ISANA

Clare Cunnington and Olivia Reid

Abstract:  Exit surveys and feedback from Returning Home programs indicate that many
international students have an unmet desire for a ‘real Australian experience’. Those
students that lived on their own or with other international students while studying in
Australia reported that, despite completing a degree here, they had not had the
opportunity to be invited into an Australian home. Related findings from A Growing
Experience (University of Melbourne, 2006) identified that Australian universities
need to take on the challenge of developing programs that connect students into the
community.
This motivated La Trobe International to develop a cross cultural weekend break
program to encourage intercultural community connection. The program has grown
from small experimental beginnings, to one of several regularly scheduled events.
They are designed to link students from three campuses to families within the
community, thereby providing a contrast to their place of study and enriching the
student journey. The unique benefit of the program is that it operates across three
campuses; one metropolitan and two regional. Students from La Trobe’s Melbourne
campus who elect to participate can experience life in a rural/regional setting for a
weekend break in either Bendigo or Albury/Wodonga. Likewise, students from either
of the regional campuses can visit Melbourne.
Students have described this immersion into a new environment as providing ‘a
better idea of how an Australian family is run’; ‘a new environment and an eyeopening
experience [Melbourne]’, and a tree-change – ‘Now I can recognize different
types of cows!’. The benefits are mutual, for some rural/regional families, coming
from what is essentially a mono-cultural community, this program gives the
opportunity to engage with other cultures. For regional students visiting a
metropolitan family, they benefit immensely from a safe and friendly guided tour of
the city.
This paper details the research that informed the program’s development, describes
its implementation and notes some of its’ design advantages. It will outline
recruitment including the allocation and briefing processes; explore challenges/risks
inherent in running a community outreach program; and document evaluations
including the excitement of the student journey.

Keywords: community, engagement, connectedness, cultural exchange, metropolitan, rural/regional

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