campusreview. com. au international education
Change begins student to student
Grandiose efforts at reform fail to recognise the importance of interaction and understanding amongst international and domestic students.
By Thomson Ch’ ng
There is so much debate around higher education reform and fee deregulation, to the point where international education – a key element of the tertiary education system in Australia – is missing out.
Universities Australia’ s higher education conference consists of international speakers from the US and the UK addressing and participating in panel discussions, once again demonstrating that Australia likes to compare its educational system with those two countries.
But this conference made me realise the sector has almost forgotten that competition with other countries is, in fact, a form of international education, because competition often leads to collaboration opportunities both onshore and offshore. So tertiary education in Australia is no longer a one-way street – students and the product itself head in and out of the country. If the government and the sector fail to see this, then clearly Australia is not yet ready for big reform.
The education experience in Australia affects every single one of us, including international students. If the government is talking about reform, then it should adopt a bottom-up approach, a system that is driven by the consumer of the services – students themselves. This is what makes a truly demand-driven system.
That said, the education community also needs to interact and integrate more to help provide employers with what they need.
We students need to interact, whether it is between domestic and international students, or even within the diverse group of international students. But surveys have constantly shown that we are not doing enough in fostering that. I appreciate education institutions and societies for their efforts at providing social activities to encourage international students to network and build friendship. But when we talk about interaction, it has to be two ways. The notion that as an international student, you should make friends and talk to your domestic counterpart is merely a slogan if interaction does not happen two ways. The question we need to ask is why aren’ t domestic students interacting with us? It’ s not just about encouraging international students to stand up and communicate with their domestic counterparts. Initiative needs to come from the other side as well.
International students are generally brave and adventurous. Leaving home and leaving their protection shield can be challenging. For some, it is their first time. That requires stepping out of the comfort zone. So the notion that international students are not stepping out their comfort zone enough is inaccurate.
I throw you a challenge. Ask yourself how we work to ensure stronger community engagement with international students. How do we empower domestic students to interact with international students more?
Throwing out tonnes of dollars to put up wonderful student welcome events is one thing. But whether or not a student feels welcomed and accepted in Australia is not based on one event. Are we making international students a priority on campus? How do we use on-campus communication channels such as media and publication to help international students raise their profile?
The success of an internationalised curriculum depends on how successful an institution is at managing its on-campus international student experience. I say that because education in the 21st century is about experiences, rather than just knowledge. It involves exchanges of knowledge, culture, skills and talents, which can be found through the beauty of diversity of the international student population in Australia. We must educate the wider community, including domestic students, about international students. The nature of an international student is unique. The challenge of overcoming language and cultural barriers is huge. Many would found it difficult when merely travelling to other countries for short visit or vacation. Yet, learning knowledge in English, as their second or third language, will make things more challenging. Overcoming all these challenges requires a certain characteristic and, for this, credit must be given to all international students. They are role models on campus for their effort in settling and integrating themselves into the community. Featuring profiles of international students on campus through newsletters or social media would help promote awareness and understanding.
Institutions are not doing enough to use their international students as a great asset to enhance the campus experience. They need to create a‘ wow’ factor for students; when students walk onto campus, they should feel like they’ ve walked onto a global campus. To achieve this, institutions need to highlight the fact that it is absolutely beneficial for domestic students to interact with international students.
Institutions need to challenge their students with cultural knowledge. The goal should be to foster an environment where students know and understand at least one country and culture other than their own. This can be done through interactions in projects and assignments.
This will position Australia as a global hub where citizens of countries across borders meet. n
Thomson Ch’ ng is the national president of the Council of International Students Australia.
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