More than 200 Chinese students who studied at Australian universities gathered in Guangzhou this week for the first ever Australian university alumni event in southern China.
Australian Catholic University, Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney, University of Sydney, University of New South Wales and Western Sydney Universityjoined forces to host the alumni event as part of a City of Sydney-led program celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sydney-Guangzhou sister-city relationship.
Speaking at the event, Lord Mayor Clover Moore said that over the past 10 years, NSW has attracted one-third of Australia’s 500,000 international students, with the majority of them based in Sydney.
“This was the first time Sydney’s six leading universities have combined to host their alumni in Guangzhou, and speaking to many of our former students I was glad to hear that Sydney not only provided an outstanding tertiary education but a happy and fulfilling experience,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Studying in Sydney is the starting point for a lifelong connection with our city for many of these alumi, who have gone on to help foster our bilateral relationship as well as connections in the business and education sectors and the community.
“The many thousands of Chinese graduates who studied at universities in Sydney over the last three decades are now making a significant mark in many professions and industries.”
Graduates came together to network and connect with colleagues and staff from their former study institutions. The event was sponsored by Study NSW supported by Australia China Alumni Association.
Gaungzhou billionaire businessman and university benefactor, Dr Chau Chak Wing, attended the event with his son Eric, himself a UTS alumni.
“The Sydney-Guangzhou friendship has been greatly enhanced by the people to people exchanges that have contributed a great deal to the relationship between Australia and China,” Dr Chau said.
“Looking at the next 30 years and the relationship between these two great cities, I hope there will be more exchanges between the universities to create future business leaders and young professionals.”
Guangzhou residents Zhijun Zeng, 27, and Luanxuan Feng, 25, first met in Sydney while doing a masters of commerce at Sydney University from 2012 to 2014. They are now firm friends, and credit their study time in Sydney for opening up strong career opportunities in China.
“Thanks to my degree, I now have a job with an e-commerce company, which is a prestigious position here. Studying in Sydney gave me an advantage, because I had the latest learnings in marketing and business strategy,” said Zhijun.
Lanxuan, meanwhile, has been able to bring her business skills to her family’s growing franchise business.
“My family started the first Subway franchise in Gunagzhou. I am now working with my family company developing our franchise and store expansion strategy,” explained Lanxuan.
“My dream is to one day take my parents to Sydney so they can see where I had such a wonderful time living and studying in such a beautiful place.”
Rosanne Hunt, Deputy Director, Alumni and Communications at UTS said the event was an opportunity to strengthen communication networks between Sydney and Guangzhou and the two cities’ tertiary institutions.
“All of these universities have had long and rewarding relationships with China through providing education to thousands of students either in Australia or China, as well as through strategic research and industry partnerships,” Ms Hunt said.
“These valuable links continue to strengthen our ties and bring great benefit to our study institutions and our countries.”
Australia, and in particular Sydney, continue to attract large numbrs of international students. The federal government’s International Student Data for NSW shows:
- The top five international student countries are China, Japan, India, South Koea and Indonesia, making up 51 per cent of international student enrolments;
- There are more than 50,000 international university students in Sydney and another 50,000 vocational and English-language students; and
- There are some 40,000 international students at university campuses in the inner-Sydney area.
For more information on the Sydney-Guangzhou sister-city relationship and for details on the delegation visit, please visit: cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Guangzhou. You can follow the online conversation using #sydneyguangzhou
For media inquiries or images, contact City of Sydney Senior Media Advisor Belinda Wallis on 0467 810 160 or bwallis@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, contact Paul Mackay on 0432 182 647 or pmackay@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au