University City on the go in Adelaide

The giant American university chain Laureate Education will establish a campus called the International University of Australia in Adelaide in 2012. They teach a raft of programs including hospitality, design and adult education. This is a welcome development as the campus will fund itself and bring students from Europe and South America.

While international education is the state's largest service export sector and provides $8.6 million in tourism for the local economy, a recent poll by Education Adelaide found that 45 percent of respondents did not want more international students to come to Adelaide.

Such a high negative response suggests that locals confuse the media hyped 'boat people' with international students who are 'travellers' and not immigrants. Much more work needs to be done on local perceptions before grave misinterpretation and damage is done to the industry's reputation offshore.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has consistently placed Adelaide in the top 20 cities to live. There is good reason for this as international students consistently praise Adelaide as a place to live, study and work. The rankings were originally conceived as a scale for determining benefits to executives or knowledge workers sent overseas.

One has to be careful about the EIU as it reflects an upper middle class view of the world that places high weight on comfort and security over social responsibility, diversity, equity or sustainability.

While there is very little difference over the top 20 cities, Adelaide does well because it has good weather, is a medium-sized city, is geographically placed in a wealthy nation and has a low-density population. Many urban planners suggest that what retards Adelaide's development is its low-density population and mind-boggling restrictions to development.

Social and Cultural Growth

University cities are dynamic and ever-changing points of cultural convergence and intellectual action. A more highly qualified talent pool leads to a competitive advantage relative to other states plus international students who have studied in Adelaide become offshore brand ambassadors for the city.

Not every one agrees that the future economic health for cities relies on boosterism of creative professionals, bohemianism, cosmopolitanism and diversity. Some suggest that the UCP is predominantly a branding exercise, an expression of a shift towards entrepreneurial modes of city government.

Even with the aforesaid blockers to progress, I am optimistic that the UCP will take off but there is one major sticking point. It requires not only students but also trendsetters or 'the birth of cool'. While one may not find the new John Coltrane or clothes or furniture designers living off King William Street, for the UCP to work, Adelaide needs an 'out and proud' Gay and Lesbian culture to foster new ideas in taste and style. That may take some time.

Conclusion

DH Lawrence once described the novel Kangaroo as a "thought adventure," as a novel "where nothing happens and such a lot of things should happen." The same could be said of Adelaide.

A vibrant student population brings its own advantages in the form of urban renewal, fresh thinking and a revitalisation of the local culture. Adelaide is well placed for this to happen but vision never comes cheaply. While Adelaide is on track to become a global education hub, its future is only as secure as the political will to make it happen.