Tours give a glimpse of tertiary life Down Under

Each year hundreds of Hong Kong students are introduced to life at Australian educational institutions through scholarships and study tours offered and organised by the non-profit Australia Education Association (AEA).

A typical study tour gives Hong Kong students a two- to four-week glimpse of the Australian way of life while discovering universities in the country.

Chairman Wilson Chang Aih-hau says AEA represents several Australian educational institutions. Applications, including administration fees for services such as couriers and bank drafts, are free of charge to students.

'We help students to enrol and we provide a scholarship programme for our study tours to encourage students to visit,' Mr Chang says. 'We provide consultation and brochures, and we can guide them through the student visa application over the Internet.'

AEA began operations from Perth in Western Australia as a service offering study tours to Singapore and Thailand for locally based international students. Mr Chang brought the operation to Hong Kong about two years ago.

'Studying in Australia is very popular right now because of the high standard of living in the country and the favourable currency exchange rate. It attracts a lot of students who might otherwise go to Britain, the United States or other places,' Mr Chang says.