Global Horizons - The Australian International Education Podcast

John Wood has had a front-row seat to some of the biggest moments in Australian higher education.
In this episode of Global Horizons, Rob Malicki sits down with John to trace a remarkable career that moves from working-class Western Australia to Oxford, the Hawke government, ECU, Notre Dame, Navitas and the Centre for Stories.
John was in Canberra in the mid-1980s when the decision was made to allow Australian universities to charge full fees for international students. At the time, no one could have known just how significant that decision would become for Australia’s economy, society and global engagement.
From there, the conversation moves through John’s early life, his time at Oxford, the origins and growth of Navitas, and the people and ideas that shaped Australian international education.
But this is also a conversation about stories.
John reflects on the importance of giving people a voice, why higher education has struggled to tell its own story, and why universities need to reconnect with their public purpose and social licence.

In this episode, we cover:
✅ John’s working-class upbringing and path to Oxford
✅ His time working near Bob Hawke in Canberra
✅ The decision to allow full-fee international students
✅ The rise of Navitas and the pathway college model
✅ The creation and purpose of the Centre for Stories
✅ Why Australian higher education needs to tell its story better
This is a wide-ranging conversation with one of Australian higher education’s great storytellers.
It is about policy, opportunity, entrepreneurship, social purpose and the human stories that sit underneath it all.
Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.
This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au

Rob is in Basque country in the southwest of France, Dirk is back in western Sydney, and there is a lot to unpack in this episode of Global Horizons.
It has been a massive fortnight for Australian international education, with major updates on student visa fees, national planning levels, ATEC, student housing and sector awards.
First up, Rob and Dirk discuss the latest increase to student visa fees, with the main student visa rising from $2,000 to $2,500. They unpack why the sector reacted so strongly, the lack of consultation, and why this matters for students, providers and Australia’s competitiveness as a study destination.
They also look at the newly announced 2027 National Planning Level, which remains at 295,000 new overseas student commencements, and what that might mean for institutions trying to plan ahead.
The conversation then moves to the Universities Accord Bill and the proposed role of ATEC in allocating international student places. Rob and Dirk explore concerns about how much power may sit with the minister, how allocations could be changed, and what this means for the future shape of the sector.

In this episode, we cover:
The latest student visa fee increases
The sector’s united response to the changes
The 2027 National Planning Level remaining at 295,000
ATEC’s proposed role in international student allocations
Victoria’s proposed rental reforms and student accommodation
The 2026 Keystone Awards

The episode finishes on a more positive note, with the announcement of the 2026 Keystone Awards winners, a shout-out to Rishin Shekhar’s new role at ANU, and congratulations to Dirk and The Koala News for reaching 10,000 LinkedIn followers.
Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.
This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au

Robert Parsonson has been part of Australia’s international education story for a very long time.
His first AIEC, back when it was still the IDP conference, was in Sydney in 1994. He had just returned from four years in Japan, stood up in front of a room full of people, and gave a presentation on how to work with agents and build relationships in Japan.
That presentation became a launchpad.
In this episode of Global Horizons, Rob Malicki sits down with Robert Parsonson on Ngunnawal country in Canberra to trace a career that has moved through Japan, ELICOS, VET, recruitment, agent networks, industry advocacy and the long, complicated evolution of Australian international education.
Robert’s story starts with Japan in the 1980s, when it felt like the place to be. He went for a year, stayed for four, and came back with a deep understanding of relationship-building, humility, patience and how to work across cultures. As he explains, you do not walk into a market with all the answers. You listen. You learn. You build trust.
That theme runs through the whole conversation.
Because this is also a conversation about education agents, and the gap between the lazy public stereotype of the “dodgy agent” and the reality of an industry where most agents are doing the hard, human work of helping students and families navigate complex decisions, visa systems and life-changing study choices.
Rob and Robert dig into the origins of SYMPLED, the creation of ISEA, the push for industry-led agent accreditation, and why accountability, transparency and student-centred practice matter so much if the sector wants to protect its social licence.
They also take a wider look at Australia’s international education industry, from fax machines and the early 1990s boom years to today’s policy turbulence, visa refusals, public mistrust and the worrying rise of “mass migration” rhetoric.

