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Anne Cullen discusses Australia’s ties with Asia: the vocal pro-Asia advocates vs. public sentiment shaped by history and self-perception.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 14, 2024

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This video video is a transcript from a presentation discussing the importance of integrating Asian business studies into Australian university curricula. The speaker acknowledges the collaborative work with Dr. Dennis McCorick and highlights their shared experiences in both Australia and Asia. The paper emphasizes that post-COVID, Australia needs to recognize its economic reliance on Asia, as evidenced by the significant portion of trade conducted with Asian countries.

The key arguments include the necessity for Australian students to understand Asian business practices, cultures, and economies to enhance their future career prospects. There is a call for a reassessment of the diminished focus on Asian studies in Australian universities, which were once leaders in this field but have seen a decline in courses, expertise, and student enrollments over the past two decades.

The presentation stresses that understanding Asia is crucial for Australia’s economic future and encourages universities to develop specialization in Asian studies, incorporating diverse curriculum and faculty. It also discusses the role of various stakeholders—universities, government, industry, and students—in fostering a better educational environment that supports skills and knowledge relevant to Asia.

Overall, the speaker advocates for renewed dialogue and cooperation among these groups to improve Asian literacy and capability in Australia, ensuring students are equipped to engage with the growing Asian markets. The conclusion emphasizes the need for Australia to prepare for deeper trade and cultural ties with Asia, promoting a holistic understanding beyond transactions to include relationship-building as essential for future business and diplomatic success.

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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:90000

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Before we start, I'd just like to note

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and to acknowledge my co-author, Dr. Dennis,

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McCorick from Georgetown University in, Qatar.

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So we co-wrote this,

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but of course a lot of it is Australia based,

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but we are academics

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that have lived in the Middle East in Asia

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and draw a lot of our material from those experiences.

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This paper came about

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because of the,

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post covid realization that Australia in particular

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is reliant on

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or strongly twinned with Asia.

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We are geographically in the same area.

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And so this paper was set out to highlight the importance

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of incorporating Asian business studies

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into the curriculum of Australian universities.

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We are of the opinion that Australian students

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for the continued development

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and economic growth of Australia need

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to have a deep understanding of Asian business practices,

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which means also understanding the cultures

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and the economies

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and ways to effectively engage with Asia,

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Asian businessmen

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and the Asian people in a meaningful way,

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in an authentic way to, in their future careers,

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that to boost their future careers

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and secure their future careers.

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The paper also advocates for

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a reappraisal by universities of the importance

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of Asian studies, which has stumbled

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in Australia over the, at least the last decade.

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In the 1980s, 1990s, Australia was famous

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for being a world leader and strength in Asian studies.

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But over the last 10, 20 years, we've seen a hollowing out

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of that expertise

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and a decline in,

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students taking these studies.

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And as a discipline, what we find ourselves in a situation

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of now is students, yes, looking at Asia

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and saying, I know it's important,

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but using it as a case study rather than doing the

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background, discipline, work of history, politics,

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sociology, religion, all of that depth of understanding

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that gives multi-point analysis possibility.

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At the moment, we're losing that quite quickly.

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So the paper sort of saying, you know, this is

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a commercial reality for Australia.

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We know our trade currently is largely with Asia,

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65% of our trade.

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We know in the future the boom of Asia is routine.

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This is the Asian century,

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and as we are geographically linked to Asia,

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then it makes sense that we

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as a nation put our best foot forward

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and secure our economic future

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by producing Asian specialists.

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And that means graduates with Asian capabilities.

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I can't, there is no methodology in

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this was an opinion paper by and large.

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It was a conceptual paper to spark conversation

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and argumentation if, if you like.

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It was a paper that was written to

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highlight Australia's economic independence with Asia

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to identify the opportunities

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and challenges that exist with that interdependence.

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We wanted to promote cultural understanding

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between these two geographic regions.

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Think about how to enhance strategic partnerships.

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How do you do that? Is it just trade?

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Is it that transactional

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or is it something bigger and broader?

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How do we ultimately have a conversation

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in Australia that informs policy around education,

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tertiary education, secondary education, even to create,

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people to create a community where we have

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a whole new generation of business leaders equipped

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to thrive in the dynamic

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and interconnected Asia Pacific region.

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So there was no one case study, there was no one,

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area or one university we were pointing at.

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I do highlight the hollowing out of,

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Asian studies at Griffith University.

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Excuse me. 'cause that is my university

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and that's well acknowledged.

