‘Brisbane, a student-friendly city with amazing people’

Pakistani student ambassador explains why Brisbane should be students’ top choice.


Umer Nangiana March 26, 2012

ISLAMABAD: When Palwasha Sherin Khan landed in Brisbane earlier this year, she could not have imagined a more perfect place to live than in “one of the world’s most liveable cities”.

Shortly after her arrival at the University of Queensland on an Australian Development Scholarship for the development practice postgraduate programme, Khan was appointed the city’s International Student Ambassador for the year.

As the student ambassador, she helps prospective students looking to gain an Australian education, particularly ones in Brisbane. The role involves sharing her journey, using a variety of social media tools, with current and prospective international students and inspiring them to experience the lucrative possibilities studying at Brisbane would afford them.

“I understand that arriving in a new country or city can be a daunting challenge for Pakistani students; I hope to guide them and help them in making informed decisions about their future,” she said in an emailed correspondence with The Express Tribune.

Khan, along with 28 other international students representing 23 countries, was given the position by Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk during an official ceremony. “Education is our largest export and these keen, enthusiastic students are ideally placed to promote Brisbane as a leading student destination in their home countries,” he said during the ceremony.

To meet her responsibilities, Sherin said she has documented an international student’s life through social media channels and more mainstream activities like media interviews, seminars, events and meeting official visiting delegates to Brisbane.

About her experience in Australia, Sherin said, “I continue to be amazed by the warmth of the people, their cheerfulness and how they are always willing to help.”

In just two months, she said she has gathered a cosmopolitan group of friends from Australia, Latin America, India, Africa, China, Bangladesh and other countries. “One learns to celebrate and revel in the cultural differences,” she added.

On the completion of her degree, she plans to return to Pakistan to work on long-term sustainable projects empowering women and children.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.

COMMENTS (6)

Thair Mohammad | 12 years ago | Reply

I was at UQ a few years ago and I simply loved the campus. Compared to universities in Hong Kong, UQ is more spread out and so much more accessible from different parts of the city. I was staying at Indooroopilly so that kinda helped.

I would agree that generally, people there are tolerant and very sociable. Aussies love their cricket and when you tell them you are Pakistani, they would definitely mention Imran Khan. Only exception would be the drunkards you see on the trains in the early hours of the morning, especially over the weekends. But then again, that would be true for most Western cities, no matter how tolerant they are.

While you are in Brisbane, make sure you visit the Fraser Island. It would be apt to describe that place as heaven, it is that beautiful! And then, there are always Rodeo competitions in June/July, and they are worth experiencing as well.

Ali | 12 years ago | Reply

Australians are racist by nature. This article sounds like a paid job. Get a life, No one wants to get battered by skin heads for no reason

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