Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

St Stephen's School in my electorate has taken an entrepreneurial approach to capitalising on opportunities in international education which exist in emerging countries around the Indian Ocean rim. St Stephen's has identified the vast opportunities which the international education services market offers to Australian educational institutions and is to be commended for displaying entrepreneurial spirit in establishing an international division called St Stephen's Global.

Under the visionary leadership of Principal Mr Tony George, Director of Global Programs Dr Mark Fielding and Director of St Stephen's Institute Mrs Donella Beare, St Stephen's Global has been instrumental in the establishment of the Indian Ocean Rim Education Network. This is a network of forward thinking educational and church leaders who are committed to building the welfare of the region through the provision of educational opportunities. St Stephen's School, through St Stephen's Global and St Stephen's Institute, is organising the inaugural international Indian Ocean Rim Education Network Conference in Mauritius, this November. The conference will include over 100 delegates from around the region and has been acknowledged by the Australian government. The Australian High Commissioner, Her Excellency Ms Susan Coles, is scheduled to address the conference on the opening day, along with the Minister of Education and Human Resources of the Republic of Mauritius.

St Stephen's Global has been invited by Minister Andrew Robb and Austrade to be involved in discussions about the Commonwealth government's Australian International Education 2025 Report, and Dr Fielding attended the ministerial round table held in Sydney in August this year. The school will also feature in the forthcoming AIE Report as an exemplar school in international education. St Stephen's is in the process of establishing a registered training organisation in order to provide vocational education training certificates in a number of areas, including business, information communications technology, languages and education.

Recognising that today's students need to be global ready, agile citizens in a dynamic globalised world, St Stephen's Global aims to ensure that graduates exhibit high levels of intercultural competence, develop a relationship-centred approach to addressing global issues, and express creativity and innovation in working through the challenges and opportunities which the 21st century provides. On behalf of the federal parliament, I congratulate St Stephen's on its innovative and entrepreneurial approach to education.