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But by and large, we are looking to promote

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a conversation that

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brings a tertiary education level

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and a public, a public,

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discourse together to say,

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yes, we do need to up our Asian literacy

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and our Asian capabilities

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and we can trust universities to do that work

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for us the same way as we trust them to produce

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well-skilled lawyers, doctors, architects, surveyors,

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Asia needs to be treated the same way.

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The best way to approach that answer is to

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think about the various stakeholders

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that are involved in this huge conversation.

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And they're easy to identify.

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Australian universities, government, industry

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and students and all of them have different response,

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different demands and responsibilities within this.

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Greater organizations,

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universities historically bear the responsibility

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of creating specialists,

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and they do it by, offering specialized

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and, specialized degrees and majors

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and discipline focused arrangements for students to take

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the courses that build up their skills

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and they graduate as an expert.

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The curriculum is designed though by the university

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and the specialists within the university.

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And so we need to now at this point

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start rebuilding that expertise within the universities.

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It has been hollowed out completely.

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Uh, Griffith University used to be the largest

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Australian based Asian studies, center,

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and I studied there during my ha during its heyday.

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May have been my heyday too,

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but it certainly during Griffith heyday

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and there were, you know, tens of academics.

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Now there are two. So now we need to rebuild that expertise

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to get the diversity back into the curriculum

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to start building the multi-discipline, expertise

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and skill based.

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But where are the universities gonna get that,

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that motivation from?

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Because at the moment, the motivation does not exist.

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Enrollments in Asian studies is lowest it's ever been,

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and universities are required to be fiscally responsible.

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So putting money into a discipline that looks to be failing

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is irresponsible.

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Vice chancellors sit on a very,

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very sharp knife's edge in this discussion.

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Academically, there may be a realization that Asia

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is the future of business for Australia

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and thus should factor into business studies.

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But they also have to build

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and maintain a university that,

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recognizes community demands for education.

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And Australia's community is bifurcated.

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Some people are pro Asia, some people are not pro aia or,

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and I don't wanna say anti-Asian, that's far too strong

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for my meaning, but there are the people

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who know the benefit and future of Asia

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and those who do not.

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And the vice chancellors have to balance that very tricky

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public domain responsibility.

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Government and institutions we know intuitively play a

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very strong role in promoting business.

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Australian business in Asia, they're very busy at this,

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they're very busy taking up that transactional

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part of this conversation.

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What have we got to sell to Asia?

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When we look at education,

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education is the fourth largest Australian export

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and it's largely to Asia.

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So the transactional relationships

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that are involved there have created a really interesting

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glitch in the discussion within Australia.

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When you read Australia government,

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government resources, government reports,

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they will always start with, we need as

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to develop expertise in Asia.

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And we do that through education.

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There is typically one to two sentences that talk about the

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training of Australians to work better with Asia.

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And then for the rest of the report, it the,

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the language defaults to a discussion about

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the transactional selling of Australian education to Asia.

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But we use the same word government and educational in

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and government and reports

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and sectional reports use the same word education

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without clarification consistently

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that they're talking about the transactional relationship,

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not the, the skill training relationship within Australia.

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And that I think has set up a misguided

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or a fundamentally misunderstood conversation at home.

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When educationalists hear the word education,

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they hear skilling, they hear training.

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And when business and government

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and vice chancellors hear the word

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education in Asia put together,

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they hear the transactional relationship.

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So we need to think about

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how we rephrase those conversations

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and make sure that those government reports

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that repeatedly tell us we need to be, engaged

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with Asia, are presenting a conversation

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that's broader than just the transactional selling

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of education.

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Industry partners and business associations

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want Asian specialists.

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They want to offer internships, mentorship programs,

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networking opportunities for students

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to get Asia experience,

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but they have to do that through

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an educational tertiary organization.

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And who do they reach out to?

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Who do they contact and who in the university's going

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to support it because it's seen as a failing discipline.

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And the remaining academics in Asian studies

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are so busy create

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and they're usually now teaching focused that that sort

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of engagement work is somewhat beyond sphere.

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So we have a problem there.

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All the industry partners see is blockages

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and all the academic see as frustrations

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and opportunities being missed due to a lack of

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possibility, opportunity and support.

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There's also a touch of embarrassment I think in here

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because to collaborate with business universities would have

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to admit how little expertise remains.

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And that is tricky.

