November 2021 (Student Edition)

Welcome to the November edition of the Go Global News. Here you will find information about learning abroad, upcoming events, and helpful tips.

Content

Online Global Experiences

Although international travel has been suspended, you can still experience the benefits of Learning Abroad during 2021.  For the remainder of 2021, Western Sydney University will cover the program cost for Online Global Experiences* - don't miss out!

*Note: some providers may charge a small non-refundable administration fee.

Student Highlights

More than 200 students have participated in a Go Global International Mobility program in 2021. In this section, we would like to highlight students’ experience, feedback, and achievements from participating in Go Global International Mobility programs.

Publishing Articles to The Jakarta Post

Shayma Abdellatif, a Bachelor of Communication/Bachelor of International Studies student at Western had the opportunity to intern at The Jakarta Post, a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. During the internship, Shayma published two articles with The Jakarta Post highlighting a small regional town of Scotts Head and its growing relationship with Indonesian culture and, another highlighting a group of Indonesian women in Australia during Covid-19.

Please see here to read Shayma’s articles, Australian regional town becomes ‘Kampung Indonesia’ and Indonesian women in Australia hold on to faith, community amid COVID-19.

Shayma participated in the Virtual Journalism Professional Practicum provided by ACICIS.

Cultural Journey in Vietnam

Heather Tleige is a Bachelor of Arts student who has completed a virtual internship in Vietnam. A key component of the internship is a cultural mentorship program where student is matched with a cultural mentor from the host country where they are able to have weekly discussions surrounding various aspects of the culture which the students find interesting.

Here is a snippet of Heather and her Cultural Mentor, Kate, sharing their discussion on how their countries tackle mental health support.

“Vietnamese people rarely seek mental health services, and are often expected to “get on” with life. In contrast to Australia, where we have ample mental health’s services run by governments, workplaces, schools, and universities, Vietnam has few mental health services, and few people reach out to them” …. “Our discussion on stress management evoked many fascinating contrasts between Australia and Vietnam, and made me reflect on how lucky I was to have supportive networks and systems to help me when I was stressed, especially during Covid-19 lockdowns.”

Please see the full journal to read more of Heather’s Cultural Journey notes.

Heather participated in the Internship in Vietnam provided by Pagoda Projects.

Go Global Information Session

As we move closer to the opening of international travel, we would like to invite you to view a recorded version of our information session on Go Global Experiences. During this session,  you can learn more about the different types of global opportunities, including internships, online Global learning, and semester exchanges.  You can also find out about how to choose the best location for you, tips on organising your program and finances available to help you on your way. In additional to this, you can also view brochures on all of our partners, application details and steps to planning your exchange on our specialised portal for Go Global activities at The Go Global Portal!

Go Global Program of Interest to Indigenous Students

Kia Ora New Zealand

New Zealand is home to the Māori people who have lived on their land that they call Aotearoa. Māorii culture is an integral part of life in New Zealand, influencing everything from cuisine to customs, and language. Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They went there more than 1000 years ago from their mythical Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki.

Much like First Nation Australians, the Māori people have an oral culture used to pass down legends and detailed history.
We understand it is hard for some First Nations students to be away from their mob for long a period of time. This is why New Zealand would be the ideal location to a Go Global program for those who wish to study overseas but are not willing to be too far from home.

Grants and Scholarships are available to financially support your Go Global experiences and you can talk to an Indigenous Go Global Advisor to discuss your interests and future plans. You are encouraged to book your individual session on Thursday afternoons.

For more information about Go Global programs available in New Zealand and how to apply you can visit the, check out the option to complete a Virtual Internship in New Zealand (with CIS Australia) or an Online Summer Internship in New Zealand (with Pagoda Projects).

Exchange Partner of the Month: Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (STUST) in Taiwan

STUST is our valued exchange partner university in Taiwan, who offers subjects taught in in the fields of Business, Finance, Chinese Language and Engineering.

A buddy program is available at STUST so you will have Taiwanese student volunteers to show you around and help you to get adjusted. Life in Taiwan will be both challenging and exciting, and once you know where to turn for assistance, you will find that settling into a new culture is easier than you thought.

