Taking Macquarie to the world: Macquarie International’s David Harrison (left) and Stella Wang (Regional Director, Greater China) on the University’s recent Chinese roadshow.

Most staff know that Macquarie International (MI) manage the recruitment and admission of international students to the University.

But you might not realise that they also have a huge range of other responsibilities, including global engagement and business development, student mobility, academic programs and pathways development, alumni relations and international government relations.

All of this globally focused work means MI staff often spend more time in hotels and airplanes than they do at home. We followed David Harrison, MI’s International Director, on his recent trips through six countries.

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Competition for international students is fierce, yet of the 23,000+ universities in the world there are very few that are more successful than Macquarie in attracting international students and developing meaningful relationships with international partners. While this makes us very proud, we are always kept on our toes – international volatility is a constant risk.

There are dozens and dozens of trips organised and attended by the MI team each year and managing our international relationships is complex work ­– spanning four continents and 17 offshore team members operating in six different time zones.

Being away from family for extended periods is a reality of the job, as is the stress of managing our workloads while travelling. International trips involve a lot of moving around and very long days.

While it’s definitely not for the faint hearted, it’s incredibly rewarding work. It’s a real privilege to represent Macquarie University overseas and work alongside such talented and committed colleagues.

We often travel with representatives from the faculties and we develop wonderful relationships with these colleagues while on the road. I’m always impressed by the passion of our academics and their willingness to engage and listen to what the world outside Macquarie tells us.

Pitching in: Catriona Lavermicocca and Richard de Grijs (pictured with a locally supplied MacWarrior!) are among the academics who gave up their Easter holidays to take part in the University’s China roadshow.

Here’s a few highlights from my recent trips:

Mexico

Our high-profile event in Mexico City was brilliantly organised by our Regional Manager Amy Celorio – as a former Macquarie international student herself, Amy makes a wonderful ambassador.  We welcomed the Australian Ambassador to Mexico, Mexican government officials, chambers of commerce and Macquarie alumni to award joint scholarships to four incredible Mexican students who will join Macquarie next semester.

It was awesome to see the Ambassador wearing his Macquarie tie – always on brand! This type of long-term, multi-layered engagement is so important ­– universities that just ‘recruit’ without genuinely engaging rarely succeed.

Ambassadors on-brand: The Australian Ambassador to Mexico David Engel (front row, centre) and David sport Macquarie ties for the University’s high-profile event in Mexico City.

USA 

After Mexico was North America, for an annual conference with our institutional partners to discuss student mobility. Our team have organised for more than 1000 Macquarie students to study overseas in 2019 – for many of our students it will be a life changing experience. We are not just about bringing the world to Macquarie; we also take Macquarie to the world.

The subcontinent

A whirlwind week through Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan to continue supporting our brand and reputation work and get these rapidly growing markets excited about the new courses coming in 2020.

Macquarie’s regional teams have done a great job in achieving significant market share in South Asia. But we are constantly looking for ways to differentiate, and appearing on a Bangladeshi TV talk show was a memorable highlight. Makeup was liberally applied to the three of us and we were still buzzing several hours later after chatting to viewers about studying in Australia and life at Macquarie.

Lights, camera, action: David is joined by MI’s Regional Director, South Asia and Middle East, Tanveer Shaheed (right) and Riasat Hussain (left), Country Manager, South Asia and Middle East, on Bangladeshi TV.

China

Our flagship two-week faculty roadshow, with a multi-faculty and international team delivering four Macquarie Open Day events, seven agent workshops, 30 high school and university visits and more than 40 guest lectures and demonstration classes. This trip alone we reached over 3000 students and parents.

I am particularly grateful to faculty colleagues for spending their Easter holidays with us on the roadshow – amazingly, they keep coming back every year!

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Macquarie International welcomes staff who would like to know more about their work and/or would like to explore opportunities for international engagement