International student numbers booming

HEAD of Bendigo’s La Trobe University campus, Associate Professor Julie Rudner, has said she’s pleased with the number of international students who have chosen the campus for study.

With numbers at the local arm of the university currently the highest ever, Associate Professor Rudner said such students are crucial to the richness of the university’s culture.

She also said it is important to remember that today we live in a globalised world, and being able to sympathise with different cultures is key to building international capabilities.

“Connecting ourselves to other countries through international study is incredibly important for research partnerships, industry partnerships,” she said.

“You just have to look at any multinational and the types of skilled work forces they need.

According to Associate Professor Rudner, La Trobe was one of the few universities whose student experience increased during the pandemic after the institution provided extra support to international students, like financial assistance.

“We did a huge outreach to make sure the students were connected to their classes,” she said.

“Some students were still overseas, so we tried to ensure they still got the best level of education that they could, so when the doors did open, there was a level of trust we’d established and created over that time.”

Coming from Kuwait, Yousif Mohammad, said although he received offers from several Australian universities, he chose La Trobe in Bendigo after researching the quality of life for international students.

“I had lots of offers from other universities. It’s more like the place, the people,” he said.

“Bendigo was my choice because mostly I searched up how they support international students, how many international students they have, are there any problems in the area, is it safe to live here.

“I like nature, so it’s a good place for nature as well, and people are very kind.”

Ms Rudner said many students decide to stay in the regions to work with post-study work rights, helping contribute to local industries.

Nairobi Brooks Medina is from the Philippines and said she intends to work in Bendigo upon graduating.

“I’ll probably stay here after graduating uni, just because I like Australia and Bendigo, and I want to discover more of the community and help the community grow and develop in the next couple of years as a graduate student engineer,” she said.

Nationwide data backs La Trobe Bendigo’s numbers.

The 2022 Student visa and Temporary Graduate visa program report by the Department of Home Affairs shows since borders reopened in December 2021, the number of student visa applications granted had increased.

Numbers were up by almost 30,987 from June 2021 to June 2022, or eight per cent on the previous year, although the total is still well below pre-COVID numbers.