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Now I know that businesses screaming out

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and I, I can say put my hand on my heart

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and say, I know businesses want Asian graduates

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'cause every one of my graduates in last year and year

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before post covid have been employed by big business

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before they graduated, they were snapped up.

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That's an indicator that gets missed.

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The students themselves, our final sort of,

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element and stakeholder, they have a responsibility

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and demand here too.

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They have an in a responsibility to push

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and engage with the opportunities

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and the skill development that is still on offer to be noisy

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and ask why their disciplines are being cut and cold.

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But they've gotta hear about the discipline first.

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They have to be made aware of it and why it's important.

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Students typically turn up in, in my class

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and I show them a map

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that shows Australia slipping into third world country

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status over the next few decades.

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And suddenly they're interested.

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We have to be honest with our students and allow them

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and encourage them to say we want better curriculum.

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We want more and diverse faculty.

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We want exchange programs, international partnerships.

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We want work integrated learning opportunities.

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We want to do industry placements.

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Come on students, be noisy, be rebellious.

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Asian study students historically

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are interesting souls, get interesting

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and make it part of your business

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and your work to secure your future.

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The conclusions was I got a big bug bear off my chest.

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I had the opportunity to

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bring into discussion something.

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I feel, and Dennis feels very close to our

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academic hearts that

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being a good business person or a good employee

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or a good citizen requires knowledge

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of more than your immediate village.

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It requires knowledge and travel to the rest of the world

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and it requires engagement with the rest of the world.

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And for a nation, the same principle appears

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to be a good nation.

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You have to be engaged with your neighbors

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and be engaged beyond just

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transactional trade.

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We know that in general, trade with your neighbors is good.

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Yep, got it. But not everyone works in the western

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style of transactional business.

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Asia does not. Relationships are

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terribly, terribly important.

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So as all the Australians

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who are pro Asia

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or Asia knowledgeable are the business people,

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the government, the academics, the students.

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As we all know, Australia has

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a current and future transactional relationship with Asia

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in its own self-interest.

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We know that. But business schools have an immediate

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and long-term financial interest in

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also being Asia focused.

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They have a financial interest in being

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leaders in this space,

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shown a good model of how

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to be good business leaders with Asia.

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The students will appreciate it. They will come.

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Australia has placed itself as the bridge into Asia

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for the rest of the world for the last 40 years.

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Let's do it. And then you've got international students

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arriving to specifically study all things Asia.

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So business schools have a short term fee-based

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financial interest.

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They have a longer term philanthropic, you know,

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investment based interest, financial interests.

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As they grow and develop

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and go back to those heady days

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of being leaders in this discipline area,

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enrollments will grow,

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exporters will demand students with that knowledge base

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as I know they already are.

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They cannot get them.

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I starting to field, actually I have already fielded

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four phone calls this year.

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Have you got any good graduates coming out?

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The demand is there,

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but universities are slow behemoths to turn

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around and to be convinced

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that this is an area worth investing in.

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So the overall, at the end of the day,

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I guess the message I

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and Des wanted to get across is that

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this is Australian engagement with trade

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and commercial interests is inevitable.

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Given the future that we know exists in the global economy,

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we know it's going to have to occur,

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but Australia needs to get ready for it.

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And at the moment, universities, government agencies,

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industry partners and students are working

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as disparate stakeholders.

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If this article, this research brings them together

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to have the conversation, I think we start

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to have a some greater than its parts where we can see

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a, a tertiary university system,

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diversity creating specialists, Asian specialists

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that benefit not just Australia but other countries

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and other regions in the world as well.

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And start to create a discussion around a dynamic

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Asia Pacific world rather than

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a tension drawn

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Asia Pacific.

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What is possible when we work together

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and everyone lifts everybody up.

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So it's not a research where we say,

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well XX plus Y equals Z.

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It's more a research where we hope

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greater conversations, are the outcome.

