Ms Samantha Schofield1, Mr Daniel Kenny1
1Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
As Australia’s national university the ANU is inclusive to a vibrant international student community, welcoming students from around the world. Canberra is an educational destination; a university city that values diversity and access in opportunity and experience. Over 35% of our student population are international students, with the University facilitating 200 partner universities in 50 different countries. Enabling connectivity and engagement for international students is fundamental to overall student success. Through our portfolio of student-led programs designed to connect and engage, the ANU Student Experience and Career Development team seeks to acclimate our international students to the experience and lifestyle of our ANU community. Facilitating collaborations across the sector and services, our programs provide a holistic and collaborative offering for our international cohort. Programs including ‘SET4ANU’, ‘ANU+’, ‘ANU Learning Communities’, and ‘Faces of ANU’, seek to educate and embed students into ANU. Our programs mutually support each other to help our international students navigate the demands of daily student life, connect their passions to extracurricular activities in and outside of the University, find ways to serve the community and develop employability skills, and find comfort in the stories of everyday people at ANU. Through the use of inclusive practices, our programs work to contextualise global insights and skills to the ANU experience, empowering international student success both within and outside the classroom. In this presentation we discuss the Student Experience portfolio at the ANU. Our presentation will outline specific program challenges and opportunities for growth, in response to the increasing diversification and globalisation of our student community.