diemenstraat 344, 1013 CR Amsterdam, The Netherlands (30 Dutch Guilders for members of EAIE, AIEA and/or IMHE plus shipping; 45 Dutch Guilders for non-members plus shipping. Shipping is 10 Dutch guilders within Europe and 15 Dutch guilders outside Europe).
Durkin, M., McKenna, S., & Cummins, D. (2012). Emotional connections in higher education marketing. International Journal of Educational Management.
Harman, G. (2005). Internationalization of Australian higher education: A critical review of literature and research. In Internationalizing higher education (pp. 119-140). Springer, Dordrecht.
Pokorná, J., Pilař, L., Balcarová, T., & Sergeeva, I. (2015). Value Proposition Canvas: Identification of Pains, Gains and Customer Jobs at Farmers’ Markets. AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, 7(665-2016-45080), 123-130.
Appendix 1: Influence of globalization on higher education
Sources: (Childress, 2009)