Uni welcomes rural and international students

AFTER a few lean years due to the pandemic, La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus has seen a large uptick in student offers for the coming year.

A 20 per cent increase in Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre, or VTAC, offers, compared to last year, has helped raise enrolment at La Trobe across the board including in Bendigo.

Local resident Lara Bish recently received an offer to study rural health at the university and said she’s glad to remain in the area and study close to home.

“I am a local girl, so I didn’t really want to move away from family and friends,” she said.

“But also, there are awesome resources and awesome staff and a lot of good mentors here in Bendigo.”

It’s not just locals enrolling at the Bendigo campus, with a large increase in international students also expected.

La Trobe regional pro-vice chancellor, and Lara’s mother, Melanie Bish, said that working alongside the Federal Government has meant being able to attract more international students.

“We are really excited to be able to work with the Australian Government with the destination Australia scholarships to support international students to come out to the regions,” she said.

“We are very excited and value what international students offer to our communities in terms of contributing to the social and economic fabric.”

While it’s boon for the area to have more students for the next few years, the ultimate goal is to get them to stay in Bendigo and other regional areas said Ms Bish.

“The work integrated learning and clinical placement components of their degree means that we have a high uptake in employment in the regions,” she said.

“That’s what we are here to achieve, making sure that we educate locally and create a strong and robust rural and regional workforce.”

Lara Bish said she hopes her career unfolds this way.

“I’m hoping to pursue being a nurse here at Bendigo Health or wherever it’s possible, but I definitely want to stay rural,” she said.

And what does mum Melanie think of her daughter following in her footsteps?

“I have been a nurse for over 30 years and one of the things that has carried over into my personal life is a really strong value system and I can see that in all of my children,” she said.

“So, to have one of those coming to university to pursue a career that’s about service is something that I am particularly proud of.”