Linda RUST

Abstract: International student mobility is being reshaped by changing student expectations and rapid technological advances, including AI. This session draws a study from the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), a network of more than 60 research universities across 20 economies, offering a diverse platform for examining mobility trends across varied cultural, policy, and institutional contexts. Based on a cross-member survey, the session highlights common priorities and structural barriers, including financial constraints, credit transfer issues, and unequal participation. It also reveals strong institutional ambition for growth, innovation, and more flexible mobility models. Using APRU’s transnational network, the session places these findings in comparative perspective through institutional case studies, identifying both shared challenges and region-specific responses shaped by local culture, funding, and policy environments. Building on the survey findings, the speakers will explore how AI can strengthen mobility ecosystems through smarter advising, personalised programme matching, and data-informed planning that expands access and supports institutional strategy. Combining network-wide evidence with institutional examples, the session offers a practical and forward-looking view of how universities can make mobility more inclusive, data-informed, and resilient in the AI age. Learning objectives: - Interpret comparative evidence on student mobility trends, barriers, and priorities across a diverse network spanning multiple countries regions - Identify inclusive and flexible mobility models, and network-based approaches that respond to evolving student needs - Benchmark institutional practices against peer universities in different cultural and policy contexts, recognising where solutions are globally shared or locally specific - Apply insights from case studies across APRU members to inform institutional strategies for scaling equitable and sustainable mobility programmes - Understand how AI can be practically integrated into mobility ecosystems Target audience: - Directors / Heads of Global Engagement, International Office, or Mobility - Managers of Global Learning / Study Abroad - Leaders overseeing exchange partnerships and mobility programmes

Abstract: The New Colombo Plan (NCP) has become a cornerstone of Australia's engagement with the Indo-Pacific, supporting thousands of students to undertake international learning experiences across the region. As mobility models evolve and greater emphasis is placed by NCP on longer-term experiences, questions remain about how program duration, host contexts and student motivations influence outcomes. Drawing on data from more than 3,000 Australian students, including over 600 New Colombo Plan participants, this session explores how students experience mobility across different program types and host destinations across the Asia- Pacific. Using student voice data, we compare short-term and semester-length programs, NCP and non-NCP experiences, and examine differences in student motivations, in-country experiences, support factors and measures of personal, professional and intercultural capability impact. The analysis also explores how experiences vary across host destinations and regional contexts, providing insights not only for sending institutions, but also for host institutions seeking to better understand and support visiting students. At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping how students learn, work and connect, the findings highlight the enduring value of international experiences in developing human-centred capabilities including intercultural understanding, adaptability, communication across difference and tolerance for ambiguity. Learning objectives: Participants will: - Understand how student motivations, impact and experience differ across short-term, semester-length, NCP and non-NCP global learning. - Explore the relationship between program duration and measures of personal, professional and intercultural capability impact. - Examine how accessibility and participation vary across different mobility models and what this means for equity and inclusion. - Gain insight into how Australia's investment in Indo-Pacific mobility has evolved through the New Colombo Plan. - Consider evidence-based approaches to balancing accessibility, participation and impact when designing mobility programs. Target audience: International education leaders, education abroad and mobility practitioners, international offices, student experience and employability professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in student mobility, Indo-Pacific engagement, student outcomes, benchmarking and evidence-based internationalisation strategies.