Local La Trobe University student Tejas Deshmukh was one of 10 Victorian international students who were awarded $10,000 scholarships at the Victorian International Education Awards (VIEAs) last night.
Now in its sixth year, the awards acknowledge both students and providers that have excelled in their contribution to Victoria’s thriving international education sector.
Tejas Deshmukh, a local Bendigo resident and student at La Trobe University, was awarded the International Student of the Year Regional Award for their work in demonstrating outstanding academic achievement and contributed to the internationalisation of their institution and the regional Victorian community.
Tejas is studying a Master of Community Planning and Development at La Trobe’s Bendigo Campus. To date, he has developed his knowledge of regional Victoria with a keen interest in the broader perspectives of sustainability and resilience of country towns with a focus on population changes. Tejas is the current president of the Bendigo International Student Club (BISC). His advice to current and future students is that ‘socialising and student engagement is the key for a better education and learning experience’.
In continuing to support the international education sector the Victorian Government this week also opened the brand-new Study Melbourne Student Centre in Melbourne’s iconic Hardware Lane.
The student centre is the first of its kind in Australia and provides information, referrals, free services and practical support at a hub for all international students in Victoria.
The new Study Melbourne Student Centre has opened its doors and is ready to deliver an even better experience to Victoria’s international students from a bright and spacious venue in Melbourne’s iconic Hardware Lane.
Double the size of the former site and relocated to the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, the improved Student Centre will offer even more wellbeing services and career support to Victoria’s international student community.
“We’re making sure international students studying in Victoria feel safe, supported and at home. This student centre is an investment in our international education sector—a sector that supports 58,000 jobs and brings more than $9 billion into our economy,” said Minister for Trade and Investment Philip Dalidakis.
Easy to access and nestled among Melbourne’s famous laneway cafes, the new three-story student centre boasts dedicated event and study spaces, as well as private consultation rooms. The Student Centre has also expanded its services, working alongside career development hub Outcome.life. Co-located in the same building Outcome.life offers international students world class services tailored specifically to the needs of budding professionals who have not grown up in Australia.
Outcome.life provides targeted support for international students through internships, entrepreneurship seminars and networking opportunities.
“One thing International students lack when they arrive here is a network and this puts them at a significant disadvantage in the graduate market,” said CEO of Outcome.life Gerard Holland.
Study Melbourne provides international students with Australia’s only free 24/7 student support, information and wellbeing service, addressing a wide range of issues including accommodation, health, employment, crisis management and legal problems and helping students make social connections.
The Study Melbourne Student Centre expansion follows the latest allocation of International Student Welfare Program grants—an Andrews Labor Government initiative to promote the health and wellbeing of visiting students, which has already supported 67 projects and more than 170,000 students. International students are choosing to study in Victoria in record numbers, with more than 200,000 people from 170 countries coming to the state last year. These record numbers follow five years of steady sector growth for an industry that supports more than 58,000 local jobs.
The new Study Melbourne Student Centre is open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, at 17 Hardware Lane. Access to the centre’s 24/7 support service is available via 1800 056 449.
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