UTS Insearch Aiding International Students In Their Educational Journey

The use of pathway programs has become very prevalent in today’s world and a life savior for students from outside the country who need to raise their English language proficiency and sharpen their study skills before commencing their educational journey. A growing number of higher education institutions are linking up with private providers to establish academic pathway programs that aim at improving the skills of international students while creating new opportunities for them to thrive in an increasingly competitive global student market. University of Technology Sydney is one of the universities which has designed a robust framework of support services customized specifically to meet the needs of international students through its pathway provider, UTS Insearch.

According to Dr. Matthew Holt, Senior Representative and Transnational Academic Executive at UTS Insearch, committing to studying in other parts of the world often means facing many challenges. Moving away from their family and adjusting to an entirely new and confusing life as an international student is not always easy. There are students who are quite nervous at first as sometimes it is their first time travelling and living alone with new faces and cultures. 

As Dr. Holt’s role involves around monitoring the performance of various programs offered at UTS Insearch and ensuring utmost integration of students at the university, he says UTS Insearch helps students in preparing for what lies ahead and also in gaining the confidence and skills to succeed beyond that point. He states that the credit of the success of a student’s transition at UTS Insearch goes to the support systems and the friendly environment they reside in while studying there.

Dr. Holt is particularly focused on reducing the drop-out rates of international students after completion of their first year at a foreign university; as he spends a lot of his time in analyzing various causes and remedies to resolve this global issue. “Many universities hold up pathway programs as a method of internationalizing their campuses. For students who share university accommodation and facilities, it helps them to widen their horizons as undergraduates, says Dr. Holt. “Why students choose UTS Insearch as their pathway to the University of Technology Sydney is because the good thing about Sydney is that it is quite easy to adapt, and students fit in and get to know new people very easily, from both UTS Insearch and around the city,” he adds.

“At UTS Insearch, students benefit from a special combination of ongoing academic support, a more personalized learning experience, plus our classes are kept small with no more than 20 students in one tutorial, and practical learning designed to give the appropriate environment to prosper at UTS. With our help, they develop skills, confidence, and credentials to prepare them for the university,” states Dr. Holts.

He also shares UTS Insearch’s involvement in initiatives such as social entrepreneurship business in India known as ‘Pollinate Energy’ wherein UTS Insearch donates AUD $10,000 annually to sponsor the Student Fellowship Program. It began in 2012 with a group of six young Australians having an aim to improve the lives of Bangalore’s urban poor students and empowering local Indian entrepreneurs to be a positive force for change in their communities. 

They started finding a way to bring light to slum children of Bangalore to study by giving them access to sustainable products. The co-founders of the group then decided to move to India and set up operations locally. Initially, they began with a pilot of 100 solar lights, and once they reached that milestone they knew they had something that worked. Now, post years of hurdles, they’ve reached a point where their operations are spread across cities and are selling a diverse range of products. It is programs like these that build the foundations and fetch the actual results post all the hardship that international students put into their pathway studies.