Monash Memo - articles - 24 October 2001

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China liaison officer appointed

Monash International has appointed a China liaison officer in Beijing as part of a strategic partnership with education agent IDP China.

As Monash's interests in China continue to grow, Ms Linda Cai will provide marketing and recruitment assistance, particularly focused on increasing the efficiency of applications from China.

Ms Cai will also act as the principal contact for Monash University staff visiting China, including the facilitation of business opportunities and on-the-ground support.

There has been strong growth in the number of Chinese students applying to study at Monash, according to Mr Lindsay Yates, director of International Marketing at Monash International.

"Although there have been significant increases in the number of applications from China in the past year, the conversion into the number of students enrolling at Monash has been lower than we would like," he said.

"Ms Cai will be responsible for strictly vetting applications before they come to Monash and therefore improving the conversion rates."

According to Mr Yates, the new demands and responsibilities on institutions brought about by the recent changes to government legislation regarding international students have made the China appointment a valuable one.

"The introduction of the new Education Services for Overseas Students Act and changes to visa regulations have placed significant responsibility on institutions to check for a range of evidentiary criteria for incoming students. This is much easier to achieve using a locally-based person who can speak fluent Chinese and who is familiar with the range of documents that need checking," he said.

Ms Cai has a bachelors degree from Tsinghua University and has travelled and worked extensively overseas, as well as in China.

She will be visiting Monash in late November for training and to meet with relevant university staff. For further information about Ms Cai's role or to arrange to get in touch with her, contact Ms Sonia Chan, email sonia.chan@monint.monash.edu