positioning yourself for research positions after graduating from a PhD in a different country I asked this on  Reddit also but didn't get any responses so I am trying here.

I am a first year PhD student thinking about how I can start to better position myself to get a research position after completing my PhD. I am doing this because after graduation I will be moving back to my home country (Australia) which is different to where I am currently doing my PhD, and want to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Because of this, I feel I should consider how I can start preparing myself so that when I graduate I can more easily move into a research position. My first thoughts were to find professors in my area (cyber security) and email them about doing some type of collaboration or joint research, this way I can start networking and get used to the different expectations there may be between labs.

I have emailed a few professors but they haven't replied, I will follow up again to see if they just missed the email but can anyone recommend any other methods/ideas that I can use to start preparing or setting myself up to be able to obtain a research position after graduating when it in a different country to where your obtaining your PhD?
The most important thing you can do in your first year is to master the material and do well in your courses. 

Present your research at conferences in Australia (assuming your program has some funding available for this). This is a more effective way to meet people in your field than sending emails to busy faculty who know nothing about you or your abilities as a researcher. 

I don't know how long your PhD program is, but you have time, and presenting repeatedly at Australian conferences would be an excellent way to develop professional connections. You will encounter the same people multiple times at these events over the years. I have even developed lifelong professional friendships with colleagues I first met on the conference circuit.