Australia announces Show & Tell contest winners to promote student mobility

Submissions to Australia’s World Class Show & Tell short video competition, which sought to promote overseas study among students in Australia, came in thick and fast – and the winners have now been chosen.

The plan to target prospective study abroad participants forms part of a government initiative called World Class, which hopes to push outbound student mobility.

Alexei Ymer-Welsby from the University of Melbourne took home the current student title with a lyrical rap about his year at Sciences Po in Paris, an experience that immersed him so much in the culture, he “started to think in French even when alone”. He also talks about the food he ate, the things he studied and becoming a “travel guru”.

Ruth Harrison, former student of Western Sydney University, was named winner of the alumni category. She spoke about her time at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka: “Because of my exchange, I’m a world citizen,” she notes. “It’s given me an edge over other graduates, it’s opened doors for me; I don’t see borders as something that should stop me.”

The winners received STA Travel vouchers worth AUS$10,000, while the first four runners up received vouchers worth AUS$2,500. The prizes were funded by the student travel company itself, and the Department of Education and Training.

Recipients took their awards at a presentation dinner in Melbourne, hosted by Universities Australia (UA). Ainslie Moore, UA’s notorious international policy director, held the honour of presenting the awards, and claimed the judges had been blown away by the quality of this year’s submissions. Moore believes that making the videos accessible to every student online will broaden participation and enable them to fully understand what it means to participate in overseas study.

“As we know, no matter how hard we try to convince students about the benefits of study abroad, they are far more likely to listen to their peers than to [university staff],” said Moore.

Belinda Robinson, CEO of UA, also expressed how the competition entrants perfectly emphasised the benefits of studying abroad.

“Over the last decade there’s been significant growth in the number of Australian students studying abroad as part of their degrees,” she said.

“This is a really important trend for students personally – many of whom will forge lifelong professional networks and friendships with classmates in other parts of the world as a precursor to building truly global careers – and for Australia’s relationships with the world.”

Additional reporting by The PIE News.

Image via Youtube/Alexei Ymer-Welsby.

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