Australia is a dynamic and relatively new country which is fully developed. It is vibrant due to a multicultural society and has a great sense of self that embodies values of hard work and fair play for all. Australian colleges gain the third largest number of overseas students among the English-speaking countries, third only to the far larger populations of America and the UK.

Australia is a prime educational destination fulfilling educational and extra curricular requirements to the fullest. Australia is expanding as one of the most popular study destinations amongst students seeking a study/lifestyle balance. It boasts world-class infrastructure in conjunction with safe, pleasant living opportunities.

Nowadays overseas students are studying increasingly varied sets of disciplines at Australian institutions. At the top of the lists of study choices comes business and management followed by IT, tourism, hospitality.

Australia is known across the world as a safe, multicultural and internationally recognized environment for further education.

Recently Australia brought in a quality assurance strategy designed for learning centres who offer services to students from other countries. The Australian system for overseas students offers a tailored and comprehensible structure making it easy for students from any background to find their study package of choice.

Stroll into any tourist town in Australia these days and you’ll find a myriad of souvenir shops spruiking their ‘Australiana’ wares. The classic yellow ‘Kangaroo Xing’ and ‘Koala Kountry’ road signs adorn the walls. I often wonder why their deliberate misspellings are ignored or are they embraced as typically ‘Australian’?

Are we perceived as nation of uneducated Shaun’s and Sharon’s just tramping about the Outback of Top End Australia?

There are plenty of reasons to believe we are. After all almost every media image conveyed overseas is either of a kangaroo thumping its way past Uluru or boats gliding past the glistening white sails of the Sydney Opera House. Not to mention the overly tanned face of Paul Hogan touting those immortal words “throw another shrimp on the barbie”. It doesn’t quite conjure up Australian’s as a highly studious bunch.

Alas, I found we do have a better reputation then that.

Growing up on a remote cattle station I had the unique experience of being classed through the ‘School of the Air’; an educational system operated using 2-way radio between student and teacher. The teacher was usually located in the nearest major town, often hundred’s of kilometres away from the student.

For 2 hours a day I would converse with my teacher learning subjects found in any local school curriculum - Mathematics, English, Australian History, Geography and even Bible Studies! Another 4 hours would be spent doing homework under the guidance of my nanny or sometimes my mother, when she wasn’t out mustering.

At 16 I left home for boarding school, my remote schooling putting me on par with my fellow students. I then studied literature at University. Whilst at University I became good friends with a Thai student. He constantly reminded me how good the Australian education system was. Being typically Australian I took our education system for granted and I never quite believed him.

A few years later I travelled through Thailand, other parts of South East Asia and India. I then saw first hand how the students worked hard to save money to study in Australia – for these students, it is seen as the very pinnacle of education to study here in Australia.

And as for those souvenir road signs, well, I think visitors see them as a reflection of our laid back personality.