We spoke to two former students of the University Of New South Wales- Emma Perry and Aayushi Pandey about Australia’s position as the prefe...
We spoke to two former students of the University Of New South Wales- Emma Perry and Aayushi Pandey about Australia’s position as the preferred higher-education destination for Indian students.
What is the current employability situation with regard to Indian students who graduate from Australian universities ?
The majority of Indian undergraduate and post-graduate students in Australia tend to opt for STEM and other related fields, with a particular emphasis on IT. With increasing demand in sectors like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, quantum computing etc., there would fill in the niche areas of employment that the future workspace would have high demand for. According to a report by Gradstats, the overall employment rate for undergraduates in Australia was 86.5% in 2017. Given the dedication and commitment with which Indian students pursue their education path, their employability is also enhanced especially after they have been exposed to UNSW’s futuristic pedagogy.
At the same time, there is growing demand for other subject areas, which is particularly heartening because the new workplace is likely to embrace both STEM and non-STEM courses.
What initiatives has UNSW Sydney undertaken to enhance its Employability quotient?
UNSW is the only university in Australia to have a dedicated Careers and Employability Team exclusively for international students. The Team begins assisting and mentoring students from their very first day at university and offers its services free of cost. This includes guiding students on how they might create strong Resumes and CV, including on platforms like LinkedIn, providing guidance on how to prepare for interviews and also information on internships and jobs. This kind of mentoring allows UNSW to create job-ready students. Research has found that 98% of all students from UNSW find employment by the day they graduate and the remaining 2% not long thereafter. UNSW has scored exceptionally in Employer Reputation (94.7%) and Alumni Outcomes (90%), which is why some of the biggest global employers, such as Google, Penguin, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, Rio Tinto, HSBC, Slater & Gordon, NASA, UNESCO, Telstra and Oxfam, are regular visitors during campus placements.
What according to you gives UNSW an edge over other Australian universities with respect to admissions of International students ?
International students find UNSW particularly attractive for three simple reasons: [a] the Institute’s focus on employability, [b] cultural diversity, and [c] a strong future-driven pedagogy. The main goal of any educational institution is to enable its students to be able to function and thrive in a professional environment, and by empowering them to be able to best leverage the skills they already have. UNSW takes this philosophy to its logical conclusion by preparing its students for the jobs of the future through the practical application of course material in the form of internships and workshops, thereby increasing their employability.
With regard to diversity, Australia is a melting pot of cultures where the values of tolerance, cultural enrichment, and diversity, are held in high regard and even considered to be a matter of national pride. UNSW plays host to people of all races, religions, and creeds, and as a result, each and every one of our students are exposed to a rich and vast plethora of ideas, attitudes, perspectives that they never would have witnessed in their home country.
What is the kind of global exposure that an Indian student enrolling into a programme at UNSW can expect to receive ?
UNSW is home to students from over 130 nations across the globe, and is a microcosm for the sheer diversity that the world has to offer. This creates a multicultural experience that is hard to match, even by premier Indian universities. UNSW has remained "Australia's Global University” ever since 1952, when it welcomed the first cohort of international students. Today, it has over 21,000 international students from varied socio-cultural backgrounds which accounts for well over 1/3rd of its total student body of 56,000. As a student of UNSW, the diversity I experienced on and off campus had a huge and wonderful impact on me personally. It gave me the unique opportunity to interact with people from all over the world, thereby helping me overcome personal biases or misconceptions and engage in a mutually beneficial exchange of ideas, perspectives, and attitudes that helped me evolve as a human being.
What is the Open Day by UNSW, and how is it expected to contribute to enlightening Indian students and parents about employability ?
Choosing one’s career path and whether or not to study abroad can prove to be a very difficult and stressful time for students and their parents. To alleviate some of this stress, UNSW has taken the initiative to host a series of interactive workshops across the country via its Open Day where students and parents can learn more about the university and the various benefits that associating with it can bring to one’s professional journey.
