International students back on campus for O-Week Cocktail Party

An air of celebration marked this year’s annual ICMS Orientation (O-Week) Cocktail Reception as new students and their families were formally welcomed to the ICMS community, among them many international students who had been unable to attend previously owing to border restrictions.

Held on the lawns of the iconic ‘castle on the hill’ main ICMS campus in Northern Beaches, Sydney, NSW, students and faculty enjoyed what is traditionally a highlight on the O-Week calendar of events.

This annual get together is the chance for new students to get dressed up, and mingle with their future classmates from all around the world before they start classes.

Speeches, including those from ICMS Founder and Chairman Darryl Courtney-O’Connor and ICMS Professional Scholarships Program chair Ann Whitelock, were aimed at reassuring students of support available on their academic and personal journey, and wishing students all the best as they start the new trimester.

Current ICMS student and SRC president Julie Williams encouraged the new students to make the most of their time at ICMS, and have high aspirations when it comes to their professional goals.

Julie, in her second year of an ICMS Bachelor of Business (Fashion and Global Branding) degree, was recently offered a position at the Dior head office, following her successful Work Integrated Learning (WIL) placement there as a Marketing and Public Relations intern.

Her inspirational speech was followed by dancing and toasts to a new adventure with new friends.

Putting the ‘International’ back into the International College of Management, Sydney

Typically, ICMS attracts students from a broad range of countries worldwide, and this intake was no exception. Todd Palioca, Senior Vice President at International College of Management Sydney (ICMS), said he was thrilled to see the campus abuzz once again with students from such diverse backgrounds.

New students attending this Orientation Week came from the following countries…
– Austria
– China
– France
– Germany
– Hong Kong
– India
– Indonesia
– Italy
– Lao
– Luxembourg
– Mauritius
– Morocco
– Myanmar
– Nepal
– Nigeria
– Norway
– Peru
– Philippines
– Spain
– South Korea
– Sweden
– Taiwan
– Thailand
– Tunisia
– UK
– USA
– Vietnam

The ICMS Study Abroad program was particularly popular with German, French, Swedish and Taiwanese students. This program offers an exciting location for students who wish to stay and study in Australia’s most beautiful beachside campus. They get to enjoy a comprehensive academic and social program whilst experiencing an Australian student lifestyle.

Many of the Swedish students come from Lund University (https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se) and German students this intake come mainly from from Macromedia College (https://www.macromedia-fachhochschule.de/de/).

Why study in Australia?

New international students spoke about the attraction of studying in Australia, and specifically at ICMS.

Hannah from Germany said she wanted to study English and have an amazing student experience, experience Australian nature and Australian culture. She also wanted to meet people from all over the world and have a unique study experience.

Nikki and Lena, also from Germany, said they had met a lot of new people from different countries.

A group of Taiwanese students loved the look of the ‘castle’ and were looking forward to enjoying the fair weather Sydney is famous for.

Julia from Germany was interested in coming to Australia to have fun and complete her education. She decided to go on a Study Abroad which brought her to ICMS. Tobias, also from Germany, was impressed by the view of the ocean from ICMS and was excited to be able to surf at world famous Manly beach after his classes.

It was the second cocktail party for Thomas Brenas from France, and he said that, looking back, he had “fallen in love” with ICMS because of all the wonderful people studying on campus.

The Journey to Study in Australia

Helping international students achieve their dreams of studying in Sydney were the off-shore international Country Managers, who flew in for the occasion. For the offshore team this Orientation week was extra special. After working from afar for the last couple of years it felt like the extended ICMS family was reunited!

We welcomed representatives from:
* Hong Kong
* India
* Bangladesh
* Pakistan
* Thailand
* Indonesia
* Vietnam
* Nepal
* Africa

Country Manager from Pakistan, Zohra Syal, was pleased to be able to share Orientation week with her colleagues from around the world and said, “This is the most amazing Campus with one of the friendliest, talented and nurturing teams I have worked with!”

It’s not just about the Castle and beach lifestyle …

International and domestic students alike choose to study at ICMS because of many factors, but the career-focused education they receive is chief among them.

For example, Samantha from South Africa said she wanted to make a better future for herself and decided to study at ICMS when she found out that all bachelor and masters students have an internship built into their degrees.

This is similar to postgraduate student Relove Gyawali from Nepal, who said he joined ICMS because of the 600 hour internship opportunity [Work Integrated Learning (WIL)] that no other higher education institution offered.

Cocktail Reception part of a week of O-Week activities

International and domestic postgraduate and undergraduate students new to the ICMS community are welcomed with a week of activities aimed to make them feel welcome and supported in their ICMS journey.

Orientation sessions, and campus tours of both the Manly Campus and the Sydney City Campus help students settle into a new routine, but fun isn’t forgotten as a crucial aspect of the student experience. Stand-U Paddleboarding was offered, showcasing famous Manly Beach on ICMS’ doorstep, and a Manly Nightlife Tour was followed by a colour run on 26 August, Campus Day.

Onwards towards a new trimester

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, high heels and blazers… as enjoyable as the O-Week Cocktail Reception was for all new students, as well as the chance to meet ICMS academia and support staff, the occasion marks the start of a new trimester and another chapter in each student’s ICMS journey.

For more information on ICMS, click here.

For a gallery of photos from the O-Week Cocktail Party (Credit Ben Williams), click here.