Highlights
- Post-study work rights, employment, university rankings and lifestyle drive international students’ choice of study destination: AII report
- Social connections influence this choice amongst Indian international students
- Australian universities, VET providers should include Indian business networks into their engagement with Indian international students, says report
For 20-year-old Madhur Modgill, an Indian international student of mechanical engineering at Victoria University, choosing Australia as a study destination was an obvious choice since he had family connections here.
“I was looking at some universities in Germany but Australia remained my first preference as I had my cousin here,” Mr Modgill told SBS Hindi.
He arrived in Melbourne in 2019 and started to live with his cousin initially before moving out with his friends.
Victoria University student Madhur Modgill picked Australia as a study destination due to his family links here. Source: Supplied by Madhur Modgill
Having social connections overseas has been central to how Indian students choose their overseas study destination and navigate their new life.
According to ‘Indian Student Mobility to Australia’, a recent a report released by Australia India Institute (AII), strong social links and peer networks play a crucial role for Indian students in choosing Australia as a study destination apart from other factors like post-study working rights, employment, university ranking and lifestyle.
The report highlights the importance of Australia’s existing Indian student community and local Indian-Australians in directing new students’ decisions.
“The idea of diaspora includes not only immigrants and their subsequent generations, but also those long-stay international students who are temporary work visa holders,” the report said.
The report added that the Indian diaspora “provide a vital resource and a dynamic network for students, both in shaping their choice of an Australian study destination, and in enhancing the Australian experience of those who arrive for study”.
The AII report has pointed at the benefits of giving the Indian diaspora and business community a more prominent role in promoting Australia’s education brand in India. It has also asked Australian universities and Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers to incorporate Indian diaspora networks into their engagement with Indian international students.
Karan Mehta, education officer at RMIT University Student Union arrived in Australia as an international student in 2019.
An Australian education exhibition in India. Source: Supplied by Ravi Lochan Singh
He said while the Indian diaspora and strong social networks do play an important role in decision to choose Australia as a study destination for many, the most important factor remained post-study working rights.
“In my opinion, pathways to permanent residency and post-study working rights play a major role in choosing Australia as a study destination,” Mr Mehta said, adding that expenses are also an important factor.
Ravi Lochan Singh is the president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI), a student agent body in India. He is also the managing director of Global Reach, an organisation that represents Australian universities in South Asia.
“Post-study work and the possible study-work-settle pathway is more important to Indian students as compared to the others,” he told SBS Hindi.
Mr Singh added that since a large section of the local Indian diaspora in Australia arrived into the country as international students, they were indeed a vital resource for incoming international students.
Ravi Lochan Singh holding an Australia Education exhibition with stakeholders. Source: Supplied by Ravi Lochan Singh
“A campaign promoting the study-work-settle-contribute pathway will do well. International students who have studied locally and have invested in Australia through their fees and who have also assimilated into the society through part-time work, make the best migrants. The US, Canada have always promoted this pathway,” Mr Singh elaborated.
The AII report also stated that international students turn to their social networks to find employment opportunities.
“However, these networks were more successful in helping students acquire jobs in lower-level service sector, such as hospitality, rather than full-time jobs related to their degrees. The Indian business diaspora remains a largely untapped resource for Indian students seeking employment, including the Indian multinationals based in Australia.
“The Australia India Business Council and other bilateral business organisations could help connect students and graduates to wider business networks linked to jobs related to their degrees,” the report elaborated.
Adding to this, Mr Singh said that while small businesses owned by the Indian community in Australia have been active employers of international students seeking part-time work opportunities, a large number of Indians rising professionally across sectors have also been welcomed.
Looking at this from the perspective of international students, Mr Mehta said that mentoring programs could prove beneficial to the student community but they should be expanded to cover the wider community.
