By DIRK MULDER

 We can lose sight of what international education is and why we are successful on the global stage

Scrolling through Linkedin as one does in a COVID-19 affected world, I was reading the usual stories of how international education is up the creek without a paddle for the foreseeable future and liking the odd work anniversary of former colleagues.

Then I stumbled on a story board posted by Ocean Cheung, a recent graduate student who came to Australia from Hong Kong in 2016.

The first photo was him arriving at Brisbane airport looking fresh faced, excited and anxious. The quote on the photo said “Tada! This is me four years ago (and my plush toy) When I first arrived in Australia. I was literally crying on the plane cause I knew I won’t see my family and friends for a long time.”

The story (and journey) continues, showing pictures and captioned along the way. How he met his first friends, emotions on his first semester and how tough it was, utilising student support services, signing up for an ambassador program which he says was “one of the best decisions of his life.” He learned from students in the programme who were older than him, is forthright about how he was rejected from his first application for internships and how volunteering provided him the first opportunity for professional employment. This opportunity brought new perspectives, more new friends and opportunities to be accepted to the Queensland Student Advisory Panel. This in turn allowed him to give-back and work to help other international students.

He then, via the University of Queensland, was able to spend a month in Israel alongside start-ups and investors. Graduation ensued and he is now working with educators, designers and engineers to deliver technologies in experiential learning in Brisbane.

Why is this important?

In all the talk of how much international education is worth to the country, in our current situation we can lose sight of what international education is and why we, as a nation, are successful on the global stage.

That is simply we are a land of opportunity and with a little work, dreams can and do come true. Ocean’s story board on Linkedin is personal, emotional and authentic. It reminds us all that international education isn’t merely a glossy graduation photo at the end of it but a journey that should focus on the student and their success throughout – without these foci we simply don’t have an industry.

To follow Ocean’s story simply search #austory on Linkedin. Here’s hoping it will start a grassroots campaign of student success stories which he is encouraging others to contribute to.

Dirk Mulder is CMM’s international education correspondent