Reviving Asian Business Studies in Australia

00:00:00 - Before we start, I'd just like to note and to acknowledge my co-author, Dr. Dennis, McCorick from Georgetown University in, Qatar. So we co-wrote this, but of course a lot of it is Australia based, but we are academics that have lived in the Middle East in Asia and draw a lot of our material from those experiences. This paper came about because of the, post covid realization that Australia in particular
00:00:36 - or strongly twinned with Asia. We are geographically in the same area. And so this paper was set out to highlight the importance of incorporating Asian business studies into the curriculum of Australian universities. We are of the opinion that Australian students for the continued development and economic growth of Australia need
00:01:11 - which means also understanding the cultures and the economies and ways to effectively engage with Asia, Asian businessmen and the Asian people in a meaningful way, in an authentic way to, in their future careers, that to boost their future careers and secure their future careers.
00:01:44 - a reappraisal by universities of the importance of Asian studies, which has stumbled in Australia over the, at least the last decade. In the 1980s, 1990s, Australia was famous for being a world leader and strength in Asian studies. But over the last 10, 20 years, we've seen a hollowing out
00:02:13 - and a decline in, students taking these studies. And as a discipline, what we find ourselves in a situation of now is students, yes, looking at Asia and saying, I know it's important, but using it as a case study rather than doing the background, discipline, work of history, politics, sociology, religion, all of that depth of understanding
00:02:49 - At the moment, we're losing that quite quickly. So the paper sort of saying, you know, this is a commercial reality for Australia. We know our trade currently is largely with Asia, 65% of our trade. We know in the future the boom of Asia is routine. This is the Asian century,

Enhancing Asian Studies for Australia's Future

00:03:19 - then it makes sense that we as a nation put our best foot forward and secure our economic future by producing Asian specialists. And that means graduates with Asian capabilities. I can't, there is no methodology in this was an opinion paper by and large. It was a conceptual paper to spark conversation
00:03:50 - It was a paper that was written to highlight Australia's economic independence with Asia to identify the opportunities and challenges that exist with that interdependence. We wanted to promote cultural understanding between these two geographic regions. Think about how to enhance strategic partnerships.
00:04:20 - Is it that transactional or is it something bigger and broader? How do we ultimately have a conversation in Australia that informs policy around education, tertiary education, secondary education, even to create, people to create a community where we have a whole new generation of business leaders equipped
00:04:52 - and interconnected Asia Pacific region. So there was no one case study, there was no one, area or one university we were pointing at. I do highlight the hollowing out of, Asian studies at Griffith University. Excuse me. 'cause that is my university and that's well acknowledged. But by and large, we are looking to promote
00:05:27 - brings a tertiary education level and a public, a public, discourse together to say, yes, we do need to up our Asian literacy and our Asian capabilities and we can trust universities to do that work
00:05:59 - well-skilled lawyers, doctors, architects, surveyors, Asia needs to be treated the same way. The best way to approach that answer is to think about the various stakeholders that are involved in this huge conversation. And they're easy to identify. Australian universities, government, industry

Rebuilding Expertise in Asian Studies Programs

00:06:32 - different demands and responsibilities within this. Greater organizations, universities historically bear the responsibility of creating specialists, and they do it by, offering specialized and, specialized degrees and majors and discipline focused arrangements for students to take
00:07:02 - and they graduate as an expert. The curriculum is designed though by the university and the specialists within the university. And so we need to now at this point start rebuilding that expertise within the universities. It has been hollowed out completely.
00:07:34 - Australian based Asian studies, center, and I studied there during my ha during its heyday. May have been my heyday too, but it certainly during Griffith heyday and there were, you know, tens of academics. Now there are two. So now we need to rebuild that expertise to get the diversity back into the curriculum
00:08:06 - and skill based. But where are the universities gonna get that, that motivation from? Because at the moment, the motivation does not exist. Enrollments in Asian studies is lowest it's ever been, and universities are required to be fiscally responsible. So putting money into a discipline that looks to be failing
00:08:35 - Vice chancellors sit on a very, very sharp knife's edge in this discussion. Academically, there may be a realization that Asia is the future of business for Australia and thus should factor into business studies. But they also have to build and maintain a university that,
00:09:09 - And Australia's community is bifurcated. Some people are pro Asia, some people are not pro aia or, and I don't wanna say anti-Asian, that's far too strong for my meaning, but there are the people who know the benefit and future of Asia and those who do not. And the vice chancellors have to balance that very tricky

