2016 AIEC in Melbourne

The 30th Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) was held in Melbourne from Oct 18-21. IDP initiated the conference 30 years ago with approximately 40 attendees in Canberra. This year over 1,000 delegates, of which around 20% were international delegates, attended the conference. There were country-focused seminars aimed at tailoring the needs of education providers, with China being one of the key strategic overseas markets. The China-focused sessions included a TNE session (for both China and Vietnam), opportunities in VET and aged care, and an Austrade country-focused workshop. IELTS, BPO Intelligence, TOEFL and IB also sponsored this year’s event. Although the conference is always well attended by Austrade, IDP, and the British Council’s China based staff, very few Chinese organizations attend the conference. Amongst the few in attendance were Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Northeast Normal University, Wuhan University of Technology, and Yinhong Consulting (foundation program provider). Next year’s AIEC will be held in Hobart, Tasmania from Oct 10-13.