Episode title:

Can I find a future in Australia?

Brief summary:

The number of international students in Australia is rapidly increasing, and some of them want to stay here to work and live. But they will face various difficulties and challenges. They have all put in a lot of effort. However, their future is still uncertain. The first interviewee, Michael Zhao, studies engineering and will graduate at the end of this year. He is very dissatisfied with the employment environment in his own country and is considering better education for the next generation. He wants to stay in Australia, but he is worried that it’s difficult to find a job after graduation due to his working experience. He got an internship opportunity, but the company is far from home, he even spent over 3 hours on the way to the company. The second interviewee is Arthur Chen, whose major is Arts. However, he has not yet found a job and is waiting for a working visa. He doesn't like the fierce competition among young people in his country. However, he felt that the Australian working visa didn’t bring him any advantages. Moreover, his long-distance relationship makes him upset. The third interviewee, Shell Wang, graduated in 2011 and currently works for an investment company. Before, she did copywriting work in a small company with a low salary. After quitting, she spent hard months to find a new job. But her working visa is about to expire. She wants to continue working here, so she is considering applying for a new visa. However, the Australian visa policy often changes, which makes her worried. Finally, Dr Yu Tao analyses the difficulties and reasons faced by international students.

Topic #1 [0:00] Michael Zhao’s story: his incredible internship experience, and his reasons why he wants to stay in Australia.
Topic #2 [4:21] Arthur Chen’s story: he can’t find a job at this stage, he feels a working visa is not helpful for him, and the long-distance relationship bothered him.
Topic #3 [8:18] Shell Wang’s story: she had a hard period of time when she just graduated, although she has a stable job now, she worries about her future visa.
Topic #4 [11:43] Dr Yu Tao’s explanation

News articles

Resource #1: https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/life-is-about-to-get-tougher-for-the-record-1m-foreign-students-here-20230711-p5dnd4
Resource #2: https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/australia-must-join-global-race-to-settle-international-students-20221216-p5c70u
Resource #3: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/international-graduates-earn-substantially-less-than-other-graduates-heres-by-how-much/17zkvb249
Resource #4: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/hindi/en/podcast-episode/australian-immigration-victoria-opens-its-skilled-migration-program-for-2023-24/yjfhytpwh

Email address

ruofengn@student.unimelb.edu.au

Credits:

Series Producer: Yuxuan Liu 
Senior Producer: Songyu Wu, Xuyang Liu
Host: Cissy
Sound Design: Elliot Rodriguez
Design and Social Media: Ruofeng Ning & Wen Yang
Executive Producer: Sami Shah

sami.shah@unimelb.edu.au

Theme music is "Political Test" by Igor Dvorkin (PRS) | Ellie Kidd (PRS). Audio Rights Network Limited.