Miles S2
1Monash University, Clayton, Australia, 2The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
International tertiary students from Brazil and Colombia are two of the most rapidly emerging cohorts coming to Melbourne and Australia to study. They are both currently Top 10 origin countries nationally, the only two in the Top 10 outside the diverse Asian region, and are in the Top 5 in many states. Yet little is known about their student practices in Melbourne or Australia, considering the significant number of students from these two countries that have arrived over the past two decades and the rapid increase over the past five years with substantial, likely potential to continue. This presentation offers a snapshot so far of my PhD, currently in its second-year, exploring their housing, employment, and mental health wellbeing practices and how their experiences shape a sense of belongingness or not. The literature has demonstrated that these three issues are often central for many international students in their transition into life in Australia, yet not many studies to date have studied relatively emerging cohorts of students. With the diversification of international students the key push in the sector by governments and educational institutions alike, students from Brazil and Colombia are likely to continue opening the door for Australia to the wider Latin American region. Ensuring that these students have positive experiences in Melbourne while studying and living in Australia is crucial for the students themselves, educational institutions diversifying and for macro repositioning of Australia for international affairs broadly.
Biography:
Sam is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Monash University, researching the practices of the rapidly emerging populations of Brazilian & Colombian tertiary international students in Melbourne, Australia. He has been tutoring in politics, development studies, and urban planning for the past few years at UniMelb. During COVID-19, (while on PhD leave and locked down), he was the Manager of Student Experience at The University of Melbourne’s pathway school, Trinity College Foundation Studies for international students. He previously worked in politics, as a social worker and residential student accommodation, informing a broad and student-centric perspective.