Cherniak O1, Gilpin C1
1Welcoming Australia, Kangaroo Point, Australia
Post-covid there has been extensive reporting in the Australian media about the return of international students to study in Australia.This reporting has discussed the current housing shortage and cost-of-living pressures and their impact on international students. Articles have discussed the idea that international students are contributing to the housing shortages. Other reporting has examined the unmet expectations of international students, who expected very different courses and lifestyles in Australia. International students have also reported experiences of racism and exclusion as students in Australia.
Some of this media has outlined and/or quoted international student perspectives and experiences around key topics such as housing, cost-of-living, racism and exclusion, but by their very nature these news stories do not explore in depth the experiences of international students studying in Australia.
This paper has been written in response to this.
The first section of the paper is a contextual review examining recent Australia media reportage and research around the international student space. The second section of the paper is the findings from a comprehensive survey delivered to international students about their study experience at Australian universities, as well as in-depth interviews with international students and international student representative bodies.
This research recognises the intersectionalism within the international student cohort in Australia, and seeks to collect and share the lived, real, experiences of international students studying at Australian universities, and identifying the key needs of and supports for international students.
Biography:
Cate Gilpin has qualifications in human services, research, community arts, and creative industries, and worked in the higher education sector for over 15 years in a range of contexts, before joining Welcoming Australia. Cate is also a freelance writer, and the coordinator of a multi-lingual community hub playgroup.
AND
Olga Cherniak, senior research analyst for Welcoming Australia has degrees in economic behaviour and governance, finance, economics and Chinese language. Alongside her work with Welcoming Australia, Olga works for The Social Policy Group as a data analyst, and she is on the Board of Directors for the Forcibly Displaced People Network.