Student program: ELICOS + Master of Accounting
Country of origin: China

“I chose Swinburne out of the universities in Australia because it is a famous university that I knew about when I was at university in China. I have many friends from China that are studying at Swinburne and we all like it here very much. I wanted to study in Australia for many reasons. First of all, Australia is an open, free, democratic and beautiful country. Secondly, the education system in Australia is advanced and I believe I will learn more new and useful things in Australia.”

Xuemei came to Melbourne in late 2005 to do 10 weeks of English at Swinburne’s English Language Centre, before she began her Master of Accounting in February 2006.

“First I studied English language. The course improved my English skills, including speaking, writing, reading and listening. This built a strong base for my next course. After my English course I started studying Accounting, because I recognise that Accounting is very important to business. Also, my grandpa and my mother were accountants.”

For other students considering coming to study in Australia, Xuemei would recommend that you are ready to study hard but also make sure you enjoy yourself in Melbourne. She also recommends making the most of your time in Australia by trying to adapt to all the different cultures and teaching styles available here. One word of warning from Xuemei” “pay attention to the weather here, as it is very different from China!”