What Western and the NSW Government is doing to help our international students.
NSW Government Aid package
The NSW government has recently announced that it will fund a $20million temporary crisis accommodation package for international students who are facing hardship due to Covid-19. This will include a temporary housing scheme and student support services particularly from the International Legal Service NSW to help students with issues in relation to rental agreements and health matters. Students can visit Service NSW to get started and we encourage our students to connect.
The Western Success Initiative
As a key support program for our international students we set our Western Success Team to ensure each student had direct phone contact with a university staff support person. Through these challenging times we have been heartened to see some wonderful stories of support, collaboration and connection emerging across the University community. One of our staff Sharleen Hamersma has recently taken up a new role as a Western Success Advisor to assist our international student body. Watch the video to hear her thoughts on her role and our collective support for international students.
The Western Success program has been significantly expanded to provide individual support to our international students, who find themselves without government support and particularly vulnerable at this time. Feedback on the program has been very positive so far, with many students grateful for the support Western is providing.
Student Assistance Fund
Since its inception the Student Assistance Fund has supported 554 international students with the university issuing over 500 grocery vouchers totalling $144,480, providing 38 student hardship grants at $1000 each and having given out 144 laptops to enable our student body to maintain their academic study in the online learning environment. This fund is provided by staff donation and salary sacrifice and we will continue our commitment throughout the difficult period.
WSU Careers
As many students have struggled recently with their part-time employment our Career Hub has stepped up to provide regular job alert updates and assistance aimed directly at international students – we encourage you to follow our WSU Careers Facebook page also so you can help your current students learn about opportunities.
As a broad reminder to your current students at Western Sydney University in need of any assistance – Frequently Asked Questions are available on our website and the Student Hotline +61 02 9852 5399
and coronavirussupport@westernsydney.edu.au are available for them to get in touch with us if they have any questions, concerns or are suffering any hardship during this time.
COURSE SPOTLIGHT
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and Master of Engineering
Many of you joined our recent webinar recently from our School of Engineering. If you missed the session there are some key points below for our Bachelor and Master of Engineering:
Key selling points:
- highly practical ‘hands on’ approach to teaching and learning
- full professional accreditation with Engineers Australia
- cutting edge teaching and learning facilities across 3 campuses
- strong subject rankings on QS, THE and ARWU
- work integrated learning and compulsory industrial experience
- affordable course price point offering good value for money
- international scholarships
| PROGRAM | BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (HONOURS) | MASTER OF ENGINEERING |
| DURATION | 4 years full-time | 2 years full-time |
| INTAKE | March and July Penrith or Parramatta | March and July Parramatta City |
| ACADEMIC REQUIREMENT | Australian ATAR: 60 IB Diploma: Minimum 24 GCE A Level: 6 points Indian CBSE: 60% GPA in 4 core subjects | Successful completion of a recognised four year undergraduate degree, or higher, in engineering. |
| ENGLISH REQUIREMENT | IELTS (Academic) Overall 6.5 6.0 minimum in each band or equivalent | IELTS (Academic) Overall 6.5 6.0 minimum in each band or equivalent |
| 2020 TUITION FEE | AUD $33,000 | AUD $33,280 |
NEW HDR APPLICATION PORTAL
We are pleased to announce the successful implementation for the early release of Ellucian Recruit for HDR, showcasing part of our new Student Management System. This replaces ApplyOnline for admission applications and the paper based scholarship application form.
The changes we have made will provide our HDR students with improved information management, better and more efficient application process and enhanced navigation ensuring the best student experience. The new portal will provide the ability to submit applications for HDR admission and scholarships.
The system can be accessed via the following link – http://apply.westernsydney.edu.au/
It’s important to remember that the details provided in the application are the student’s details, not the details of the agent or agency. There are specific fields in the application that will allow the details of the agency to be provided. This will ensure that you are kept across the progress of the application.
If you encounter any problems or require additional assistance, please email the SMS Project Team at smsproject@westernsydney.edu.au and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Western Sydney International Recruitment