In this episode, we cover:
Robert’s early years in Japan and what they taught him about trust, humility and cross-cultural relationships
The early days of Australian international education, from fax machines to rapid industry growth
Why the “dodgy agent” stereotype misses the reality of what most education agents do
The origins of SYMPLED and ISEA, and the push for industry-led agent accreditation
Why Australia needs to tell a stronger, more positive story about international education
The danger of negative migration narratives, and why Australia still has the chance to be a beacon in the region

There is a lot of history in this conversation, but it never feels like nostalgia.
Instead, it feels like a reminder.
A reminder that international education was built by people willing to travel, listen, adapt, advocate and build trust across cultures. A reminder that agents, providers, governments and industry bodies all have responsibilities. And a reminder that if Australia wants to remain globally connected, respected and open, we cannot be passive about the story being told on our behalf.
We have to tell it ourselves.
And, as Robert puts it, we need to be the beacon.
Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.
This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au

Rob is in Paris, Dirk is in Sydney, and this episode of Global Horizons covers UNSW overtaking Melbourne as Australia’s top-ranked university in QS, the latest net overseas migration figures, and what the OECD is saying about the future of international student growth.

They also discuss why students are only one part of the migration story, why universities need to share more positive stories, and the opening of major awards including the Shaping Australia Awards and Northern Territory International Student Awards.
Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao.
Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host.
The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website.
This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia’s unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets.
Global Horizons is the official podcast of the Australian International Education Conference. Registrations are open now: https://aiec.idp.com

Nicola Bate’s story begins, in a way, with a woman loading bags at Heathrow.
Her mum, a single mother in West London, took a job with British Airways because it paid a little more, came with staff travel, and gave her the chance to show her young daughter the world. So while other kids came back from school holidays with stories from around the corner, Nicola came back with stories from Australia, Canada, China, Dubai and beyond.
Which is probably one of the more extraordinary origin stories we’ve had on Global Horizons.
In this wide-ranging and deeply human conversation, Rob Malicki sits down with Nicola Bate to trace a life shaped by travel, curiosity, relationships and the strange, wonderful, interconnected world of international education.
From her early years growing up near Heathrow, to an unexpected first international education role that sent her to Delhi with little more than a passport and a willingness to learn, Nicola’s journey is full of the kind of sliding-door moments that make you realise careers rarely move in straight lines.
But this conversation is also much more than a career story.
Rob and Nicola dig into what universities often miss when trying to differentiate themselves, why communication and trust matter just as much as product, and why the people standing in front of students, parents and agents hold more influence than they sometimes realise.
Nicola shares, with enormous honesty, her experience of being diagnosed with a brain tumour, undergoing surgery, recovering, and quietly returning to work before most of the sector knew what had happened.
In this episode, we cover:
Nicola’s childhood near Heathrow and how her mum’s job at British Airways opened up the world
The letter-writing adventure that first brought Nicola and her mum to Nowra and Jervis Bay
A teenage trip to China that shifted Nicola’s understanding of travel, privilege and culture
How Nicola fell into international education after being asked one simple question: “Do you have a passport?”
Why agents, students and parents are often looking for trust, reliability and confidence, not just a glossy product
Whether Australian universities are doing enough to differentiate themselves
Why sales in education should not feel like manipulation, but like influence in service of the other person
Practical lessons in communication, storytelling, persuasion and asking better questions
Nicola’s tuk-tuk adventure around Sri Lanka, including the terrifying, stressful and magical bits
Her brain tumour diagnosis, surgery, recovery and what it taught her about resilience, vulnerability and carrying hard things quietly
Why everyone is carrying something, even when we cannot see it
What Nicola might do next, from Federation University to future humanitarian work, travel support, or possibly even a return to airport life
There are moments in this conversation that are funny, strange and beautifully unexpected.
There are also moments that stop you in your tracks.
Because underneath all the stories about planes, agents, Sri Lanka, sales training, Nowra, Macquarie, Federation and international education, this is really a conversation about people. The people who open doors for us. The people who teach us how to move through the world. The people who help us when life suddenly tilts sideways. And the people we become because of it all.
Global Horizons is a production of The Global Society, Australia’s Learning Abroad support company. Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Angelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host. The podcast wouldn’t be possible without The Koala News, Australia’s international education news website. This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia's unique, AI-powered platform that helps domestic and international students to find the right institution for them, and that helps Australian institutions to access new markets. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au