The conference is run in different counties of South Asia. This 2008, the conference is held in Indonesia and the host is STIE Perbanas Surabaya, a fast growing small private business and banking college located in Surabaya.

This college is appointed to host for some reasons:

1. It has been actively joining in the conference since 2005: Bali-Indonesia; 2006: Langkawi-Malaysia; 2007:Bangkok-Thailand; and always has been sending a big number of presenter .

2. It has held ISO 9001:2000 meaning that it’s already run healthy internal management.

In 2007 SEAAIR conference, the Rector of STIE Perbanas Surabaya, Prof Dr.Tatik Suryani was appointed the Vice President of SEAAIR.

This year, SEAAIR is supported by participants from many countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philipines, Hongkong, Australia, USA, Qatar, Poland, Lebanon, Pakistan, etc. More than 150 abstracts were sent for this forum.

To know more and join this forum, please visit seaair web at www.seaair2008.com or www.perbanas.edu.

The benefits of joining this forum are:

1. Share the research result and get input from different perspective. It can be develop for doing a joint research with other universities abroad.

2. Get network with professor and universities around the world for individual and institutional interests.

3. Individual interest building can be: opportunity to get scholarship, pursue higher education, joint research, take post doc, teach in other universities, get reccommendation etc.

4. Institutional interests: get journal reviewers, inviter journal authors/contributors, get guest lecturer, joint project research, student exchange, faculty exchange etc.

Some parties strongly supported are Prof Dr Nuh DEA (Menkominfo), Prof Fasli Djalil (Dirjen DIkti), Bambang DH (walikota Surabaya), Bupati Pasuruan ,Perhimpunan Bank-bank Nasional, Bank Jatim, PT Telkom, Australian Education Centre (AEC), dll.

So, come and join this forum.

Lindiawati

Head of SEAAIR Committee/

Head of International Cooperation Unit.

Every August, students from STIE Perbanas Surabaya, Indonesia, through their program named Auditing Student Program, visit and experience study and life in Australia. They learn English, join in several business courses, do a simple city tour, and stay with Australian family. This is the way they expose themselves to an international exposure and values.

In addition to this group, big group of Junior high school students coming from Japan also visit for 3 weeks. They enjoy more tour and learning English. They do shopping and just get fun in other country spending their Yen.

These activities, viewed from education industry development, contributes well to the hiking points in education industry. Short term scheme attracting students from Asia is evaluated as a brilliant idea of West Australia universities for several reasons:

a. Australia is quite close neighboring country to Asian countries.

b. Australia is considered to have quite good education quality.

c. Australia is considered friendly country and welcomes multi-races people.

d. Australia offers a significantly different nature and culture that people are eager to mingle.

e. Cost to Australia through short term scheme education programs is quite affordable.

This a very smart idea of West Australia Universities in encouraging the education industry, never mind other huge impacts that can be considered both by Australia and other visiting countries for other purposes.

Lindiawati

Head of International Cooperation Unit