International Links of Australian Universities
Formal agreements between Australian universities and overseas
higher education institutions
September 2016
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Number of Formal Agreements ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Type of Agreement ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Number of Agreements by Region ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Top Ten Source Countries.............................................................................................................................................................. 10
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
1
Introduction
The information for this International Links summary was supplied by Universities Australia member
universities in response to a survey undertaken in early 2016. The survey was aimed at identifying
formal institution-to-institution agreements between Australian universities and overseas higher
education institutions. Agreements include cooperation facilitating student exchanges, study abroad
arrangements, staff exchanges and academic/research collaboration.
The previous International Links survey was completed in 2014. International Links surveys have been
undertaken on a regular basis since 1991.
Universities were asked to indicate the name of their overseas partner institution, what activities are
covered in the agreement, the year in which the agreement was first signed and whether the
agreement is currently active. Separately, institutions were asked to identify their offshore programs
including overseas partner institution, the type and title of the program offered and the duration of
the course. This information is available in the Offshore Programs of Australian Universities report.
The information below provides an overview of the sector’s international engagement activities. The
full data set is available on the Universities Australia website.
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
2
Number of Formal Agreements
The survey was first conducted in 1990 when there were around 220 formal agreements in place. Universities Australia has periodically surveyed
members to maintain up-to-date information on the number of formal institution-to-institution agreements in place at any one time.
Since1990 we have seen a steady increase in the number of formal agreements in place. As demonstrated in Figure 1, over the last decade the number
of total agreements has more than doubled to 9,171 agreements by 2016, of which 8,641 are active. The rate of growth in total agreements between
2014-16 and 2009-12 and 2012-14 has slowed, however.
Figure 1 Number of Formal Agreements between Australian Universities and International Institutions: 1990-2016
10000
9171
9000
8511
8000
7133
7000
6000
5168
5000
4000
3550
2700
3000
4485
3100
2250
2000
1000
3850
4250
5555
220
400
540
1990
1991
1992
750
1150
1500
1800
0
1993
1994
1995
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2007
2009
2012
2014
2016
3
Figure 2 provides an indication of when the agreements currently in place were first signed; while some will have expired, others have managed to
withstand the test of time with close to 900 current agreements signed between1980 and 2000. Figure 3 illustrates the number of formal agreements
in place at each institution in 2014 and in 2016 (as at 27 April 2016). As illustrated, some universities continue to expand their international
partnerships, while other universities have consolidated their agreements.
Figure 2 Number of Agreements in 2016 by year signed
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Figure 3 Links by Institution
800
700
600
500
400
2014
300
2016
200
100
0
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
4
Type of Agreement
Figure 4 and Table 1 illustrate the type of activities the agreements cover; with over 60 per cent of current agreements including a component of
academic or research collaboration and more than half providing for student exchange. There is a demonstrable increase in the number of agreements
that provide for Study Abroad and Research collaboration and a levelling out of the inclusion of staff exchange and to a lesser extent student exchange
in formal agreements.
Figure 4 Formal Agreements by Type 2016
Academic/Research Collaboration
61.97%
Staff Exchange
37.36%
Study Abroad
21.58%
Student Exchange
0.00%
54.49%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
Table 1 Formal Agreements by Type 2003 & 2016: Percentage Change
2003
2016
Number of
agreements
Proportion of Total
Number of
agreements
Proportion of
Total
% Change
Study Abroad
854
19%
1,980
22%
132%
Staff Exchange
2,771
62%
3,427
37%
24%
Student Exchange
3,231
72%
4,998
54%
55%
Academic/Research Collaboration
3,054
68%
5,684
62%
86%
*Note figures are not mutually exclusive; agreements may include more than one type of collaboration.
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
5
Figure 5 shows that over the past decade, links in all areas have increased significantly, though agreements that facilitate study abroad and staff exchange
decreased slightly between 2014 and 2016.
