Overseas students apply at Longy
Longerenong College north of Horsham is processing applications from its first international students as it works through a flood of student inquiries.
In a milestone for the college, staff members have worked through details for a student from the United Kingdom and are working through circumstances involving an Indian applicant.
College business development manager Donna Winfield said she had spoken in depth with both applicants as well as other prospective international students.
“We’re expecting more international applications to start coming in. It is really exciting for everyone at the college,” she said.
“Everyone is fully aware that this represents a major milestone for the college and will eventually take us to a new level of agricultural education.”
Ms Winfield said she was unsure how many overseas students would apply for the 20 international places on offer at the college in the first year of the program.
“The hope is we get close to reaching our quota and to build from there. We expect to know the total international cohort number by the end of the year,” she said.
“Whatever the number, it represents a major stepping stone into new and exciting direction for the college.
“At the same time we remain dedicated to maintaining well-established education processes and pathways for domestic students from across Australia.”
Ms Winfield said international student inquiries came on top of unprecedented domestic student interest.
She said response to a college open day at the weekend confirmed widespread belief that the institution’s reputation for producing industry-ready graduates was rapidly expanding.
“Our open day exceeded all expectations, with large numbers of people coming from South Australia, particularly Adelaide, NSW and even Flinders Island in Tasmania. Of course there were also many from across Victoria,” she said.
“We can take 60 first-year students next year and received more than half that number in applications on Sunday. That is way ahead of where we normally are at this stage of the year.
“And it is not just farmer-based applications. There is a broad range of backgrounds, which means word about the potential of agricultural careers in a burgeoning industry is well and truly getting out there.
“We’ve been responding to a growing call for requests for face-to-face school presentations about what we do from across Victoria and beyond.
“We’re right on board with this growing interest and for the first time are providing two early-bird scholarships.
“This shows the college is keen to help dreams become a reality where possible.”
Longerenong College, operated by Skillinvest, has been working for the past couple of years to expand its ability to provide agriculture-education services to international as well as domestic students.
College leaders believe opening the door for international students is a key step in the institution’s evolution, a move that will also be of major socio-economic benefit to the Wimmera.
The college open day also helped generate money to help rural communities suffering from the effects of drought in other parts of Australia.
Caterers Chelsea and Wayne Filcock, who operate the college cafeteria, provided a fundraising lunch during the day.
The college and Skillinvest are matching proceeds dollar for dollar.