Chennai: Amid a series of racial attacks
against Indians in Australia, a delegation from a prominent
Melbourne-based university will conduct a nationwide campaign
over the next few days, explaining the steps it has taken to
ensure safety of Indian students there.
"The move is part of a plan to attract more students to
Australia," Swinburne University Pro-Vice Chancellor
(International) Jeffrey Smart told reporters here.
He said the University has taken a number of steps to
ensure the safety of Indian students opting to study in the
University. This includes establishment of a 24-hour-student
assistance cell and issue of safety cards, which would have
emergency contact numbers printed on them.
"This (assistance cell) will be put in place for
international students. Its members will include medical and
legal staff, trained counsellors and Swinburne experts," he
said.
The Australian delegation led by Smart will visit
Hyderabad, New Delhi, Ludhiana and Ahmedabad this week.
To a query, he said 2,000 of the 25,000 students in the
University are from India.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, October 19, 2009, 17:35