Global Horizons - The Australian International Education Podcast

In this episode of Global Horizons, Rob Malicki sits down with Rick Chapman on the shores of Balmoral Beach in Sydney.
Rick’s career started in fast-moving consumer goods, working with iconic brands including Guinness, Arnott’s, Tim Tams, Kit Kat and Milo. He then made the move into education, bringing deep marketing and brand experience into a sector with a very different purpose.
Rob and Rick talk about what makes a great brand, why creativity still matters, and what higher education can learn from consumer marketing.
They also explore the challenge of telling the story of Australian education. Universities and education providers have so much to say, but often struggle to communicate their value clearly and consistently.
In this episode, we cover:
✅ Rick’s career in consumer marketing
✅ What made Guinness such a powerful brand
✅ The move from FMCG into education
✅ Why higher education needs stronger brand thinking
✅ The challenge of telling Australia’s education story
✅ Why relationships still matter in international education
This is a conversation about marketing, storytelling, relationships and the value of education. It is also a reminder that while the tools of marketing keep changing, the fundamentals still matter: know your audience, tell a clear story, and build trust over time.

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

Rob and Dirk are back for a new episode of Global Horizons, with Rob returning from France and Dirk recovering after a rough bout of flu.
This episode covers a busy fortnight in international education, starting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Australia and the continued focus on transnational education.
Rob and Dirk discuss Australia’s growing offshore education activity, including new developments in India and Sri Lanka, and the opportunities and risks that come with TNE. They also reflect on the importance of quality, oversight and making sure offshore delivery matches the strength of Australian education.
The conversation then moves to government and regulation, including feedback from PIE Live, growing sector frustration, and TEQSA’s new consultations on TNE reporting and ESOS registration renewals.
There is also a reminder about the Australian Census, and why international students should be encouraged to take part.
In this episode, we cover:
✅ Australia’s growing focus on transnational education
✅ New TNE activity in India and Sri Lanka
✅ Quality risks and oversight in offshore delivery
✅ TEQSA’s consultations on TNE and ESOS
✅ Why international students should complete the Census
✅ Two positive stories: Gut Goose and Faizaan Atal
The episode finishes with two strong good-news stories: Gut Goose, a Queensland startup accepted into Y Combinator, and Faizaan Atal’s journey from refugee to Western Sydney University student through the Australian Refugee Student Settlement Pathway.
It is a wide-ranging episode about policy, quality, data, innovation and the human stories that sit at the heart of international education.
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
Registrations are open now: https://aiec.idp.com

In this episode of Global Horizons, Dirk Mulder sits down with Caroline Hartnett, Director of Study Melbourne, following the launch of Victoria’s refreshed international education strategy, Study with Victoria.
Recorded at the Study Melbourne Hub in Hardware Lane, the conversation explores how Victoria is thinking about the next phase of international education after the recovery years.
Caroline discusses the five pillars of the strategy: student experience, employability and alumni connections, promotion of Victoria’s education offering, global connections and partnerships, and collaboration across the sector.
A major theme of the conversation is transnational education, and how Victorian institutions can support students to study with Victoria from anywhere in the world. Caroline also talks about the importance of offshore pathways, the Yes to International Student Fund, and why TNE can help students build confidence before coming to Australia.
The episode also explores the importance of collaboration, with Caroline highlighting that Study Melbourne’s work only matters because of the education providers, institutions and sector partners behind it.
In this episode, we cover:
✅ Victoria’s refreshed Study with Victoria strategy
✅ The five pillars guiding the strategy
✅ Why student experience remains central
✅ Victoria’s strength in transnational education
✅ The Yes to International Student Fund
✅ Why collaboration is key to the sector’s success
This is a focused conversation about Victoria’s international education future, and how the state is backing students, providers and global partnerships.
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
A reminder to colleagues that SUPER EARLY BIRD registrations for AIEC close TODAY (31st July). Get them here: https://aiec.idp.com/register-here

In this special edition of Global Horizons, Dirk Mulder sits down with Victorian Minister Steve Dimopoulos following the launch of Victoria’s refreshed International Education Strategy.
Recorded at the Study Melbourne Hub in Hardware Lane, the conversation focuses on why international education matters so deeply to Victoria — not just as a major export, but as a source of jobs, global connections, innovation and long-term community impact.
Minister Dimopoulos explains that Victoria is putting international students at the centre of its strategy, with a strong focus on student experience, welfare support, offshore study opportunities, and the role international students play in Victoria’s economy and society.
The conversation also explores what makes Melbourne and Victoria distinctive: the culture, the events, the student support, the openness to the world, and the sense that international students are not just numbers in a system, but people whose families have trusted Australia to look after them.

In this episode, we cover:
✅ Victoria’s refreshed International Education Strategy
✅ The role of the Study Melbourne Hub
✅ Why student experience matters so much
✅ International education’s value to Victoria’s economy
✅ Victoria’s focus on offshore and transnational education
✅ Why Melbourne wants international students to feel safe, connected and heard

This is a short, focused conversation about a state that is clearly backing international education and making the case for why international students matter.

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

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
Global Horizons is the official podcast of the AIEC conference. Get your registration now! https://aiec.idp.com