Global Horizons - The Australian International Education Podcast

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 [email protected]

Canada, we have a problem.
And, if we’re being honest, Australia might have a very similar one.
In this episode of Global Horizons, Rob Malicki and Dirk Mulder unpack a week in international education that starts with Canada’s positioning problem and quickly turns into a much bigger conversation about policy clarity, political trust, skilled migration, international students, VET, and whether governments are actually pulling the right levers.
Prompted by a sharp op-ed from Christine Wack at IDP, Rob and Dirk dig into one of the biggest questions facing countries like Canada and Australia: if we want to attract global talent, build skilled workforces and compete for bright minds, are our policy settings actually helping us do that?
Spoiler: not necessarily.
The conversation then turns to Australia’s 12-month freeze on new CRICOS applications for parts of the VET sector, with exemptions for government schools, state-owned TAFEs and public universities. Which, depending on how charitable you’re feeling, either looks like an integrity measure, a migration-management tool, or something uncomfortably anti-competitive.
Also on the agenda: the Coalition’s budget reply, the political temptation to keep blaming migration, why international education keeps getting caught up in the broader net overseas migration debate, and whether major parties are missing what voters are actually angry about.
Along the way, Rob and Dirk also find time for the important things: Sydney rain, Milo weather, NAFSA FOMO, petrol prices, and the enormous success of the Choosing Your Uni National Virtual Expo, which attracted more than 5,600 registrations and 13,000 unique visitors during expo week.
In this episode, we cover:
Canada’s international education positioning problem, and why Australia should pay attention
Why prospective students are increasingly looking for employability, quality, safety and policy clarity
The Australian Government’s 12-month freeze on new CRICOS applications in parts of the VET sector
What the VET freeze could mean for private providers, ELICOS, TAFEs and workforce shortages
The Coalition’s migration rhetoric and what it might mean for international education
Why the net overseas migration debate keeps dragging international students into the political spotlight
IDP’s new IELTS centre in Chengdu and why it matters for the company’s China strategy
The Tertiary Scholarship Fund’s 2026 Awards for Excellence, and a lovely Melbourne story of generosity through education
A tribute to Neale Daniher, his remarkable public fight against motor neurone disease, and the power of not walking past the chance to do a little bit of good
There are some weeks where international education feels like a sector.
And then there are weeks where it feels like a mirror, reflecting back bigger questions about trust, politics, workforce planning, national identity and whether our leaders are thinking far enough ahead.
This is one of those weeks.
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 ⁠AIEC conference⁠!
Registrations are already open... grab your spot early!

This week on Global Horizons, we're doing something a little different.

Last week, Rob Malicki delivered a keynote for the Choosing Your Uni National Virtual Expo. It was a huge event with thousands upon thousands of attendees. His keynote was titled "Getting Started with Choosing a University", but it was actually much broader, focusing on career directions, how to know when it's time to change, and overcoming decision inertia.

Like lots of Rob's stuff, it's full of stories, and actionable, honest tactics, so makes a perfect little side-door for Global Horizons listeners.

We hope you enjoy it!

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 ⁠[email protected]

Global Horizons is the official podcast of the AIEC conference!
Registrations are already open... grab your spot early!

In this episode of the Global Horizons podcast, Rob Malicki and Dirk Mulder record on budget day and work through a packed run of developments affecting international education.
They start with two major new research releases from IDP and Studyportals, both pointing to the same broad shift: visa certainty is becoming a much more important factor in student decision-making. From there, they discuss what that means for Australia at a time when policy uncertainty is already weighing on the sector.
The conversation then moves into a series of stories that each, in different ways, point to the same underlying tension. Home Affairs is promoting recruitment in emerging markets, even as visa settings continue to create frustration and uncertainty. A new report from the Migrant Justice Centre highlights the scale of wage underpayment affecting international students. And Mike Ferguson offers a thoughtful reflection on the Simplified Student Visa Framework, including a number of practical ideas for how the system could be updated to better reflect current conditions.

Highlights include:
what the latest IDP and Studyportals research is saying about student behaviour
why visa certainty is now playing a much bigger role in destination choice
the tension between recruitment ambitions and current Home Affairs settings
a major new report on international student underpayment
Mike Ferguson’s ideas for improving the student visa system
AIEC 2026 news and the opening of the Australian Export Awards
This episode covers a lot of ground, but the thread running through it is fairly clear: international education is being shaped not just by demand, but by confidence, consistency and trust.
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 [email protected]

What does it take to stay calm in a sector that seems determined to keep everyone on their toes? If you ask Guie Hartney, it might start with a smile, a little perspective, and a willingness to embrace the chaos.
In this warm, funny and wide-ranging conversation, Guie reflects on a life shaped by travel, language, resilience and curiosity. From growing up in Mexico and moving to Australia, to working in Japan’s seafood trade, backpacking through Mongolia, and eventually finding her place in international education, her story is full of unexpected turns and hard-won wisdom. We also talk about leadership, mentorship, stress, and the habits that help us keep going when things get tough.
Highlights include:
Guie’s wonderfully honest reflections on stress and perspective

a brilliant origin story involving languages, Japan and a surprise career turn

backpacking tales from China and Mongolia

insights on mentoring others and leading with calm

one unforgettable Korean business dinner involving live octopus

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 [email protected]