Australian universities may see their international student cohorts return to class in large numbers by the beginning of 2022, says the education minister. “We are looking forward to welcoming back international students who remain overseas, and we thank them for their patience to date,” Education Minister Alan Tudge said in a speech to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) on Wednesday. Tudge noted that the vaccine rollout gave the government more confidence around the possibility of international students returning en masse by semester 1 of next year. In the meantime, he noted individual universities are welcome to bring back small groups under the Chief Health Officer’s approval. This comes as it has been revealed that the number of international students almost doubled over the last decade, from 400,000 in 2012 to 750,000, and contributed $37.5 billion to the Australian economy last financial year. “This incredible growth has been good …