Global Horizons - The Australian International Education Podcast

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

Perhaps it’s time we chose them.
That line sits near the heart of this episode of Global Horizons, and it lands with a bit of a thud — in the best possible way.
In this news episode, Rob Malicki and Dirk Mulder are both on the road: Rob in a rainy Brisbane on Turrbal and Yuggera land, and Dirk in a very warm, very sunny Darwin on Larrakia country. Which, naturally, leads to a brief weather comparison, a petrol price timestamp, and a reminder that life on the road can make you feel more than a little geographically and temporally confused.
But once they get into the news, this episode quickly becomes a bigger conversation about the story Australia tells about international education — and whether that story is good enough.
First up, Rob and Dirk look north to Cairns, where Study Cairns has been building stronger connections with Indonesia and developing its student ambassador program. And what stands out is not just the strategy, but the reminder that international education is not only a Sydney-and-Melbourne story. It reaches deeply into regional cities and local communities, from Cairns to Darwin and beyond.
Then the conversation turns to student accommodation, and some pretty substantial numbers. With tens of thousands of purpose-built student accommodation beds in the pipeline, Rob and Dirk unpack why the housing narrative around international students is far more complicated than some of the political rhetoric suggests.
And then, as awards season begins, they look at the IEAA Excellence Awards and the Victorian International Education Awards — both important reminders that there are extraordinary people, students and stories across this sector that deserve to be recognised.
The episode finishes with a powerful opinion piece from Adrian De Luca of We Are Australia, focused on the trust that families place in this country when they send their children here to study. It is a reminder that behind every international student is a parent at an airport, a family making sacrifices, and a human story that can too easily get lost in policy debates, housing arguments and migration headlines.
In this episode, we cover:
Study Cairns’ work in Indonesia and its growing student ambassador program
Why international education matters in cities beyond Sydney and Melbourne
The growing pipeline of purpose-built student accommodation across Australia
The IEAA and Victorian international education awards now open for nominations
Why authentic student stories matter more than generic marketing messages
Adrian De Luca’s reminder that Australia should actively choose international students
There is a lovely thread running through this episode about stories.
Not polished corporate stories. Not rankings slapped onto a brochure. Not another generic photo of smiling students who could be anywhere in the world.
Real stories.
The kind that help students see themselves in Australia. The kind that remind communities why international education matters. The kind that push back against lazy assumptions at barbecues, coffee catch-ups and in the media. The kind that say, clearly and without apology: we want international students in Australia.
Because when families around the world place their trust in us, that should mean something.
And perhaps, now more than ever, it is time we said so.
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

When Rob Malicki sits down with Mark Pettitt, the conversation begins in a place few people would expect: Rostov-on-Don in the mid-1990s.
What starts as a childhood fascination with Russia, sparked by reading Animal Farm, turns into a story about teaching English in a city near the Ukrainian border just a few years after Perestroika. Mark reflects on arriving in a place that felt harsh and unfamiliar on the surface, only to find extraordinary warmth and generosity once he was invited into people’s homes. It is also, as it turns out, where he met his future wife.
From there, the conversation moves through travel, family, entrepreneurship and the work of building Edified. Mark talks about the kind of life he and his wife wanted their children to experience, including a period living in Paris, and why he believes young people benefit from both roots and wings. He also reflects on his first experiments with business, the attraction of starting new things, and the challenge of scaling a company without losing the human quality that made it valuable in the first place.
There is also a thoughtful thread running through the episode about failure, resilience and what it means to keep going. Mark speaks candidly about the emotional side of entrepreneurship, the need to recover quickly when things do not work, and the importance of building ideas with clients rather than simply hoping the market will appear once something is finished.
Highlights include:
how a childhood curiosity about Russia led Mark to teach English there in the 1990s
what it was like living in Rostov-on-Don just after the Soviet era
meeting his wife while teaching overseas
the kind of travel experiences he wanted his own children to have
why entrepreneurship suited him more than business-as-usual work
what he has learned about failure, risk and building new ideas
the challenge of growing Edified without losing its personal touch
It is a conversation about business, certainly, but also about place, identity, family and the experiences that quietly shape a person 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. For guest suggestions and feedback, email podcast@globalsociety.com.au