Taiwan is a modern, free, democratic society whose people are hardworking, fun-loving, and friendly. While eagerly embracing the future, the people of Taiwan hold onto traditional values and ideals centered on the importance of family and education. In Taiwan, the ancient and the modern, the traditional and the new are seamlessly woven together, creating a unique, fascinating and dynamic society.
Taiwan is also the origin of the expansion of Austronesian people, retaining the most diverse varieties of Austronesian languages and cultures.
Want to find out more? Visit STUST's online brochure on our webpage and start your application!

Applications for semester exchange for Spring 2022 are open until 31 January 2022.

Japanese Studies at Sophia University in Japan

Sophia University has been providing students from across the globe the opportunity to learn distinctive aspects of Japanese studies, completely online. During this program you will learn about Japan and the country’s relation to Asia and the rest of the world. This is an amazing opportunity for students who have an interest in Japanese culture and want to learn first just how nuance Japanese culture is, and how their culture interacts with others.

If you select up to three January Session courses, you will be able to delve into the culture and contemporary issues of Japan, and for beginners, take your first steps in learning the Japanese language.

Course options include: Japanese business and economy, media and Contemporary issues in Japan, Contemporary Japanese culture and society, Perspective in Intern-cultural communication: Japanese communication and culture, and Basic Japanese.

For further information visit the Go Global Program Discovery portal.

Virtual Internships in Japan

Experience the benefits of a remote internship and develop your professional skills while learning about Japanese culture. A wide range of placements are available for 4 to 12 weeks in areas of Business, Technology, Computer Science, NGOs, English Teaching (TESOL/TEFL) and more!

The CISaustralia Virtual TESOL/TEFL Internship Program in Japan is open to Australian University students or recent graduates of all academic disciplines. As an English teaching intern, you will gain real world experience in a virtual environment by spending 15+ hours per week learning and experiencing lesson planning and assessment creation, lesson delivery, classroom management tools, fielding student questions, motivational strategies, professionalism and Japanese work and culture. You will work alongside trained and experienced teachers in a Junior and Senior High School in central Tokyo. As part of the program, you will also be enrolled in an accredited 120-hour TESOL/TEFL course to learn everything you need to know to start teaching English either overseas or online.

For more information visit, CISaustralia brochure and CISaustralia website.

International Start-up Projects in Hong Kong

The School of Business has an exciting announcement to make: there is a new credit-bearing Online Global Learning Program opportunity for you, which allows you to earn academic credit for an assessment task in unit 200621 in your International Human Resource Management course.
The Online Global Learning Program is called 'Developing Competitive International Start-up Projects in Hong Kong' and the best part is: the program cost is fully covered by the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant Scheme for eligible students.

The Online Global Learning Program is led by the provider People & Friends and will take place via zoom from 9th - 21st January 2022. It features a virtual journey to Hong Kong to meet managers from large international companies and start-ups as well as an online lecture on International Human Resources Management held by a local professor from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In addition, you become short-term entrepreneurial consultants when working on your own Start-up Challenge Projects (real challenges provided by real start-ups) and discover the Hong Kong culture in Virtual Reality.
Register until 30th November 2021 via the WSU Go Global Portal to secure your seat!

Online Sustainable Development Goals Program

You can embark on an exciting virtual journey to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and virtually visit important UN destinations from 9th - 21st January 2022. You will hear from virtual guest speakers from organizations, such as the UN Environment Programme as well as inspiring social entrepreneurs from around the world and become a Goalkeeper for the SDG that you like most. In addition, you team up with international peers to tackle your own SDG Start-up Project. People & Friends will lead this program and teach you state-of-the-art entrepreneurial tools and methods in order for you to develop your own social start-up from scratch to receive valuable feedback from experience social entrepreneurs. On top of that, you can enjoy numerous SDG-related virtual experiences, such as a virtual cooking class led by a sustainable start-up, visit the Machu Picchu (a UN World Heritage site) and go on a virtual tour of New York.

Register until 17th December 2021 via the Go Global portal to secure your seat! The best part is: Western Sydney University students are eligible for a full scholarship to cover the total cost of participating in this program.