South Australia’s newest student Ambassador Ms Fu Lu from Shandong, China, was welcomed to Adelaide today by Minister for Investment and Trade Martin Hamilton-Smith.
Ms Lu, a student at Shandong University in Jinan, is visiting Adelaide for four weeks to study English and tour South Australia as part of the Amazing Ambassador Recruitment Campaign, originally launched in 2014 to celebrate Adelaide’s Sister City relationship with Shandong.
She will experience the best of Adelaide and South Australia and share her experiences using her personal social media and networks in China securing additional coverage for the state and promoting the benefits of studying in Adelaide.
International education is worth $1.2 billion to the South Australian economy and new figures show there has been strong growth. The growth in enrolments (number of students overall) was 8% in the first five months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. The growth in commencements (new students) was 11% over the same period.
Background
The first Amazing Ambassador recruitment campaign was a huge hit, with more than 170 million online views resulting in applications from 800 students. This year’s competition received 2,200 applications based on the success of the first round.
The announcement of Ms Lu’s win was made in Jinan, China earlier this year and was attended by broadcast, digital and print media outlets with an audience of 50 million.
Ms Lu is doing her English language course at TafeSA and staying at the student village at the University of Adelaide. She will visit all local universities, as well as TafeSA, International College of Hotel Management as well as tourist destinations including Kangaroo Island and the Adelaide Hills.
Quotes attributable to Minister Hamilton-Smith
Adelaide is Australia’s premier study destination, delivering the perfect mix of quality education and lifestyle. In 2015, China was South Australia’s largest source of international students with 12,711 enrolments, a growth of 10 per cent over the previous year.
Chinese students make up 40 per cent of total international students in South Australia. The State Government and our education sector are committed to delivering a positive living and studying experience for all our students. This Student Ambassador program is proving to be a huge success and is an important element of raising Adelaide’s profile as a study destination to increase student numbers.