The UNSW International Student Discord platform has launched in time for the start of Term 3 2021. This new virtual initiative joins UNSW’s suite of online engagement opportunities in a bid to strengthen and diversify the online programming for students commencing and continuing their studies remotely.
With around 15,000 international students still studying offshore, UNSW has recognised an opportunity to increase the virtual programming to ensure students based offshore are able to connect, engage and build relationships with their fellow students and the broader UNSW community.
The Discord platform will be moderated by a team of trained student volunteers as part of the Cultural Mentor program, and will provide a digital community for international students to connect, communicate and support each other.
“It’s important to meet students where they are building communities. The past 18-months has been a really challenging time for our students who have had to adjust and adapt to remote University experience and virtual learning. Students are resilient and agile, and we’ve seen a huge uptake through Arc Clubs and Societies in the Discord space. We thought this was a great opportunity for us to engage students as well.
Maintaining a sense of connectedness and community during this uncertain time is an essential component to helping our students thrive and the Discord platform will allow us to provide a meaningful engagement opportunity for students studying abroad to connect and support each other in an un-structured and authentic digital environment,” commented Natalie Nickson, Head of Student Life at UNSW Sydney.
The International Student Discord platform is open to all international students – regardless of where they are in the world. The platform boasts a broad range of chat rooms, to ensure students can meet and connect with like-minded peers, including region-based chatrooms, online study session chatrooms, movie, music and sport chatrooms as well as gaming chatrooms.
“In a time when communication went from in-person to virtual, Discord has become a vital tool for all of us. Students are using Discord every day to talk and play games with friends in different parts of the world and we have learnt a lot from what some of the student clubs and societies are doing in this space. It is a way to stay connected even when we have to be apart.
The UNSW International Students platform is created to benefit our international student community – you can find all the necessary resources in one place, meet people from all around the world, and use the voice and text channels to get questions answered! Therefore, I recommend everyone to join!” added Poorva Anand, UNSW Student Cultural Mentor Moderator.
The UNSW International Student Discord Platform features a verification bot, ensuring that all users on the platform have a valid UNSW zID – providing a digital safe space for UNSW International students to connect with their peers, outside of structured programming like events, workshops, lectures and tutorials.
***
Visit the Discord platform.