$2.1 million will be funded into 14 new projects to improve Australia’s competitiveness and the quality of international education. 

The funding is part of the Enabling Growth and Innovation (EGI) program and will support the increasing number of international students. 

Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said that the domestic students will also share in the benefits of the funding as “improvements in the study experience and support services ultimately benefit all student.” 

“That’s why we’re backing projects that improve the employment and internship opportunities for students through to initiatives that focus on the health and wellbeing of students as well as projects that will develop new technologies,” Mr Birmingham added.  

The project includes training for staff teaching English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) on mental health awareness, assessing the diversification in the current market allowing for future growth, and funding innovative ways to apply integrated learning for international students across five universities. 

International student data has been showing strong growths over the last year, with more than 548,000 international students commencing their education in Australia in 2018 alone. This is an increase of 12 per cent compared to the previous. 

“There was strong enrolment student growth across all sectors including by 14 per cent in higher education, 17 per cent in vocational education and training and 2 per cent in ELICOS courses,” Mr Birmingham said.