This paper reports on a pilot project undertaken by Victoria University (VU) with three partner universities in China (Sichuan University, Henan University and Liaoning University). The Global English Corner project uses online technologies to both encourage interactions between students in China and Melbourne and enhance the English language proficiency of international students for whom English is not a first language. The Global English Corner project also explores how technologies might achieve a greater comparability of the student experience on-and offshore in supporting the language development of international students. The Global English Corner pilot uses the online conferencing tool Elluminate together with a WordPress blog to conduct and support English conversations between business students in China and two student peers in Melbourne, Australia.

According to NCVER's blurb on the Teaching and Learning theme of this year's No Frills (2008) conference, "The diversity of VET's clients makes teaching a particularly challenging task". This is especially true in China. While the diversity of the student cohort might not be apparent in the classroom except for in the vital area of verbal English language proficiency, the diversity of teaching strategies required by VET teachers to ensure that learners are learning makes teaching in China an especially challenging task. The levels of VET provision in China by Australian providers continue to rise with many of those programs articulating to onshore higher education programs. Given the differences between what might broadly be described as typical Chinese teaching and learning styles and the often communicative pedagogies favoured by Australian teachers, Australian VET teachers need a range of skills to both be effective offshore and to prepare students for future study onshore. Chinese teachers teaching into Australian VET programs also need to have teaching strategies suitable to both the students and the program. This paper will examine not so much the "what" of teaching offshore in China, although that is an issue, but rather the "how" of teaching offshore in China. This paper will consider the difficulties that might arise should teachers be sent offshore without a proper appreciation of culture, educational traditions and expectations of student and teacher roles -and without the means to teach in what are, after all, quite challenging contexts. This paper will draw on a collaborative research project undertaken by Victoria University (VU) and Chinese partner staff and will include Chinese teacher perspectives of "Australian" teaching styles.

Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne, Australia, has a range of curriculum initiatives that aim to develop rounded students who have a solid discipline-specific knowledge, transferable graduate capabilities and who can demonstrate an overall career-readiness. VU also believes in the benefits of an internationalised curriculum which encourages students to demonstrate international perspectives, an awareness of culture and highly developed intercultural communication skills. The University of Texas at El Paso, (UTEP) aims to educate students to be leaders who will make significant contributions to their chosen professions, their various communities and the world. Like VU, UTEP explicitly values diversity and encourages students to gain global experiences through international study opportunitiesincluding through a combined study and students-as-staff exchange programme with VU. This paper focuses on the cultural aspects of VU/UTEP students-as-staff exchange programme including international knowledge, intercultural competence and intercultural communication skills. Students from VU and UTEP responded to a series of online questions concerning cultural awareness, cultural differences and international perspectives and these will be used in a consideration of the VU/UTEP students-as-staff exchange as a model of internationalised curriculum that is effective in increasing cultural awareness and developing intercultural skills.

There is an increased public expectation that Australian universities should assume responsibility for ensuring that their graduates are work-ready. Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne has implemented a commitment to Learning in the Workplace and Community (LiWC) which requires that 25 percent of all courses be assessed by situated learning. The LiWC approach seeks to achieve an enriched learning experience for students through workplace learning, an increased industry engagement with curriculum and an enhanced transition to employment.

This paper is based on the findings of a recent (2006) NCVER-managed DESTfunded project examining the quality of VET programs offshore, Quality Matters: promoting quality improvement for offshore VET programs. The project documents quality assurance systems for programs in two of Victoria University's partner institutes in China including various elements of Australia's quality assurance system that do or could support the quality of offshore educational programs (AQF, ESOS Act, NEAS, AVCC Code of Conduct, Victoria University Teaching and Learning Policies, ISO and AQTF). The relevance of the AQTF for some offshore operations is questioned as some Standards neither acknowledge nor measure the complex offshore context. Amongst other themes, the report examines partner perceptions of competency-based training, Australia's vocational sector, quality, and the need for equivalence and comparability. Cross-cultural issues in teaching and learning emerge as a key professional development need for all staff working offshore. A key message is that Australian industry-driven training packages do not provide the best educational program for entire cohorts of LOTEB (Language Other Than English Background) students, studying in China, whose sole intention is to articulate into English-language higher education programs. The project recommends that internationalised Diploma curriculum courses which have language and learning support embedded in each unit of study be developed. The conference theme of 'Evolution, Revolution or Status Quo? the new context for VET', is absolutely suited to a project that suggests that nowhere is the context so challenging, so demanding of change in VET teachers, so demanding of revolution in educational programs than the provision of VET in China.

The development of employability skills has become a dominant theme in discussions about university curriculum. Governments and universities point to an increasing need for graduates who can work creatively, are sensitive to emerging economic and cultural challenges and who can apply a broad range of employability skills (DEST 2002). Universities adopt various approaches to developing employability skills but work-integrated learning (WIL) dominates (P trick et al. 2009).

Legal educators at Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne have identified a significant gap in the employability skills of VU’s students and VU’s WIL programs: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Arguably, OHS knowledge is crucial for employability. Universities, too, have OHS obligations and a duty of care to students.

This paper discusses a project called Occupational Health and Safety: Safe students and an essential element of work readiness for all VU graduates. The project developed a range of online OHS resources to develop student ’ understanding of mandatory legal requirements for workers and workplaces. The project assumes that an understanding of OHS is essential for all students to both ensure that they contribute to their own and others’ safety and as an essential employability skill. The project uses a competency from Vocational Education – Contribute to Workplace Safety – as the basis for the resources that aim to ensure that VU graduates can contribute to workplace safety. OHS awareness, as part of a broader set of legal literacies, has been identified, as a way to enhance a diverse range of employability skills –
including problem solving, communication skills and information literacy.

Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne, Australia, has a range of curriculum initiatives that aim to develop rounded students who have a solid discipline-specific knowledge, transferable graduate capabilities and who can demonstrate an overall career-readiness. VU also believes in the benefits of an internationalised curriculum which encourages students to demonstrate
international perspectives, an awareness of culture and highly developed intercultural communication skills. The University of Texas at El Paso, (UTEP) aims to educate students to be leaders who will make significant contributions to their chosen professions, their various communities and the world. Like VU, UTEP explicitly values diversity and encourages students to gain global experiences through international study opportunities –
including through a combined study and students-as-staff exchange programme with VU.

This paper focuses on the cultural aspects of VU/UTEP students-as-staff exchange programme including international knowledge, intercultural competence and intercultural communication skills. Students from VU and UTEP responded to a series of online questions concerning cultural awareness, cultural differences and international perspectives and these
will be used in a consideration of the VU/UTEP students-as-staff exchange as a model of internationalised curriculum that is effective in increasing cultural awareness and developing intercultural skills.

A team of legal educators at Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne regards Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) as a vital practical and conceptual literacy that enhances both students' employability and safety. A recent project provided the chance to develop general OHS curriculum for use at various stages of the student experience including during Orientation, in class-based curriculum and throughout students' work placements. The assessment was designed to enable students to meet the requirements of the competency Contribute to Workplace Safety, a minimum standard for OHS from the Public Service Training Package.