Supporting university students outside the classroom is important according to experts. With more than 183,000 international students studying at Australian universities and heightened concern about student welfare and safety, CQUniversity - a leading provider in international education in Australia - has invested in a range of student activities and services to enhance social integration and community activity for international students at its Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Brisbane campuses.

Creating a cooperative teaching and learning relationship between staff and students is imperative according to Professor Paul Rodan, Director of the International Education Research Centre (IERC) at CQUniversity. "CQ University understands the importance of support outside of the pressurised and often linguistically confronting context of a classroom. Our staff receive a lot of research based professional development in terms of cultural issues and working with students who are new to Australia," said Professor Rodan.

Social integration initiatives
CQUniversity has implemented a range of student activities and services to promote improved social integration for international students. These include sporting activities, functions to celebrate a wide range of cultural festivals, community activities, and communication activities such as English conversation corner, interviewing skills workshops, oral communication workshops, and academic writing workshops.

In addition students are invited to participate in the Campus Environmental Committee, the Academic-student Liaison Group and the Occupational Health and Safety Committee. These provide excellent forums for meeting staff and other students, contributing to the campus environment and enhancing a sense of belonging, inclusion and empowerment for participant students.

Academic and career support
The CQUniversity Learning Skills Unit (LSU) is a free service available to all students. Students are encouraged to make appointments to meet with an LSU tutor one-to-one or simply drop in with short enquiries. LSU staff are dedicated to providing academic and English language support for diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate students.

An additional free service is The Training, Employment and Career Coaching (TECC) unit. TECC assists students and graduates in their career development through a broad range of employment and career oriented services. Each student is assisted with tailored guidance, based on their individual goals and needs. Work-related activities such as practitioner presentations and job seeking skills workshops are also held.

"The Career Guidance Unit provided a great opportunity to start my career in the field. The Learning Skills Unit can help students to improve the standards of their assignments." says Asanka Haluwana, Master of Business Administration.

Contact:
Ms Deepa Kandathil Mathews, Regional Recruitment Manager (South Asia)
Corporate Office: 108 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Vic 3000. Australia.
E-mail: d.mathews@mel.cqu.edu.au
Web: www.cqu.edu.au
CQUniversity CRICOS Provider Codes: QLD - 00219C; NSW - 01315F; VIC - 01624D
Source: David Samuel, Australian Trade Commission (Austrade)
e-mail: David.Samuel@austrade.gov.au