Articles in Awards

On 13 October, the 18 finalists for the 2015 StudyNSW International Student Awards gathered at Sydney’s Opera House for the award announcements. Global Experience was honoured to be among those nominated and humbled to be pictured with the other incredible nominees.

2015 StudyNSW International Student of the Year Awards

 

The awards, presented by the Premier and Cabinet of NSW, are designed to celebrate the contributions made by International Students to the communities of NSW. They also include the international student organisations and community groups that work with those students, such as Global Experience. Here is a video introducing the category in which we were nominated:

The winners this year of the awards were announced at the ceremony on 13 October. Here include:

International Student of the Year Award

  • Zaki Haidari (Afghanistan) won in Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Dunya Alruhaimi, from Iraq, won in the Higher Education category
  • Ting Ting Chen (China) won in English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS)
  • Mingjun Zhang (China) won in Schools.

International Student Community Engagement Award

  • Business/Community Group – NSW Police Force
  • Education Provider – University of Newcastle in conjunction with Jesmond Park Uniting Church

Stay tuned to Global Experience’s social media channels to keep up to date with news in the International Student community, including new awards, recent events in the community and active discussions among community organisations that work with the students represented by awards like this.

Congratulations again to the winners! We’ll be posting throughout the coming week with images and videos of the event and the winners. Keep an eye out for those posts and share your own on our channels!

We were recently honoured and proud to learn that Sonia Ortega was named a finalist for the Premier of NSW’s Export Awards. Each year, the awards are announced to recognize individuals and companies that work to export Australian innovation, ideas and culture around the world and we are proud to do that through our work with the homestay and international student community.

The pool of applicants for this year’s award was larger than any pool in the award’s 53 year history and there were 85 finalists selected. The award ceremony will be held on 28 Octobrer at the Star, at Pyrmont in Sydney. Attending will be the Hon. Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW, Minister for Western Sydney and The Hon. Stuart Ayres MP, Member for Penrith, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, Minister for Sport.

Lisa McAuley, Chief Executive Officer for the Export Council of Australia said “What is pleasing to see from the 2015 finalists is the diversity of the companies that entered the awards this year. There were fantastic submissions from a range of industry sectors, which show how important sectors such as services and ICT are for future trade development in Australia,” Ms McAuley said.

As part of the lead up to the awards ceremony at the end of October, Global Experience has joined other companies in participating in the ECA’s “Around the World in 80 Deals” campaign. Showcasing what Australian organisations are doing to export values and ideals around the globe, this social media campaign allows us to share some of our greatest success stories through Twitter.

Look for posts from Global Experience on Twitter with the hashtag #80deals and make sure to follow @aussieexport to see all of the entries from other finalists and participants. Global Experience will continue to post there weekly throughout the month with stories of its many successful students and outreach overseas.

You can learn more about the awards on the Export Council’s website here and make sure to stay in touch on Twitter and throughout our other social media channels to learn more about the awards, their finalists and the eventual winners.

Every year, organisations like Study NSW recognise individuals, businesses, and groups that do amazing things for the international student community. The opportunities and support provided to those students, the outreach completed by the organisations that are named as finalists and how they interact with the community as a whole. 

We are very proud of the Global Experience team as together we deliver a service which makes a huge difference into international students’ lives while studying in Sydney. It is a real honour to be recognised for what we are so passionate about and are excited for the upcoming event at Sydney Opera House. This year, Study NSW will be announcing their winners at an invitation only ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday, 13 October, 2015. We are excited to be a part of that event and wish all of the other finalists the best of luck.

For this year’s awards, the NSW International Student Awards will be given to three categories with 18 total students and organisations nominated across all three:

  • International Student of the Year (ELICOS, Higher Education, Schools, VET)
  • International Student Community Engagement – Business/Community Groups
  • International Student Community Engagement – Education Provider

It’s an exciting opportunity for all those nominated and we’re incredibly proud and excited to be among those so honoured.