How universities can beat Chinese institutions at preparing graduates for the modern economy

Thousands of students come to Australia from China to complete university studies, but do we really know why? Many assume Chinese students go abroad to study with the aim of emigrating, and some of them probably do. But the real driver behind that aim, and also the reason why our education system is more effective than Chinese higher education at preparing graduates to succeed in the modern economy, demands greater scrutiny.

In his upcoming book, The End of Cheap China, Shaun Rein looks at how Chinese higher education is out of line with the needs of its own economy. As the Chinese population ages, and shifts from wanting to make iPhones to buying them, the country can no longer rely on manufacturing. However the education system is not preparing young people for a more service oriented economy. The Chinese curriculum still focuses on rote memorisation and test scores, which do not adequately train Chinese on the creative and analytic ability needed to survive and innovate in a global economy.

By contrast, Australian universities do prepare graduates to be agile in a modern, changing, service-based economy – and should be actively marketing themselves to Chinese markets on these strengths.