This year, the events have been crafted, for the first time by any international university, with an extraordinary wow-factor that would enable attendees to magically experience UNSW through interactions with its Faculties as well as student services, including tailored support from the Careers and Employability team that supports UNSW’s strong academic and employability rankings.
The design, layout and format for the UNSW Open Days 2018 would be interactive, and students and parents are invited to experience a day at UNSW at our VR zone; build an impressive LinkedIn profile with our experts; decode their ideal career through our bespoke consultations and meet with the Faculty of their dream programme. The UNSW delegation would include representatives from Engineering, Business, Art & Design, Arts & Social Sciences, Science, Medicine, Law, Built Environment and UNSW Canberra, apart from student support services, such as, Careers and Employability, Accommodation, and Future Student Services.
The event will kick off in New Delhi on Sunday (18th November at Shangri-la Eros hotel from 2pm – 5pm), followed by Chennai (20th November at Taj Coromandal hotel from 2pm – 5pm), Pune (22nd November at JW Marriott hotel from 10am – 1 pm) and Mumbai (23rd November at Nehru Centre from 2pm – 5pm). Online registrations are already open, so be sure to reserve your seat soon.
What advice would you give to Indian students aspiring to study overseas ?
First, it is vital to thoroughly research every aspect of the course you wish to pursue. At the same time, it is necessary to know whether or not you meet the basic requirement that the course entails. And finally, it is imperative to deduce whether you have the necessary resources required to be part of the given programme. Considering the significant monetary investment involved if one is going to study abroad, it is important look for an institution that provides you with the best return on investment. University rankings are most certainly important, but employability is even more crucial to consider. UNSW uniquely marries both; a solid, international reputation, as well as a phenomenal record of campus placements, making it the most sensible overall choice for any international student. Furthermore, if you are approaching an education agent to assist with your application process, please ensure that the agent is empanelled by UNSW. Keep in mind that the agent cannot charge you for any services they render. Agents charge a commission and this is paid for by the university.
About the Authors : Emma Perry, Digital Marketing and Conversions Manager and Aayushi Pandey, Manager and Student Recruiter at UNSW Sydney.
What is the current employability situation with regard to Indian students who graduate from Australian universities ?
The majority of Indian undergraduate and post-graduate students in Australia tend to opt for STEM and other related fields, with a particular emphasis on IT. With increasing demand in sectors like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, quantum computing etc., there would fill in the niche areas of employment that the future workspace would have high demand for. According to a report by Gradstats, the overall employment rate for undergraduates in Australia was 86.5% in 2017. Given the dedication and commitment with which Indian students pursue their education path, their employability is also enhanced especially after they have been exposed to UNSW’s futuristic pedagogy.
At the same time, there is growing demand for other subject areas, which is particularly heartening because the new workplace is likely to embrace both STEM and non-STEM courses.
What initiatives has UNSW Sydney undertaken to enhance its Employability quotient?
UNSW is the only university in Australia to have a dedicated Careers and Employability Team exclusively for international students. The Team begins assisting and mentoring students from their very first day at university and offers its services free of cost. This includes guiding students on how they might create strong Resumes and CV, including on platforms like LinkedIn, providing guidance on how to prepare for interviews and also information on internships and jobs. This kind of mentoring allows UNSW to create job-ready students. Research has found that 98% of all students from UNSW find employment by the day they graduate and the remaining 2% not long thereafter. UNSW has scored exceptionally in Employer Reputation (94.7%) and Alumni Outcomes (90%), which is why some of the biggest global employers, such as Google, Penguin, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, Rio Tinto, HSBC, Slater & Gordon, NASA, UNESCO, Telstra and Oxfam, are regular visitors during campus placements.
What according to you gives UNSW an edge over other Australian universities with respect to admissions of International students ?
