Two Australians take part in an MEA Conference on issues faced by Indian students abroad

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs recently hosted the 8th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conference in New Delhi. The issue of this panel discussion was ‘Problems faced by Indian Students Abroad and NRI students in India.’ Participants from nine different countries joined 16 panellists from India to discuss issues relating to the Indian Student experience overseas, and suggest possible solutions. Among the 13 overseas representatives were Yuva Australia secretary Arpita Singh and Anindya Bhowmik, a UTS Alumnus.

Arpita Singh, 23, is originally from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. She was an international student in the past, studying for a Bachelor in IT in Australia.

She and Anindya were selected by the Consulate General of India in Sydney, in conjunction with Yuva Australia President Astha Singh to represent Australia at the PBD Panel Discussion. As young people working in the community who were former international students, they have had firsthand experience in dealing with some of those issues problems and concerns themselves.

“When I was studying, my issues were having less working hours, struggling to manage my fees, and a lack of travel concession,” Arpita told Indian Link. “There was no social organization from where I could seek help for my studies, my job or for networking.”

In preparation for the discussion, Yuva Australia, in collaboration with the Consulate General of India in Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney Indian association Om Shanti, organized an Indian International Students forum. This was complemented by an online survey by Yuva Australia designed to collect data on the problems faced by Indian students studying in Australia.

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