University city is full of surprises
Education
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SITTING in a small coffee shop in the city of Adelaide, University of Adelaide international student Chris Wang stared out the window at a big poster of a man swinging from a chandelier.
“What’s that?” asks Chris, who is of Taiwanese heritage but was born and raised in Malaysia.
Having heard a lot about South Australia before arriving, Chris is surprised to learn about the Adelaide Fringe.
“I did not hear of the Fringe before today but I will definitely go,” he says.
The Fringe is the second largest arts festival in the world and comes to Adelaide every February and March.
Chris, who is doing a Masters in Software Engineering, says he chose to study in South Australia because Adelaide is among the most liveable cities in the world.
“I applied for a lot of universities when I finished my bachelor’s degree, but when I researched about Adelaide, I found out it was easy to live in with more opportunities to progress.”
Adelaide was voted the fifth most liveable city in the world by The Economist Intelligence Unit, which considered the safety, healthcare, educational services, infrastructure and environment of 140 cities.
Chief Executive of Study Adelaide Karyn Kent says Adelaide is a highly sought after destination for students because of the number of opportunities South Australian universities can provide.
“We have a little more than 32,000 international students in South Australia every year and we anticipate about 5 per cent annual growth,” Karyn says.“Students can have a quality education in Adelaide and we are up to 20 per cent more affordable in terms of living costs than Sydney or Melbourne.“There is also a lot of opportunities for international students to network with business and government people as well, and they like to be able to engage with community leaders for their future career development.”
Chris’ home city Ipoh is about 160km south of Adelaide’s sister city George Town. He arrived in South Australia last week.
He says he has enjoyed the international student orientation at the university and is looking forward to the rest of his time in Adelaide.
“Last week the International Student Centre sent me to the Victor Harbor trip and it was really fun,” he says.
“We all went to Granite Island and I got to meet a lot of new international students like me.”
Adelaide has three-long standing public universities, Flinders University, University of South Australia, and the University of Adelaide; each of which are consistently rated highly in the international higher education rankings.
It is also known for its festivals, scenic landscape, nearby wine regions and Mediterranean climate.
“I didn’t know anyone before I came here but I have made lots of friends,” Chris says.
“But so far I feel good about Adelaide and the people are very friendly.
Study Adelaide is an organization set up to attract and help international students who come to South Australia to further their education.
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