#1 Victorian uni for graduate employment1
#1 in the world for sport science2
#1 Victorian uni for course satisfaction3
#1 Victorian uni for graduate employment1
#1 in the world for sport science2
#1 Victorian uni for course satisfaction3
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Moving overseas to study is an incredibly exciting opportunity. The experience will leave you with so much more than just a degree; you will have learnt about and lived in a different culture, met new people, and gained plenty of valuable life skills along the way. But studying overseas can be daunting, too.
If you are an international student moving to a brand-new country, it is natural to encounter some challenges along the way. This is where having access to the right international student support services becomes vital.
Luckily, there are plenty of support services available for international students at Deakin University, Australia. To learn more, we spoke with Deakin graduate and international student Mich to learn all about what support is available and how to access it.
International students studying in Australia often find university life vibrant and exciting. For Mich, who came from Indonesia to study an MBA on a meritorious scholarship, the whole experience has been a dream.
‘It has been amazing,’ she says. ‘I love living in Australia, and I have really loved my experience in Deakin. I met so many incredible people and really got a lot out of the Vice-Chancellor’s Professional Excellence Program (VCPEP) program. I even went to Malaysia last year for the humanitarian symposium with Deakin.’
Of course, such exciting opportunities also mean stepping out of your comfort zone, and this can be challenging at times. Studying overseas can be overwhelming from a logistical point of view. If you are an international student in Australia, you will need to find accommodation, as well as manage funding for your accommodation and studies. Living away from home also means navigating everyday things like healthcare, transportation, and new social networks in an environment where things might be a little different than they are at home.
Fortunately, at Deakin, there is a wide range of international student support services to help you on your overseas study journey.
As anyone who has moved overseas can confirm, finding a place to live is one of the first priorities. It might seem daunting initially, but, as Mich explains, Deakin has a valuable range of accommodation and living support services for international students.
‘Through the Deakin University Student Association (DUSA) you can definitely get a lot of help with that, in terms of dorm placements or trying to find an informal network of share houses around Deakin,’ Mich says. ‘There is a lot of support available.’
That includes the Houseme database, which provides a list of off-campus accommodation options, and the off campus housing service, where students can find support for everything from learning about the amenities in a particular area to answering common rental questions and helping with rental applications.
For Mich, studying on a scholarship has been a very important form of financial support. International student scholarships at Deakin range from covering 100% of tuition costs (as is the case with the Deakin Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship) to offering one-off payments, as seen with the Southeast Asia Priority Bursary.
Scholarships can provide international students with important financial support services. There are also financial support services for international students experiencing financial hardship, which includes potential access to interest-free loans, refurbished laptops at no cost, and a one-off Woolworths voucher to assist with grocery costs.
Additionally, if you need help managing your day-to-day finances, or if you are looking for assistance in planning for your future, Deakin offers plenty of hands-on support.
‘Part of the workshops that DeakinTALENT does is how to navigate through your finances, how to navigate through your career, so a more holistic aspect of international student life here in Deakin,’ Mich says.
Studying here in Australia is a huge opportunity, and one that offers many rewards. Of course, it is natural to experience a range of emotions during your journey. This is something that Mich has seen firsthand in her international student group.
‘A friend of mine was going through a lot during her university time, because it can be a lot, juggling work and being in a new country,’ Mich says. ‘So, she was just getting very flustered and overwhelmed.’
For Mich’s friend and others in the same position, Deakin offers accessible mental health and wellbeing support – including access to free counselling.
‘From the StudentConnect portal, it is very straightforward,’ Mich says. ‘It is very easy booking a meeting with a counsellor. You choose a service, and then you can see the allotted times, and then you just book an online consultation.’
The Victorian Government also offers plenty of resources for international students looking for mental health support services. Remember – no matter what you are going through, there is always help available.
As Mich says, DeakinTALENT can be a vital international student support service for those looking ahead to a career after university. DeakinTALENT is Deakin’s career service, designed to provide students and graduates with personalised support and resources from enrolment to graduation and beyond. DeakinTALENT’s programs and services help students explore career pathways and goals, discover roles and employers, apply for opportunities, and network with industry. It is a lifetime service, meaning all Deakin students and graduates have access to it for life.
‘From the digital aspect, I have really gotten a lot out of DeakinTALENT resume reviewing services, and there are a lot of AI tools as well to optimise your resume,’ she says.
Beyond the online and digital support, Mich also found benefit in Deakin’s career-focused events.
‘One of the events that I found really helpful was a panel,’ Mich says. ‘The panellists were Deakin international graduates who secured a full-time job, so they talked about their experience of what they did to tailor their resumes, how they shine in interviews. It was very, very beneficial. There are networking events as well that DeakinTALENT throws a lot, which have been very useful.’
If you are an international student looking for study support services, there are all sorts of resources available to you, including mentorship, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) and assessment assistance from Study Support Advisers.
Leaving your home country often means living a long way from your usual support network. This means that, for international students, having access to support network services here in Australia is important. As Mich suggests, at Deakin this includes anything from clubs to international student societies.
‘In terms of clubs, I have spoken with the Commerce Society, but there are a lot of informal groups as well,’ she says. ‘Because I’m Indonesian, I do speak a lot with the Indonesian students, and I do feel like it is so easy to find groups of people from your country, which is definitely very helpful if you are moving to a country for the first time.’
No matter whether you are studying for the very first time or coming to Australia to complete a postgraduate degree, international students need access to support services. From financial assistance to mental health support or career guidance, Deakin offers a wide range of vital support services, ensuring that all international students get the help they need.
