In this episode of the Koala News Global Horizons podcast, Rob Malicki and Dirk Mulder discuss the economic and policy backdrop shaping international education right now.

They unpack growing recession concerns, the role international education plays in local and national economies, and the gap between the public narrative around the sector and what the data may actually be telling us. They also look at the government’s delayed response to the international education inquiry, and a more positive initiative out of Victoria that connects international students with community through the AFL.

They’re then joined by Nico Chu from Sinorbis, who brings a practical perspective on what has changed in international student recruitment over the past few years. Nico talks about a market that is not simply shrinking, but becoming more competitive, more price-sensitive and more demanding. He also shares insights from recent research on student communication, including why speed matters, why fragmented communication causes real frustration, and why institutions can no longer rely on the old playbook if they want to convert student interest into enrolments.

Highlights include:

• recession concerns and what a contraction in international education could mean economically
• the difference between policy, perception and sector reality
• the government’s response to the long-running international education inquiry
• a Victorian initiative using AFL to build student inclusion and connection
• Nico Chu’s take on competition, conversion and the changing expectations of prospective students

Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.

This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au

When I sat down with Michelle Teasdale at UWA, looking out across Matilda Bay on one of those impossibly beautiful Perth days, I knew we’d have a good conversation. What I didn’t quite expect was just how far the conversation would travel.

What starts with a slightly-too-familiar international education story about lost luggage quickly opens out into something much richer: childhood in the Pilbara, an exchange to Germany at 16, opening up new student markets like Mongolia, reflections on leadership, and the strange, wonderful way curiosity can shape an entire life. Michelle is one of those people who makes you feel, almost immediately, that international education is still, at its core, about people. About listening. About being open to the world and to each other.

There’s also something beautifully full-circle in this episode. Michelle has spent so many years helping students step into the unknown, and now she’s watching her own daughters do the same, heading out into the world with roots, wings, and just enough independence to make it all interesting.

This is a conversation about travel, yes, but also about confidence, family, mentorship, leadership and what it means to stay curious, whether you’re sitting in a boardroom, on a plane, or in the middle of nowhere in the red dirt of Western Australia.

In this episode, we get into:

• what Michelle loves most about UWA, and why campus culture matters so much

• how international education has changed over two decades, and what hasn’t

• growing up in Tom Price and Karijini, with a childhood that feels almost mythic in retrospect

• going on exchange to Germany at 16 without speaking the language

• opening up Mongolia as a recruitment market, with no blueprint and no prior connections

• leadership, mentoring and the difference between listening to hear and listening to respond

• raising daughters who are now beginning their own international adventures

• why curiosity might be one of the most underrated qualities in both work and life

Michelle comes across in this conversation as grounded, thoughtful and quietly adventurous. She’s clearly someone who has grown alongside the sector itself, and who has managed to hold onto the human side of the work even as universities have become faster, bigger and more complex. I suspect a lot of listeners will hear parts of themselves in this one, whether it’s the early-career uncertainty, the love of travel, the challenge of leadership, or simply the joy of a really good conversation with someone who is genuinely interested in the world.

Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Angelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.

Global Horizons is the OFFICIAL podcast of the AIEC... a real privilege for us since it is the "do not miss" event of the year. Check out the conference website at aiec.idp.com

This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au

Evidence levels are out, the “new to Australia” data paints a sharper picture of what’s really happening, Randwick Council blocks new student housing near UNSW, and Allianz Partners drops a standout student wellbeing report. Rob Malicki and Dirk Mulder unpack the implications, then bring in guest Sam Eid to talk through what the 2025 State of Student Healthcare Report reveals about student life in Australia right now.

In this episode:

• Evidence levels and the growing frustration with inconsistent visa outcomes
• “New to Australia” commencements down 18%, with VET and private providers hit hardest
• Randwick’s student housing moratorium, and why it pushes pressure into the rental market
• The State of Student Healthcare 2025 report, cost of living, meal skipping, and the healthcare knowledge gap
• A rare good-news milestone: Deakin graduating its first cohort from its GIFT City campus in India, and what that says about Australia’s offshore education footprint

Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.

This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets.

For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au