Australia's Education and Business Engagement with Asia

00:09:41 - Government and institutions we know intuitively play a very strong role in promoting business. Australian business in Asia, they're very busy at this, they're very busy taking up that transactional part of this conversation. What have we got to sell to Asia? When we look at education, education is the fourth largest Australian export
00:10:13 - So the transactional relationships that are involved there have created a really interesting glitch in the discussion within Australia. When you read Australia government, government resources, government reports, they will always start with, we need as to develop expertise in Asia.
00:10:43 - There is typically one to two sentences that talk about the training of Australians to work better with Asia. And then for the rest of the report, it the, the language defaults to a discussion about the transactional selling of Australian education to Asia. But we use the same word government and educational in and government and reports
00:11:18 - without clarification consistently that they're talking about the transactional relationship, not the, the skill training relationship within Australia. And that I think has set up a misguided or a fundamentally misunderstood conversation at home. When educationalists hear the word education,
00:11:46 - And when business and government and vice chancellors hear the word education in Asia put together, they hear the transactional relationship. So we need to think about how we rephrase those conversations and make sure that those government reports that repeatedly tell us we need to be, engaged with Asia, are presenting a conversation
00:12:18 - of education. Industry partners and business associations want Asian specialists. They want to offer internships, mentorship programs, networking opportunities for students to get Asia experience, but they have to do that through an educational tertiary organization.

Challenges in Asian Studies and Student Engagement

00:12:46 - Who do they contact and who in the university's going to support it because it's seen as a failing discipline. And the remaining academics in Asian studies are so busy create and they're usually now teaching focused that that sort of engagement work is somewhat beyond sphere. So we have a problem there. All the industry partners see is blockages
00:13:20 - and opportunities being missed due to a lack of possibility, opportunity and support. There's also a touch of embarrassment I think in here because to collaborate with business universities would have to admit how little expertise remains. And that is tricky. Now I know that businesses screaming out
00:13:51 - and say, I know businesses want Asian graduates 'cause every one of my graduates in last year and year before post covid have been employed by big business before they graduated, they were snapped up. That's an indicator that gets missed. The students themselves, our final sort of, element and stakeholder, they have a responsibility
00:14:23 - They have an in a responsibility to push and engage with the opportunities and the skill development that is still on offer to be noisy and ask why their disciplines are being cut and cold. But they've gotta hear about the discipline first. They have to be made aware of it and why it's important. Students typically turn up in, in my class
00:14:53 - that shows Australia slipping into third world country status over the next few decades. And suddenly they're interested. We have to be honest with our students and allow them and encourage them to say we want better curriculum. We want more and diverse faculty. We want exchange programs, international partnerships. We want work integrated learning opportunities. We want to do industry placements.
00:15:31 - Asian study students historically are interesting souls, get interesting and make it part of your business and your work to secure your future. The conclusions was I got a big bug bear off my chest. I had the opportunity to bring into discussion something.

Engaging Beyond Transactional Trade in Business

00:16:01 - academic hearts that being a good business person or a good employee or a good citizen requires knowledge of more than your immediate village. It requires knowledge and travel to the rest of the world and it requires engagement with the rest of the world.
00:16:35 - to be a good nation. You have to be engaged with your neighbors and be engaged beyond just transactional trade. We know that in general, trade with your neighbors is good. Yep, got it. But not everyone works in the western style of transactional business.
00:17:05 - terribly, terribly important. So as all the Australians who are pro Asia or Asia knowledgeable are the business people, the government, the academics, the students. As we all know, Australia has a current and future transactional relationship with Asia in its own self-interest.
00:17:38 - and long-term financial interest in also being Asia focused. They have a financial interest in being leaders in this space, shown a good model of how to be good business leaders with Asia. The students will appreciate it. They will come.
00:18:11 - for the rest of the world for the last 40 years. Let's do it. And then you've got international students arriving to specifically study all things Asia. So business schools have a short term fee-based financial interest. They have a longer term philanthropic, you know,
00:18:43 - As they grow and develop and go back to those heady days of being leaders in this discipline area, enrollments will grow, exporters will demand students with that knowledge base as I know they already are. They cannot get them. I starting to field, actually I have already fielded

Revitalizing Australia’s Engagement with Asia

00:19:12 - Have you got any good graduates coming out? The demand is there, but universities are slow behemoths to turn around and to be convinced that this is an area worth investing in. So the overall, at the end of the day, I guess the message I and Des wanted to get across is that this is Australian engagement with trade
00:19:47 - Given the future that we know exists in the global economy, we know it's going to have to occur, but Australia needs to get ready for it. And at the moment, universities, government agencies, industry partners and students are working as disparate stakeholders. If this article, this research brings them together to have the conversation, I think we start
00:20:20 - a, a tertiary university system, diversity creating specialists, Asian specialists that benefit not just Australia but other countries and other regions in the world as well. And start to create a discussion around a dynamic Asia Pacific world rather than
00:21:04 - Asia Pacific. What is possible when we work together and everyone lifts everybody up. So it's not a research where we say, well XX plus Y equals Z. It's more a research where we hope greater conversations, are the outcome.

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