When I was doing the MPharm student project in Year Four, I was very honoured to attend a zoom meeting in February 2022 to learn how the academic staff at Monash University helped the transition of international students from their home countries to Australia. 

The School of Pharmacy at Monash University piloted an academic staff-led online supporting scheme in 2020 during the COVID lockdown and has been running successfully since its launch. International students who studied at Monash University highly acknowledged this programme and said they benefited greatly from it. For example, many said they have adapted to life and study in Australia very fast, and their communication skills and social networking capacities improved quickly.  

Based on my observation, the online meetings heavily relied on two academic staff. Therefore, taking care of all the students might be challenging, and a lack of personal connections was anticipated. Moreover, students’ engagement with the teachers was not as expected, possibly due to a sense of distance between students and teachers.  

Similarly, our division launched an international student experience programme (ISEP) in October 2022. Unlike Monash University’s programme, ISEP is a student-led and academic staff-assisted modality, which may add more dynamics as student mentees are more likely to engage with peers of the same age because they have more common interests and experiences.  

I think it would be interesting to compare the pros and cons of different types of approaches. In addition, it is worth studying whether increased relational proximity between teachers and students (mentees) can help students with their academic performance and increase their sense of belonging. It was great to witness the unanimous initiatives and efforts to support international students at top-ranking Schools of Pharmacy globally.  

Pol Donald Nkana Nkana, MPharm alumnus, Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacist at Cohens Chemist 

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