The Endeavour Awards is the Australian Government's internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia. Awards are also available for Australians to do the same abroad. Applications for 2009 Endeavour Awards close on the 31 July 2008. Australian Education International, 25 June 2008.

An influx of Chinese and Indian students has made education the surprise success among Australia's exports. A Reserve Bank study shows that while resources, manufacturing and tourism earnings have disappointed, education sales have been rising at a rate of 13 per cent a year for the past seven years, after allowing for inflation. Although there was an increase in the number of students from Latin America and Africa, the big surge came from China and India. The Australian, 20 June 2008.

Sixteen Japanese students have left Armidale after a five-month educational and cultural experience that is an integral part of their English language studies at Chubu University in Japan. The students, all in the second year of degree programs with a major English-language component, completed a semester-long linguistics unit for University of New England undergraduates and more than 300 hours of tuition at UNE's English Language Centre. During their stay they engaged in Armidale family and community life as well as the life of the University. UNE, 16 June 2008.

A new Fellowship Agreement between the University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Washington will provide funding for faculty, student and research collaboration exchanges between the two universities. The Trans-Pacific Fellowships would fund exchanges of both researchers and undergraduate students, and would further grow the expanding links between the two institutions. Queensland Government, 18 June 2008.

The Ministry of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia (KSA) has embarked on a significant reform to improve access, provision and the quality of higher education in the Kingdom. To this end, KSA is scanning international systems and practices to learn from them as part of their reform agenda. The KSA National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA) has suggested that KSA could learn from the Australian HE system about quality improvement initiatives, particularly those relating to evaluation and improvement of teaching quality and research development. AEI Media release, 10 June 2008

In January 2008 Australian Education International took on the Australian University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) association National Secretariat. The Secretariat will operate under the name of UMAP Australia. AEI, 25 February 2008

The University of New South Wales' School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems has signed a five-year deal to conduct training for China's key surveying and mapping authority - a sign of the growing reputation of UNSW's spatial information team. UNSW, 22 January 2008.

This report provides an overview of the number of overseas students and visitors who undertook English language studies in Australia in 2005.

Australia's ties within the Asia Pacific region will be strengthened with the opening of the inaugural round of the Australian Leadership Awards Fellowships Program by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs Teresa Gambaro. Ms Gambaro encouraged Australian organisations to become involved in the program that would bring over 1700 Fellows to Australia over five years. AusAid Media release, 23 August 2006

The second round of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) information sessions will be held around the country in April and May. This is an opportunity for the international education industry to learn about, and provide feedback on, the proposed changes to the revised National Code for Registration Authorities and Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students (the National Code). Information session dates are available from the Australian Education International website.