Blogs

Visas, travel restrictions, support for international students – these were just some of the topics covered in a webinar hosted by Times Higher Education and AECC Global this week. 

Students from all over the world were given the opportunity to grill a panel of experts about everything they wanted to know about studying in Australia, especially during this strange and confusing time. 

In March, I wrote a blog post for Times Higher Education Student sharing how the coronavirus pandemic had affected my plans to study abroad. At that time, I was a master’s student in Brazil holding a fully funded offer for a PhD in the UK. I had no idea how I would meet all the deadlines, get my visa and travel to the UK. A lot has happened since then.

I’m that student. Always have been. I’ve studied in five countries – in Hong Kong from kindergarten through Year 13, Chicago for my undergraduate degree, London for my MBA, Madrid for my culinary diploma, and now I’m in Auckland for my postgraduate diploma in communications. Here are some of my views about what international students should know when embarking on studies in New Zealand.

As I sit here on this cardiology ward, thinking of the best way to start this piece, waiting for my beeper to order me back to work, I realise something. After everything that has happened, this is the first time I’ve sat down to reflect on how drastically life has changed for me and for all of us.

To say that 2020 has been a disruptive year for school and university students would be an understatement. In the past six months learning has been shifted online, travel restrictions have impacted international students, exams have been cancelled and there has been little clarity around grades and university admissions.

Prospective students may think they’ve drawn the short straw as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, whether they are going to university this year or planning to apply for the next academic year.

Although the virus has undoubtedly changed what the university experience looks like, the glass isn’t half empty and new students should not be worried about making university plans because of the uncertainty that Covid-19 has brought.

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With A-level results day fast approaching in the UK (results are out on 13 August), students will be eager to find out whether they have achieved their first (or second) choice of university. Results day in Scotland is slightly earlier, on 4 August. 

Covid-19 has drastically changed the educational landscape for millions of university students around the world, and international students have their own set of unique challenges. The many sudden changes, along with the chronic stress of the pandemic, may pose mental-health challenges, particularly if students suffer from pre-existing mental-health issues. 

My university suspended classes for two weeks in March. After that, all classes resumed online. While my university has closed its doors as part of public health measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, I have developed a new academic hobby: attending webinars. This has become my way of being innovative and re-prioritising what I value in my own academic life. I have reimagined the possibilities to both keep myself busy and learn about new things.

I grew up in a small country tucked away in Southeast Asia. Malaysia presented me with a set of unique opportunities and perspectives that I would not have experienced anywhere else.

Perhaps because of the differences in people, cultures, and traditions that were so prevalent in the country, but celebrated by everybody, I am curious about other people and places. I grew up with an ambition to become a global citizen with the ability to move around and find community in all corners of the world.