Learn and Connect through Arts and Culture Experiences

Two main activities are co-designed for the International Student Welfare Program (ISWP) based on feedback and discussions that the lead applicant (Monash University) and the partner organisation (Frankston City Council) representatives have had with the student union, and international student representatives of Monash University. The "Learn & Connect Through Arts and Culture Experiences" program will focus on i) delivering a range of volunteer work experience opportunities in the arts, cultural and tourism industry, and ii) the program will be further enhanced through a range of live and interactive arts, cultural and tourism experiences that will be offered to international university students that are studying in Melbourne.The "Learn & Connect Through Arts and Culture Experiences" program aims to i) help international students build employment knowledge and skills through volunteer work experience opportunities, ii) give international students the opportunity to understand and experience diverse aspects of the Australian culture through a wide selection of arts and tourism events, iii) enable Monash University and the Frankston City Council to learn from the impact and benefits of the activities to create a recommended program framework for other local councils and universities to use in future initiatives to help improve experience and well-being of international students during their time in Melbourne. This will be achieved through an applied research evaluation of the activities and participants' experiences that will be conducted by Monash University. Frankston City Council plans to provide the following number of events and opportunities to international students: Up to i) 100 volunteer work experience opportunities across Arts & Culture at the Frankston City Council, ii) 250 tickets to 10 selected live performances from the Frankston Arts Centre, iii) 960 places in interactive walking tours from the tourism division of the Frankston City Council, and iv) 50 places in three different arts and culture workshops from the Frankston Arts Centre will be provided. Opportunities to access live performances, workshops, street tours and volunteer work experiences are planned to commence in July 2019 and will conclude in June 2020 unless the maximum numbers of events and opportunities are reached prior to June 2020.Monash University and the Frankston City Council aim to provide the program to a maximum of 1,360 international university students.