Acknowledgement to Country

Councillor Davydd Griffiths – City of Melbourne

How has the positioning of international students changed over time?

This presentation addresses how the positioning of international students has changed over time. It discusses the key approaches to the humanisation of the international student experiences to respond to their academic, social and wellbeing needs and to fulfil institutions’ ethical responsibility towards this cohort. It presents findings from a research project funded by the Australian Government through the International Education Innovation Fund (IEIF). The project aims to identify good practice and develop a series of Guides and resources to enhance international student engagement. The research process includes desktop analysis of existing literature and good practice examples; three surveys, capturing more than 6,000 responses from international students, graduates and staff working for education providers and other organisations who are directly involved in supporting international students; 11 consultation workshops with 213 stakeholders and interviews with 40 key stakeholders.

Professor Ly Tran – School of Education, Deakin University

Plenary Panel

Expert Panel Chair – Gary Lee OAM, City of Melbourne

Students

What does it take to leave everything you know behind in the pursuit of study?

Join us to hear the insights of international students who chose to pursue their studies in Australia. Is living in Australia what they expected? What has their experience joining our campuses and communities been like? And what has their experience taught them about the idea of home, belonging and their future?

Student wellbeing

Chair: Nick Ko

Flipping the Script to Prevention and Empowerment

Facilitator: Anita van Rooyen

Culture

Chair: Zita Tattersall

Teaching Across Cultures: Insights and Practical Tips

Facilitator: Dr Fiona Swee-Lin Price

Compliance

Chair: Del Gavin-Cox

An introduction to legislative frameworks and regulatory obligations to be compliant across the international student journey

Facilitators: Melanie Duncan & Danielle Hartridge

My Melbourne and My Melbourne Ambassadors

Presenter: Mary Mai

Tertiary Education Providers’ Role in Providing Sexual and Reproductive Health Information to International Students  

Presenter: Budi Sudarto

Modelling student activities and support at The Couch (Melbourne) and The Lounge Geelong

Presenters: Riyadh Almalki, The Couch & Kai Kassie, The Lounge

The International Student Experience: sharing student centric perspectives on studying at Australian universities

Presenters: Cate Gilpin & Olga Cherniak

Voices from Chinese Families: perspectives on the needs of families with school aged children

Presenter: Lingling Sun

In it together: The Study Melbourne experience from an international student perspective

Presenter: Clare Harper

A holistic approach to support international students

Presenter: Nick Ko

Plenary Panel

Expert Panel Chair – Sharon Cook, ISANA National President

International Students and Graduate Employment

It is well documented that international students face more barriers than domestic students when they are seeking graduate employment or internships. The barriers are due to different factors; some within the control of international students themselves: their understanding and experience in the Australian workplace and job market; their limited professional networks; and inexperience with job seeking, application and interviews.

Importantly, some factors are outside of our international students’ control. There are fewer graduate roles available to international students than domestic students; employers across many industries are unaware of the value and benefit of employing international students; and many don’t understand the ‘visa’ system and their ability to employ temporary visa holders. Hear our expert panel discuss these topics and provide their insights on international student graduate employment in Victoria.

• What programs, resources and strategies are available to international students in Victoria? What does best practice look like?.
• How do international students help themselves to build their graduate career pathway in Victoria?
• How do we engage with industry to educate employers of the value and benefit of employing international students?
• What other things can government, education providers, employers, industry or international students do to increase graduate employment outcomes? Who else should be involved?

Plenary Panel

Expert Panel Chair – James Martin, Insiders Guides

Accommodation

International students reluctant to enroll without secure housing (Campus Review, 22 May, 2023)

Uni staff urged to be landlords for students as rent crisis threatens education economy (The Age, 11 May, 2023)

International students faced with housing and cost-of-living stress say they were misled about Australia (Australian Broadcasting Commission, 19 May 2023)

International students faced with housing and cost-of-living stress say they were misled about Australia (Australian Financial Review, April 11,2023)

We’ve all seen the daily headlines on the accommodation crisis for our international students as they return to our campuses and communities. Hear from a range of Melbourne-based accommodation providers as they discuss the challenges they face as commencing and continuing offshore students return to Melbourne. What is their role as student accommodation providers in managing the supply and demand of the accommodation crisis?  How do they determine the standards and services they believe they should be providing to their international student residents? And are our students involved in co-designing these standards and services?

Plenary Panel

Expert Panel Chair – Danielle Hartridge, ISANA Co-Vice President Professional Development

International Student Services

How do we advise and support students in 2023? Are new methods of triaging, ‘taking a ticket’ web-based FAQs and mainstreaming services working? What are the challenges for education institutions and other stakeholder working together? How do new professionals get support for themselves, and how can they advocate for successful programs? Hear the experts and professional perspectives on effective models and what new skills and knowledge are needed to best support the complex needs of international students.