CISA, Australia’s peak international student representative body, has invited all international students enrolled at universities, TAFE institutions and English language schools across Australia to challenge local stakeholders on the “student experience” in an interactive Q&A forum.

“Students are mainly concerned about the issue of ‘what employers are looking for’”

“Students are mainly concerned about the issue of ‘what employers are looking for’, which is why we want an expert panel, which consists of experienced HR Personnel and practitioners,” President of CISA, Thomson Ch’ng, told The PIE News.

“We believe that this will help bridge the gap between international students and the wider community.”

As well as career advice, the forum also seeks to leverage the successful immersion of international students into local communities and a panel of experts will be on hand to discuss welfare, health, legal, police and community support issues.

My Study, My Career, held for the first time last year, was attended by around 250 students and 50 professional bodies and was described by President of IEAA Helen Zimmerman on Twitter as “a raving success”, as well as achieving media coverage by Special Broadcasting Services.

This year over 500 students are expected to attend and the event will be opened with an address by Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore.

CISA has also outlined plans to work more closely with career centres in Australia’s educational institutions to gather detailed information about how the event has helped international students overcome challenges in gaining employment and establishing themselves in the local community.

CISA will join the City of Sydney, NSW Police Force, iStudent Magazine and Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW to host the forum held in conjunction with the Living in Harmony Festival on March 21 in Sydney.