We all know the value that international students bring to our community. Generating over $30.9 billion for Australia every year, they are Australia’s third largest export. They also bring wider social benefits that extend well beyond the economic.

For the vast majority of international students, going to study in another country is very challenging. According to our survey data, paperwork (e.g. visa and provider applications), is the biggest headache (21 per cent), followed by cost and money issues (18 per cent) and accommodation (17 per cent). Other significant stresses for this group include communication issues, cultural differences and missing family.

International students need support to establish themselves and integrate. Landing in a new country is not easy, and for many students, it’s their first time away from home. They’re in a new cultural environment and there may be heavy family pressures to succeed.

The stresses of studying overseas

From the moment they step off the plane, getting started in a new country can be a stressful experience. When I first went to Shanghai, just getting out of the airport was challenging. International students need to learn an entirely new public transport system and about how to get around.

Language barriers make all of this much harder. Some international students come to Australia to study English, but if they are looking to pursue studies outside of this they need to pass a certain level of English to get their student visa. This should mean their English is sufficient. However, using English in a real-life setting is very different from taking an English exam.

There are a huge number of things students need to do when establishing a home in a foreign country. As well as accommodation and rent, they need to get set up with a SIM card and make sure they are able to be contacted. Then there are everyday tasks such as understanding where to buy groceries. Many have never cooked for themselves, and they have to gain independence and life skills extremely quickly.

While around 60 per cent of international students use education agents, very few get assistance with travel (8 per cent) or arranging accommodation abroad (4 per cent). Very few (6 per cent) stay on campus: most rent privately (64 per cent) or do a homestay (14 per cent). Price is the single most important factor when choosing accommodation.

The majority (86 per cent) don’t start organising mobiles and SIM cards until the last minute and 62 per cent leave choosing accommodation until the last couple of months before departure.

Managing money cross-border

An international student will have all sorts of new budgetary pressures they need to cope with, including how to make money last over a period of time. Generally they will have tuition sent to their education provider, then separate funds for living expenses. They need to be able to manage those funds. They may have lived under the wing of their parents who paid for rent, food and transport, but now they suddenly have all this cash in a bank account that needs to be managed. This requires a level of maturity.

There are also issues with getting funds to Australia, and the cost of transferring them. International payments are expensive, opaque and slow, with money getting lost along the way. Many families may have saved for years and pooled funds to enable a student to study overseas. It’s important they avoid being swallowed up in bank fees and poor exchange rates. But our survey showed that two-thirds of foreign students didn’t research alternate payment services or options to reduce fees.

Students arrive here with tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making them vulnerable to theft, or have travellers cheques and pre-paid travel cards – both of which are generally expensive. A better solution would be transferring smaller, regular amounts to a bank account.

Currently, only 1 in 5 students manage to set up a bank account before they get to Australia … If they could set up banking, accommodation, transport and SIM cards before they arrive, it would ease the arrival process.

Getting prepared before arrival

Setting up as many things as possible before students arrive is key. Currently, international students need to have overseas student health cover before they get their visa, which is one less thing to worry about. If they could set up banking, accommodation, transport and SIM cards as well, it would ease the arrival process. Currently, only 1 in 5 students manage to set up a bank account before they get to Australia.

Universities and other educational providers have generally been trying to keep student support services in-house, but outsourcing this would be much more efficient. With thousands of students arriving within a very short period of time, universities may find that it’s hard to cater for the influx. There are huge peaks and troughs in the student services business. You need to ramp it up for a short period of time, then as everything starts to normalise, the usage of those services decreases.

Instead, they should consider partnering with someone who has the ability to scale that problem. AI and automation can also play a role here. There are around 40 universities in Australia, all looking to do precisely the same thing for their international students. Many of the questions that student service managers are dealing with are the same ones, again and again. It makes sense with funding pressures to do that in a smarter way.

Given the importance of international education to Australia, education providers must ensure that students have a good experience. Overseas students are also a critical source of skills in the global ‘war for talent’, but according to our research, only 60 per cent want to stay in Australia after their study.

Word-of-mouth amplified by social media is becoming increasingly key in influencing where students choose to study. James Kennedy, Director of Global Engagement at Warwick University describes the testimony of a recent student as “far more impactful, powerful and authentic than an academic, agent or website can ever be”. A bad first impression of a new country can set the tone of a student’s entire experience. Helping international students get off to a good start by anticipating their needs is vital.

Read more about the research results from Cohort Go.

Mark Fletcher is the CEO of Cohort Go, a leading ed-tech company that connects the international education community and is an IEAA Corporate Affiliate. 

This article was first published by IEAA