ebook img

The International Students’ Handbook: Living and Studying in Australia PDF

269 Pages·2009·3.25 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview The International Students’ Handbook: Living and Studying in Australia

The international Students’ Handbook Danny Ong frst came to Australia in 2002 as an international student from Singapore. He completed his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) with a thesis on Study-Work-Life Balance of International Students in Australia. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)/Bachelor of Business (Management) degree from Monash University. Danny is a former President of the Monash University International Students Association. He has consulted with governments, universities and professional organisations, and presents at conferences regarding the experience and welfare of international students. InternationalStudentsText.indd 1 7/07/09 9:49 AM InternationalStudentsText.indd 2 7/07/09 9:49 AM The international Students’ Handbook Danny Ong UNSW PRESS InternationalStudentsText.indd 3 7/07/09 9:49 AM Living and Studying in Australia A UNSW Press book Published by University of New South Wales Press Ltd University of New South Wales Sydney NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA www.unswpress.com.au © Danny Ong 2009 First published 2009 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Ong, Danny Ming Kiat. Title: The international students’ handbook: living and studying in Australia/Danny Ong. ISBN: 978 1 92141 075 8 (pbk.) Notes: Include index. Bibliography. Subjects: Foreign study – Australia. Students, Foreign – Education (Higher) – Australia. Students, Foreign – Australia – Life skills guides. Dewey Number: 370.1160994 Design Di Quick Printer KHL, Singapore This book is printed on paper using fbre supplied from plantation or sustainably managed forests. All reasonable efforts were taken to obtain permission to use copyright material reproduced in this book, but in some cases copyright holders could not be traced. The author welcomes information in this regard. Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However, neither the publisher nor the author can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. InternationalStudentsText.indd 4 7/07/09 9:49 AM Acknowledgments vii Foreword by Richard Larkins AO ix Introduction: Understand your options 1 1 First decisions 5 Consider your options 5 Factors in your decision 8 Assessing your fnancial situation 11 2 Making the right choice 17 Deciding on a suitable course 17 Finding out about universities 19 Choosing your university 24 3 Securing your education in Australia 51 How to apply 51 Securing your entry into Australia 56 4 Getting to know Australia 58 General information about Australia 59 Your rights in Australia 60 Legislation relevant to international students 63 Australian society and culture 67 5 Starting your new life in Australia 71 Coming to Australia 71 Budgeting in Australia 76 Staying in Australia 80 Local travel 98 Shopping in Australia 109 Banking in Australia 113 InternationalStudentsText.indd 5 7/07/09 9:49 AM contents Mobile phones in Australia 116 Looking after your health in Australia 119 Keeping safe in Australia 121 Maintaining your links with home 128 6 About your university 132 Australian universities 132 Key university polices 137 The structure of your university education 142 Knowing your university’s facilities 147 7 Maximising your student experience 152 Managing parental expectations 153 University orientation 159 University learning strategies 160 Maximising your study-work-life balance 184 8 The benefts of working and volunteering 189 Experience counts 190 Why work? 194 Paid work during university 196 Volunteer work during university 211 Unpaid work experience 217 9 The ugly side of studying overseas 219 Seeing a counsellor 220 Problems you may face in Australia 221 Seeking help 239 10 Finishing your overseas journey 243 Evaluate your options 243 Your graduation ceremony 245 Preparing to move 246 Becoming an alumnus 248 Seeking professional employment 252 Applying for Permanent Residency (PR) 254 A fnal word 256 Index 257 InternationalStudentsText.indd 6 7/07/09 9:49 AM I want to dedicate this book to my parents because without them I would not have had the opportunity to study in Australia in the frst place. Their under- standing and dedicated emotional and fnancial support throughout my university days were the source of my inspiration and desire to help other international stu- dents in Australia. Secondly, I express my utmost gratitude to my fancée, Ellyana Cendana, for her continual support and understanding during our diffcult times. I also want to thank Robin Derricourt from Univ- ersity of New South Wales Press for providing me with the opportunity to write this book, and his patience and continual support throughout. Special thanks to Suzanne Eggins, who edited and contributed to this book. Many thanks to my proofreaders, Keith Loy, Christie Lai and Paul Azarias, who did a great job at very short notice. Sincere thanks to all the international students who shared their experiences and advice as case studies for the book. I would like to acknowledge the advocacy provided by Professor Richard Larkins for all international students in Australia. In addition, he has been a keen vii InternationalStudentsText.indd 7 7/07/09 9:49 AM acknowledgments supporter of my efforts and research to secure a positive study experience for international students. I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Danielle Hartridge for inspiring me to become involved in international student affairs and for her dedication to the welfare of international students for more than a decade. Finally, a special thanks to all the dedicated international student support staff in every Australian university. Without everyone’s efforts and support, many international students would not be able to complete their overseas education in an enriching and fulflling manner. viii THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ HANDBOOK InternationalStudentsText.indd 8 7/07/09 9:49 AM There has been a long and positive history of inter- national student education in Australia, commencing with the Colombo Plan that brought many students from South East Asia, particularly Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong in the three decades to the 1980s. By and large, the experiences of these students were very positive and these alumni built strong links between their countries and Australia. The last two decades have seen a second wave of international students coming to Australian universities. The enormous growth in the number of such students is unequalled around the world. The predominant countries of origin have altered from those under the Colombo Plan and the nature of the relationship has also changed. Although there are still a large number of students from the traditional South East Asian countries, many of them children of Colombo Plan students, the People’s Republic of China and India are now the countries of origin of the two largest groups of international students. Rather than coming on scholarships, the vast majority of these students pay full fees. Indeed income from international students is now a signifcant source of revenue for Australia’s universities. The majority of these students have very positive experiences and surveys generally show high levels of satisfaction. However, many hazards await students, and ix InternationalStudentsText.indd 9 7/07/09 9:49 AM Foreword the universities and the relevant government authorities have shown a varying ability to address these optimally. Issues such as fnding suitable accommodation, health care including mental health care, homesickness, the costs of living and travel, and the safety of students are all signifcant concerns. The very large number of students in a small group of disciplines and the large numbers of students coming from mainland China can make it diffcult for the students to have a truly ‘Australian’ experience. Their lecturers often come from other countries and their accents may be diffcult for non-English speaking background students with otherwise adequate English skills to understand. The large number of students and high student-to-staff ratios may make it diffcult for students to get the individual attention and extra tuition they may require. And cultural issues or shyness may prevent them from asking for help. There is no question that international students have greatly enriched our universities in many ways. Most campuses are wonderful examples of thriving multicultural environments. Moreover, many students choose on completion of their studies to stay in Australia and help to address our shortage of skilled migrants. More international students are undertaking research higher degrees and bringing intellectual capital as well as building research links back to their home countries. But there are stresses for the students, for the universities and sometimes for the communities in which they live. Danny Ong brings personal experience and his own research to illuminate these important issues. He and many other very capable international student leaders have demonstrated their appreciation of their Australian experience, but have also maturely demonstrated shortcomings and ways in which universities and governments could do better. Our international students are a wonderful resource and we would all do well to heed the messages in this important book. Richard Larkins AO Vice-Chancellor and President, Monash University x THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS HANDBOOK InternationalStudentsText.indd 10 7/07/09 9:49 AM

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.