The move to re-establish an international student voice is huge for the sector, but will need active support if results are going to materialise in the next couple of years.
While discussions focused on student rights, the economic contribution and the wonderful but unmeasured and therefore undervalued notion of supporting soft power, international students need actual dollars and expertise if they are going to make substantial change.
After 2-3 years without effective national representation, or a voice in the rancorous debates over their presence on Australia’s shores, there is a lot at stake, not just for international students, but for the sector. Declining social licence is identified as the reason for multiple regulatory changes affecting the sector, not just clamps on international enrolments.
International students understandably wish to initially focus on building representation with universities as an initial goal, but as a national voice coalesces, will have to accept that they cannot achieve significant power in representation until they start to bridge the gap between themselves and middle Australia.
There was discussion about the financial contribution of international students and the soft power benefits of alumni to the nation at the forum, as well as the challenges that international students face in their student lives; but these messages just emphasised the gap in the discussion – messages that matter to middle Australia. The social, cultural, labour force and classroom knowledge contributions that international students bring the moment they set foot on Australian soil.
Finding better ways to measure the positive impact of international students and communicate those benefits in sound bites that will land and be heard in the kitchens and loungerooms of middle Australia is going to require dollars and support.
Students want to control their narrative, and be accountable for their own representation – which is right and appropriate, but given the high level of media and political engagement over enrolment numbers, they cannot be left to try to battle through interviews, responses, social media campaigns against them etc etc while volunteering in their post and trying to complete their studies.
Neither party will be pitching in to ensure that international students have a voice. Students need to be resourced by, but standing independent from universities to build a strong voice. However, given the intense interest in this issue right now, I would go further and say students need to be supported to help avoid burnout or messaging catastrophes if they are going to be heard and respected. There need to be at least three spokespeople, they need support to work out their messages and also how to protect themselves from racism and public opposition.
We are in new territory of public opinion. We need to be more proactive in understanding how to help people be heard within it.