International students find UNSW particularly attractive for three simple reasons: [a] the Institute’s focus on employability, [b] cultural diversity, and [c] a strong future-driven pedagogy. The main goal of any educational institution is to enable its students to be able to function and thrive in a professional environment, and by empowering them to be able to best leverage the skills they already have. UNSW takes this philosophy to its logical conclusion by preparing its students for the jobs of the future through the practical application of course material in the form of internships and workshops, thereby increasing their employability.
With regard to diversity, Australia is a melting pot of cultures where the values of tolerance, cultural enrichment, and diversity, are held in high regard and even considered to be a matter of national pride. UNSW plays host to people of all races, religions, and creeds, and as a result, each and every one of our students are exposed to a rich and vast plethora of ideas, attitudes, perspectives that they never would have witnessed in their home country.
What is the kind of global exposure that an Indian student enrolling into a programme at UNSW can expect to receive ?
UNSW is home to students from over 130 nations across the globe, and is a microcosm for the sheer diversity that the world has to offer. This creates a multicultural experience that is hard to match, even by premier Indian universities. UNSW has remained "Australia's Global University” ever since 1952, when it welcomed the first cohort of international students. Today, it has over 21,000 international students from varied socio-cultural backgrounds which accounts for well over 1/3rd of its total student body of 56,000. As a student of UNSW, the diversity I experienced on and off campus had a huge and wonderful impact on me personally. It gave me the unique opportunity to interact with people from all over the world, thereby helping me overcome personal biases or misconceptions and engage in a mutually beneficial exchange of ideas, perspectives, and attitudes that helped me evolve as a human being.
What is the Open Day by UNSW, and how is it expected to contribute to enlightening Indian students and parents about employability ?
Choosing one’s career path and whether or not to study abroad can prove to be a very difficult and stressful time for students and their parents. To alleviate some of this stress, UNSW has taken the initiative to host a series of interactive workshops across the country via its Open Day where students and parents can learn more about the university and the various benefits that associating with it can bring to one’s professional journey.
This year, the events have been crafted, for the first time by any international university, with an extraordinary wow-factor that would enable attendees to magically experience UNSW through interactions with its Faculties as well as student services, including tailored support from the Careers and Employability team that supports UNSW’s strong academic and employability rankings.
The design, layout and format for the UNSW Open Days 2018 would be interactive, and students and parents are invited to experience a day at UNSW at our VR zone; build an impressive LinkedIn profile with our experts; decode their ideal career through our bespoke consultations and meet with the Faculty of their dream programme. The UNSW delegation would include representatives from Engineering, Business, Art & Design, Arts & Social Sciences, Science, Medicine, Law, Built Environment and UNSW Canberra, apart from student support services, such as, Careers and Employability, Accommodation, and Future Student Services.
The event will kick off in New Delhi on Sunday (18th November at Shangri-la Eros hotel from 2pm – 5pm), followed by Chennai (20th November at Taj Coromandal hotel from 2pm – 5pm), Pune (22nd November at JW Marriott hotel from 10am – 1 pm) and Mumbai (23rd November at Nehru Centre from 2pm – 5pm). Online registrations are already open, so be sure to reserve your seat soon.
What advice would you give to Indian students aspiring to study overseas ?
First, it is vital to thoroughly research every aspect of the course you wish to pursue. At the same time, it is necessary to know whether or not you meet the basic requirement that the course entails. And finally, it is imperative to deduce whether you have the necessary resources required to be part of the given programme. Considering the significant monetary investment involved if one is going to study abroad, it is important look for an institution that provides you with the best return on investment. University rankings are most certainly important, but employability is even more crucial to consider. UNSW uniquely marries both; a solid, international reputation, as well as a phenomenal record of campus placements, making it the most sensible overall choice for any international student. Furthermore, if you are approaching an education agent to assist with your application process, please ensure that the agent is empanelled by UNSW. Keep in mind that the agent cannot charge you for any services they render. Agents charge a commission and this is paid for by the university.
About the Authors : Emma Perry, Digital Marketing and Conversions Manager and Aayushi Pandey, Manager and Student Recruiter at UNSW Sydney.
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