About AIEC

The Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) is the significant opportunity each year for international education practitioners, teaching staff, researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders to learn about major industry trends and network with Australian and international colleagues.

AIEC is a non-profit making event. Revenue generated by the conference is used to cover the operating costs of the event.

Co-hosts

The conference is jointly presented by IDP and the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). Though IDP retains the intellectual property of the conference and manages all the logistics, the event is co-branded IDP and IEAA.

Read more

Committees

The conference is supported by a joint IEAA and IDP Steering Committee. There is also a Program Committee and an Organising Committee and several working groups. Find out more about the AIEC Team and the people that bring the event to life.

Read more

History

AIEC traces its origins back to the mid eighties, when IDP hosted the IDP Consultants’ conferences. Since then, AIEC has grown and established itself as the annual professional conference for the entire international education sector attracting over 1500 delegates.

Read more

Key interest areas

Key interest areas (KIAs) – sometimes referred to as conference or program 'tracks’ – are the general categories into which the content of AIEC presentations and sessions are organised, and aligned with specific AIEC target audiences These broad categories help plan a diverse and balanced program that caters to everyone’s needs.

Read more

Attendees

Most attendees are IDP partners and/or IEAA members, but the conference attracts stakeholders from all areas of international education. Find out more about who attends AIEC – where they come from, what areas of international education they are interested in, and how long they’ve been working in the sector.

Who attends?

Reasons to attend

Offering 35+ years of history, hot topics and expert commentary, AIEC is 'the place to be' each October, to meet who’s who in education, network with colleagues, make meaningful connections, find out about the latest industry trends and policy changes, develop your career and be a part of the conversation. Check out the top reasons why you should attend AIEC.

Why attend?

Get involved

If you are interested in speaking, sponsoring, exhibiting, exploring media partnerships, or if you would like to know how you can host AIEC in your city or at your venue, we want to hear from you.

Read more

International education

International education refers to education that transcends national borders. This can include students travelling from their home country to study in another destination, attending an international branch campus in one’s home country, study abroad or student exchange or online study with an overseas provider. It aims to connect people from different societies and encourage students to be active and engaged participants in an interconnected world. Find out more about international education.

What is international education?

Past AIECs

View program details of past conferences, including program handbooks and presentations.

Read more

AIEC Activator

The AIEC Activator was conceived to provide AIEC attendees with the opportunity to engage in positive solutions for the international education sector.

Read more

Key dates

6 Feb - Call for proposals opens

14 March - Call for proposals closes

May - Registration open

mid-June - Program released

31 July - Super early bird registration closes

12 September - Early bird registration closes

14–17 October – AIEC 2025