policy & reform
campusreview.com.au
relayed a story about how when he first
arrived in Australia and scored a job at his
accommodation, Urbanest, he was too
scared to pick up the phone as no-one
could understand him.
Presenting on his experiences as an
international student at UTS, where he
gained an undergraduate communications
degree, and now Bond University, where he
is studying a master’s in construction, his
candour struck the audience.
“If you’re [an] international student,
obviously you want to study and you want
a job as well. Agents, don’t send kids to
Queensland – trust me,” he said, to groans
from USQ and Bond audience members.
While he thrived at UTS, even winning
the 2017 NSW International Student of the
Year, times are tougher for him at Bond.
“For the first five weeks, I was struggling.
I was on my own in my room, or in class,
or spending my nights in the library. I was
falling apart.
“Everyone is from China and they have
their own small groups; they don’t talk to
anyone [else]. The people that I met were
all first-years. I’m like, ‘Oh, where are all the
23-year-olds?’”
As he was missing classes and his grades
were plummeting, his teachers realised
something was wrong, and referred him to
university counselling services.
By contrast, at UTS, despite a language
barrier, he “had the best time of [his] life”.
He was so involved in university life he
was elected vice-president of the board of
student services body ActivateUTS.
Though Bond isn’t all bad for him. He said
he has a closer connection to his teachers
there than at UTS. “I like the degree, I like
the teachers, but I wish they would ship me
back to where I was before,” he admitted.
HIS BIGGER PICTURE
Being so involved in international student
life gave Faustin a broader perspective on
the issues they face.
“Mental health is a huge one,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure if you are from [a] third
world country, when you say you have
mental health issues, that means you are
weak … For us, when you are growing up,
you are taught to strive.”
Then there is, like Biscuit suggested, a
need for further cross-cultural training.
Faustin gave an example of this from
his perspective. In his culture, winking
symbolises friendliness, whereas in Western
countries, it signals flirtation.
“The ‘Respect. Now. Always’ campaign –
I think you guys need to push this message
to many international students, because
when you read some of the incidents
in that report, to other countries [that
behaviour] is normal,” he said.
Constant communication with
international students is another of Faustin’s
suggestions for universities. At UTS,
communications, delivered via social media
by and for international students, occur on
a daily basis.
As he found it extremely difficult to find
employment, he recommended additional
university support for this. At UTS, for
instance, the careers office negotiates
with companies to specifically take on
international students.
He also offered advice to student
recruitment agents: “Tell students,
especially if you are doing undergrad, on
your first year of uni it’s okay if you don’t
get a job, but just do lots of unpaid jobs
because you need to build your résumé,
you need to build connections. That’s
what I did.”
Finally, despite universities being
competitors, he urged them to work
together for the greater, international student
good. “At university, they keep saying they
are the best in what they do – more than
another university. I’m like, ‘No, you are
not, because you aren’t seeing what other
universities are doing.’”
‘THE GOLDEN AGE IS YET TO COME’
Alex Frino sympathised with Faustin. As a
first-in-family international student studying
in England, he struggled. Now, as UOW’s
deputy vice-chancellor (global strategy),
he’s not only overcome his past, but he’s
extraordinarily optimistic about the future.
That is, when it comes to international
student numbers.
An economist and former investment
banker, after number-crunching, he
forecast that the “growth we’ve seen in the
last 10 years is nothing compared to what
we will see in the next 10”.
He gained faith in his predictions after
forecasting growth in 2016 – which
eventuated. International student numbers
have increased by an average of 6 per cent
per year since 2008. By the end of this
year, Frino thinks they will total 400,000. By
2028, he thinks they could reach 760,000.
Driving this will be the continued turmoil
stirred by Donald Trump’s presidency and
Brexit, he presaged.
Alex Frino
Further, regardless of China’s travel
warnings about Australia, issued in
December and February, “we’ve had
a bumper year this year” in relation to
Chinese students. Chinese student
numbers grew by 11–12 per cent. Added
to that, its economy is the second-fastest
growing in the world. India, the fastest, is
Australia’s second-largest source country
for international students.
Still, do we need to diversify beyond
our two largest source countries, which
together account for nearly two-thirds of
enrolments? Frino doesn’t think so. “It costs
money,” he said.
GOLDEN AGE NOT SO GLITTERING?
Or, much to university management’s
distaste, perhaps we shouldn’t grow at
all. Audience members from the NSW
Department of Health and Monash
University’s Faculty of Health raised the
issue of too many students and not
enough (course-mandated) industry
placements. People seemed to agree that
the responsibility for dealing with this issue
should fall to governments.
Others questioned whether the ‘Trump
effect’ is substantially impacting international
student enrolments in the US. To this end,
they noted that some Ivy League degrees
are now cheaper than ones from Australian
universities. On this price point, one audience
member, from a social work faculty, queried
the potential inequity that high course costs
can cause – for both prospective domestic
and international students.
“Are you sure the Chinese government’s
rhetoric won’t have an impact on
enrolments, as there could be a time lag?”
another audience member asked.
“In the ESL industry, there’s been a
40 per cent drop in enrolments,” a third
person, echoing Biscuit’s earlier comment,
rejoined.
Frino verbally shrugged. “We don’t know
if growth would’ve been higher.” ■
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