More than 2.5 million international students have studied in Australia over the last fifty years. Over 80,000 alumni received Australian Government Scholarships and Fellowships from the Colombo Plan in the 1950s through to the Australia Awards and the New Colombo Plan today.
LinkedIn community: Australian-American Alumni Association
The Embassy in Washington, DC manages an Australian-American Alumni Association group on LinkedIn for Americans and Australians living in the US who have pursued a higher education degree, were involved in an academic (such as study abroad or Fulbright) or faculty exchange, or pursued vocational education training in Australia. The aim is to deepen existing links between Australia and the US through alumni sharing experiences and knowledge to build on bilateral cooperation and relationships.
An online community: Australia Global Alumni Website
The Australian Government manages an Australia Global Alumni website to connect, build and invigorate the international community of scholars who have studied in Australia and Australians who have studied overseas. It provides opportunities to participate in ongoing personal and professional development and network with other alumni, as well as news articles, public events and alumni stories.
The website also contains the Practitioner Hub, a virtual network for practitioners in global alumni engagement – such as Australian education institutions, alumni associations, state and federal government agencies and professional bodies.
The Practitioner Hub seeks to improve coordination in international alumni engagement activities, create opportunities for collaboration and joint alumni activities, and strengthen Australia’s alumni engagement practice by sharing information and experiences and providing professional development.
The Hub will include content that will be useful to practitioners such as examples of good practice in alumni engagement; in-depth case studies of alumni engagement activities; blogs and webinars; and a space to store resources and forward plans useful for coordination and information sharing.
To register for the Practitioner Hub email globalalumni@dfat.gov.au.