{"id":6600,"date":"2025-10-22T15:10:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T04:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/?p=6600"},"modified":"2025-10-29T16:05:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:05:59","slug":"insights-from-the-margaret-cameron-residency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/insights-from-the-margaret-cameron-residency\/","title":{"rendered":"How Deakin built its global profile: insights from the Margaret Cameron Residency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deakin Library stands as the vibrant heart of the University, connecting\u00a0through services, resources, and spaces. The <\/span>Margaret Cameron Residency<\/span><\/a>, funded by a generous bequest from Deakin\u2019s first Chief Librarian, offers researchers unique access to the rich trove of rare and historical materials held in Deakin University Archives and Special Collections. Through this residency, recipients are supported with expert guidance, financial assistance, and dedicated workspace to explore and share stories that illuminate over a century of Deakin\u2019s history, research, and the diverse communities it serves. The outcomes of each residency are designed to engage both the Deakin community and broader audiences, bringing new perspectives to light through creative and scholarly work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read on for insights from <\/span>Anna Kent<\/span><\/a>, the 2025 recipient of the Margaret Cameron Residency.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Starting the residency<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Earlier this year, as the inaugural Margaret Cameron Deakin Library Resident, I started a project digging through the Deakin University archives, looking at the documents that make up Deakin\u2019s international education history. As someone who has worked in the international education sector for 20 years, this project has provided an interesting insight into my own work history. It has also shown how Deakin tackled the changing nature of international education across the 1990s and 2000s.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deakin and international education\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The files I have looked at so far are from a period of great change in Deakin\u2019s history, as it merged with Victoria College and the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education. This period also represents a huge change in Australia\u2019s policies on international education. The government moved from subsidising international students to a full-fee model, encouraging more students to come to Australia. \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This change is reflected in the files I\u2019ve found; the International Office is grappling with the changing nature of the sector, including a plethora of agents coming to the door offering opportunities for international links and untapped sources of students. There are relationships developed that lead to ongoing and longstanding \u2018offshore twinning\u2019 programs. For example, a relationship with DISTED College in Malaysia, as well as others that fall apart before the first student enrols.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Digging into the Deakin Archives\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One useful item providing a snapshot of activities was A Stocktake of Internationalisation, commissioned by Deakin International for the incoming Vice Chancellor, Geoff Wilson, in 1996. Undertaken by Alan Olson (who remains active in the international education sector), he notes that \u201cthere is a huge commitment to internationalisation at Deakin University, expressed by people in all areas of the University.\u201d <\/span>[1]<\/span>\u00a0Olson recommends a more focused approach to the recruitment of international students and encourages the University to make the most of its experience in distance and flexible learning when internationalising the University.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the files I have looked at are varied, from memos on visiting scholars to Victoria College in the 1980s, to exam scandals with transnational education partners in Malaysia, bids for Australian aid projects, and international alumni newsletters. Many of the files are also before email, and include apologies to recipients whose message was delayed because all the typists in the faculty were away! However, as the 1990s progress, the staff who travel overseas to visit partners and recruit students are increasingly using emails, and the role of the internet in supporting these projects becomes obvious.<\/span><\/p>\n

Postgraduate studies for international students\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

As is often the case in archival research, small incidental items can lead to bigger finds. Some notes in a file relating to the Deakin University Postgraduate Association (DUPA) mentioned a PhD scholarship offered to an international student. I was excited to find that not only did Dr Qinglin Chen receive the scholarship, but his thesis \u2013 Australia\u2019s International Students: Policies and Experiences, submitted in November 2000 \u2013 is held in the Deakin Library. It currently sits on my desk, waiting for me to spend some time digging into it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The current state of international education\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

As I go through these files, I am considering the current international profile of Deakin University. The University\u2019s current situation, especially with new campuses in India and Indonesia, has changed over decades of forming relationships with students, alumni, partners, agents and staff. This provides me with a unique view of the history of the \u201cinternational\u201d at Deakin University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

[1] Alan Olsen, \u2018Stocktake of Internationalisation\u2019, April 1996, 7, DUS1256, Box 5.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deakin Library stands as the vibrant heart of the University, connecting\u00a0through services, resources, and spaces. The Margaret Cameron Residency, funded by a generous bequest from Deakin\u2019s first Chief Librarian, offers researchers unique access to the rich trove of rare and historical materials held in Deakin University Archives and Special Collections. Through this residency, recipients are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137461,"featured_media":6603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[221,199,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-deakin","category-research-news","category-library-services"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/326\/2025\/10\/MC-Anna-Kent-Blog.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pao1A6-1Is","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6600"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6647,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6600\/revisions\/6647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}