Like most international students coming to Australia, Brazilians prefer to study in big cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne. But cities like Hobart, Launceston and Devonport in Tasmania are experiencing a significant growth on the past 4 years.
According to data published by the Australian Government’s Department of Education Brazil continues to rank fourth among the most student-sending countries to Australia, behind China, India and Nepal.
As per report published in April 2019, Australia is one of the top destinations for foreign students (behind the United States and the United Kingdom), with over 612,000 enrolled in a course in the country.
The DET report also shows that the number of Brazilian students coming to Tasmania has increased fivefold in 4 years.
Number of Brazilian students in Tasmania:
2016 – 32
2017 – 61
2018 – 73
2019 – 166
Those numbers include Secondary School, ELICOS, Vocational courses and Higher Education (Bachelor Degree and Post-graduation studies).
“We are an island state and we have many young foreigners studying here, but the number of Brazilian students coming here is significant, especially considering the number of Brazilian students studying in Australian high schools,” says Danni Peterson of the Department of Tasmanian Government Education and Training.
Danni says many students come to Australia to study English in the capitals Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney and after some time prefer to go to another city.
“The smaller number of Brazilian students means that in Tasmania, students receive an authentic Australian experience and an English-immersive environment,” said Danni Petterson of the Tasmanian Government’s Department of Education and Training.
In addition to Tasmania being a good option for permanent residence and considered ‘regional’ to obtain visas for qualified professionals, the growing number of Brazilian students reflects the partnership between the Australian and Brazilian governments through programs such as ‘Ganhe o Mundo – Earn the World’.
Created in 2013, “Earn the World” is a Pernambuco government exchange program that takes high school students to study at Tasmanian public schools for one semester, with all costs paid.
A group of high school students from Pernambuco just completed a six-month exchange program in Tasmanian public schools. “It’s not over yet, that was the beginning of a much bigger thing,” said 16-year-old Pernambuco student Ana Clara.
These effort is vital to leverage the international exchange program and benefits not only foreign students, but locals as well.
