AEN Secretariat General Update

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AGM – 27 April 2017 Agenda Item 12 (i)

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Secretariat Update

The AEN Secretariat is situated within Western Sydney University, having transitioned from Deakin University in late 2015. The current Secretariat Officer is Rohan McCarthy-Gill, having taken over this role upon the departure of Caroline Reid from Western Sydney University in August 2016.

There has been some impact upon the AEN Secretariat’s business operations due to staffing changes and shortages within Western Sydney University’s international office. However, as at March 2017, operations have largely normalised.

The Secretariat is scheduled to move to Edith Cowan University in November 2017 and very preliminary discussions have started between Western Sydney University and Edith Cowan University around this transition.

AEN-UN Agreement

After the process of renewal, the AEN-UN Agreement renewal was finalised on 4 July 2016, upon final signature by the President of the Utrecht Network.

AEN Website

The AEN website continues to pose some challenges and due to technical problems and resourcing issues in the AEN Secretariat there is still some work that needs to be done to enhance it. This is scheduled for the second half of 2017.

A superficial update of the website was conducted in late 2016, including an update of process instructions and tools for AEN members, contact details and FAQs.

Macquarie University

The AEN Secretariat was notified by Macquarie University on 31 October 2016 that, due to a realignment of the University’s mobility partnerships with its strategic priorities, that it would withdraw from the AEN consortium, with effect from 1 January 2017. It is anticipated that this will create pressure on supply of places at AEN institutions for UN students. The AEN Secretariat proposes that preliminary discussions be had between the AEN Secretariat and the UN Secretariat about an additional Australian university that may be strategically approached to discuss joining the AEN consortium.

NAFSA 2017

Western Sydney University would like to invite all partner universities to save the date for this year’s AEN-UN NAFSA Luncheon.

AEN-UN NAFSA Luncheon 2017

What: Luncheon: 12.00pm – 2.00pm Lunch and bar complimentary When: Tuesday, 30 May 2017 Where: TBC

An official invitation and registration link will be sent out shortly to the Utrecht Network Secretariat for distribution to UN members.

Final Figures AEN/UN Exchange Cycle 2016-2017

Definitions and explanations: for the purpose of reporting figures:  Outgoing AEN students to UN means all Australian students going on exchange to a UN partner university  Incoming UN students to AEN means all European students coming on exchange to an AEN partner university  Home university means sending institution  Host university means receiving institution  Exchange Cycle: final figures are presented per exchange year (July and January), rather than calendar year (January and July) AEN – UN Outbound Summaries

2016/2017 Academic Year:

By Home University Western Sydney University 3% Deakin University 16%

University of Wollongong 26%

Edith Cowan University 5% Deakin University Edith Cowan University Griffith University Macquarie University University of Tasmania University of Wollongong Western Sydney University

Griffith University 26%

University of Tasmania 21%

Macquarie University 3% By Host University Aarhus University 3% Comenius University in Bratislava 3% Eötvös Loránd University 3% Aarhus University

University of Tartu Utrecht University Comenius University in Bratislava 3% HKU University of the Arts Utrecht 13% Complutense University of Madrid Complutense 3% University of Madrid Eötvös Loránd University University of Strasbourg 8% Jagiellonian University in Krakow 3% 3% HKU University of the Arts Utrecht Jagiellonian University in Krakow University of Ljubljana 3% Masaryk University Queen's University Belfast University of Leipzig 3% Ruhr-University Bochum Masaryk University 3% University College Cork University of Latvia University of Aarhus 3% Queen's University Belfast 5% University of Bergen University of Bologna University of Helsinki University of Hull 11% University of Hull

University Ruhr-University Bochum University of Latvia College Cork 3% University of Leipzig 5% University of Ljubljana University of Strasbourg University of Bologna University of Tartu 8% University of Bergen Utrecht University 13% University of Aarhus University of Helsinki 3% 3% 60

Total Student Comparison Time Series

2016/17 30 2015/16 2014/15 52

20 41 36

10 21 17

0 Jul-14 Jan-15 Jul-15 Jan-16 Jul-16 Jan-17 Outgoing AEN-UN 2016/2017 Academic Year Notes:

A total of 38 Australian students were sent on exchange to a UN partner university between the Northern Fall 2016 and Northern Spring 2017; that is 32 (or 47%) fewer students than during the exchange cycle 2015/2016. Together they counted for 41 semester places, 45 (or 47%) fewer than last year. This downward trend for 2016/17 will be discussed and explored with members during the next AEN members meeting.

Figures show that University of Wollongong, University of Tasmania, Griffith University and Deakin University share the highest outbound participation rates. Western Sydney University and Edith Cowan University have the lowest outbound participation rates.

The top five receiving institutions this year consists of University of Bergen, Utrecht University, University of Hull, Complutense University of Madrid and University of Bologna, which is a return to the trend seen in the 2014/15 cycle. UN-AEN Inbound Summaries

2016/2017 Academic Year:

By Home University

Vilnius University 2% Comenius University in Bratislava 4% Aarhus Complutense University of Madrid University 4% University of Strasbourg 4% 2% Utrecht University Aarhus University 9% University of Malta Comenius University in Bratislava 2% Complutense University of Madrid Jagiellonian University in Krakow Leipzig University Lille University of Science and Technology Jagiellonian University in Krakow 9% Masaryk University University of Ljubljana 9% Ruhr-University Bochum University of Antwerp Leipzig University University of Basel 9% University of Helsinki University of Bergen 5% University of Bologna University of Coimbra Lille University of Science University of Graz University of Graz and Technology 7% 5% University of Helsinki University of Ljubljana University of Malta Masaryk University University of Strasbourg Ruhr-University 2% Utrecht University University of Coimbra Bochum 2% 7% Vilnius University University of Bologna University of 4% Basel University of Antwerp 5% 9% University of Bergen 2% By Host University

Western Sydney University 9%

Deakin University 18%

University of Wollongong 21%

Edith Cowan University 9% Deakin University Edith Cowan University Griffith University Macquarie University University of Tasmania University of Wollongong Western Sydney University

University of Tasmania Griffith University 5% 13%

Macquarie University 25% Incoming UN-AEN 2016/2017 Academic Year Notes:

Figures show that 56 European students chose to study at an AEN partner university between Northern Fall 2016 and Northern Spring 2017; a figure roughly consistent with the exchange cycle 2015/2016 when 59 European students chose to study in Australia. University of Ljubljana, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, University of Antwerp, Utrecht University and Leipzig University all sent the highest number of students at 9% each. The top three receiving universities again for this year are Macquarie University (25%), University of Wollongong (23%) and Deakin University (21%). University of Tasmania received the fewest students (5%). All AEN members received students across the 2016/17 cycle.

Nominations for 2016/2017 Exchange Cycle

Inbound/outbound nominations and applications for the coming 2017/2018 exchange cycle are currently in progress and are not yet finalised.

However, outbound nominations for Northern Fall 2017 are healthy (37 students comprising of 38 semester places) and early indications show these figures return Australian participation roughly to 2015 levels (not yet accounting for withdrawals).

Inbound nominations for Northern Fall 2017 and Northern Spring 2018 are down on 2016-17 with 46 students comprising of 51 semester places. However, it should be noted that every place made available to the Utrecht Network member universities at Australian partners has been subscribed so far.