Figure 5 Formal Agreements by Type 2003-2016
6000
5000
4000
Study Abroad
3000
Staff Exchange
2000
Student Exchange
Academic/Research Collaboration
1000
0
2003
2007
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
2009
2012
2014
2016
6
Number of Agreements by Region
Table 2 below indicates the number of agreements in each region. For the first time, links in North-East Asia have surpassed links in North-West
Europe, though only marginally. This is a significant point as it illustrates that Australian universities are increasingly looking within our region in regards
to partnerships. Latin America has been identified by Universities Australia as a strategic priority for international engagement; there are currently 413
formal agreements in place between Australian and Latin American institutions.
Table 2 Number of Formal Agreements by Region 2016 (*ABS Standard Classification of Countries)
Region
Number of
Agreements
Proportion of
Total
Number of
Agreements
Proportion of
Total
97
1%
North-East Asia
2533
28%
North-West Europe
2497
27%
Southern and Central Asia
433
5%
Southern and Eastern Europe
522
6%
North America
1335
15%
North Africa and Middle East
178
2%
Latin America
413
4%
South-East Asia
1087
12%
Sub-Saharan Africa
69
1%
Oceania and Antarctica
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
Region
7
Figure 6 shows the changes between regions over the past decade. It is evident that links with Africa and the Middle East as well as Southern and
Eastern Europe have remained relatively stagnant since 2003. However, North-West Europe, North-East Asia and the Americas have seen a significant
increase.
Figure 6 Number of Formal Agreements by Region 2007-2016 (*ABS Standard Classification of Countries)
2800
2600
2400
2200
2000
Oceania and Antactica
1800
North-West Europe
Southern and Eastern Europe
1600
North Africa and Middle East
1400
South-East Asia
1200
North-East Asia
1000
Southern and Central Asia
Americas
800
Sub-Sharan Africa
600
400
200
0
2003
2007
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
2009
2012
2014
2016
8
Figure 7 examines the type of agreements in place in 2016 by region.
Figure 7: 2016 Agreements by Region and Type of Activity
Study Abroad
2000
1800
Academic and
Research Collaboration
1600
Staff Exchange
1400
1200
Student Exchange
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Oceania and
Antartica
North Africa and
the Middle East
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
Southern and
Central Asia
South-East Asia
Southern and North-East Asia
Eastern Europe
Americas
North-West
Europe
9
Top Ten Source Countries
Figure 8 identifies the top ten source countries for international agreements. These countries have effectively comprised the top ten for the past two
decades, though in 2014 India overtook both Indonesia and Sweden for the first time. This figure demonstrates the massive increase in the number of
links with China in recent years and a steady increase in agreements with our traditional key partner the USA.
Figure 8: Top Ten 2003-2014
2003
1600
2007
1400
2009
1200
2012
2014
1000
2016
800
600
400
200
0
Canada
China
France
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
Germany
India
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
United
Kingdom
USA
10
The top ten countries are listed in Table 3 below; they account for 63 per cent of total agreements in 2016 and this has remained consistent over the
past decade. During this time the total number of agreements amongst these countries has more than doubled. Table 3 below also shows a substantial
increase in the number of agreements with the UK, France, Germany, China and India (albeit from a small base).
Table 3 Top Ten Source Countries 2003-2016
2003
2007
2009
2012
2014
2016
% change
2003-2016
457
488
628
866
1237
1402
207%
690
759
777
878
965
996
44%
Japan
368
386
383
414
479
568
54%
Germany
256
325
326
501
572
558
118%
UK
233
295
320
395
457
502
115%
France
189
262
279
389
466
441
133%
India
50
98
135
179
276
341
582%
Canada
175
233
258
300
310
338
93%
Indonesia
158
118
126
198
254
313
98%
Korea
193
212
218
276
309
292
51%
TOTAL for Top Ten
2769
3176
3450
4396
5325
5751
108%
TOTAL for all countries
Top Ten proportion of
total
4485
5168
5555
7133
8511
9171
104%
62%
61%
62%
62%
63%
63%
China* Exc. Hong Kong and
Macau
USA
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
11
Figure 9 Top Ten as Proportion 2003-2016
China
USA
2016
Germany
Japan
2014
France
2012
UK
Canada
2009
Korea
2007
India
Indonesia
2003
0%
10%
20%
30%
International links of Australian Universities October 2016
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Other
12