International students feel they are a perceived as a burden to local communities. Finding friends, work experience and a job are difficult tasks especially with a language barrier and cultural unawareness. Studying in a new country, in a new language, with new international friends is an overwhelming experience. So finding a good support network and feeling welcomed within Australian universities is important but not easy to obtain.
Linnea Wastberg, a Swedish international student at the University of Technology Sydney, has studied a Bachelor of Communications (Social Inquiry) for the last three years in Australia. In her first year at UTS, while Linnea was learning how to complete assignments in the English language she was also faced with the difficulties of settling into university social life. UTS offers many societies and clubs but finding the best one for yourself can be a long process of trial and error.
"During my first year it was just so hard to know where to start. I didn't know where to make contact with people; I didn't know how to get in touch with all the different societies and clubs. It was quite daunting to be honest," said Linnea.
In her second year, Linnea joined the Peer Networking leadership program and finally opened the gateway to positive social opportunities. She met a diverse group of students, both local and international and worked with people studying in all different degrees. Despite establishing good connections with university students in this program, establishing a connection with classmates was still a challenge.
"My experience is that local students find international students to be more of a burden when it comes to uni work and those sort of things than international students contributing anything good."
In most degrees offered at university, group work and class collaboration plays an important role in your final grade for the subject. However, Linnea, as an international student, received an unwelcome vibe from some of her classmates when it came to forming assessment groups.
"I expected people to say: 'Oh that's so exciting, you're from Sweden.' But instead it's more like: 'Oh yeah, we don't really work with you because your English won't be as good as ours. It's going to be harder for us if you're in our group doing group work."
This attitude was similarly reflected within the workplace and in her search for an appropriate internship. In order to a be an eligible candidate for a graduate job, students require a reasonable amount of interning experience to enhance their studies and increase their capabilities in their field of expertise.
"Back at home internships aren't as big as it is here. Because here it is kind of compulsory. If you want to be able to get a good job when you graduate you have to have done free work during your degree. This isn't easy for us."
In her search for work placement, Linnea was once again seen more as a burden to the position and reluctantly considered for the opportunity.
"It's the same with organisations. Taking on an international student as an intern is more work. It's hard work compared to them taking on a local student, but it also creates this sort of segregation. And it's a shame because there are so many things we can learn from each other."
Linnea believes that it is her lack of general Australian knowledge that hinders her eligibility for an internship opportunity. The fact that English is not her first language leads employers to the assumption that it is more work for them if she was a part of their organisation.
"So a lot of organisations I know will go straightaway: It's too hard to train someone who doesn't have that sort of knowledge."
However, Linnea found an internship opportunity offered by the City of Sydney specifically requiring international students. She continued on with them for work placement in the final semester of her degree. Through this experience, Linnea was able to establish a great network and live the opportunity she knew she was lucky to receive.
Today, a year later, still on a student visa, Linnea is on a casual ongoing contract with the City of Sydney. Using what she knows and what she has experienced as an international student, she looks at strategic work and programs in the international education sector directly relating to the well-being and experience of international students.
Finishing her studies in Social Inquiry she gained a greater global understanding and Australian awareness from university life in Sydney. Taking on the internship and gaining experience in the Australian workforce helped Linnea find her current job and reach the success she is at today.
