Charles Darwin University welcomes first international students since coronavirus shut borders
By Kate Ashton
Posted TueTuesday 15 DecDecember 2020 at 8:00amTueTuesday 15 DecDecember 2020 at 8:00am , updated TueTuesday 15 DecDecember 2020 at 8:44amTueTuesday 15 DecDecember 2020 at 8:44am
Poyan Wong from Hong Kong will study a masters of IT at Charles Darwin University. (ABC News: Kate Ashton)
Hong Kong resident and international student Poyan Wong knows how lucky she was to secure a spot on a special charter flight to Australia during the pandemic.
Sixty-three international students have finished their quarantine in Darwin
They were part of a pilot program to bring international students to Australia
Charles Darwin University wants more international students to be able to travel to Australia next year
She had been working in Singapore but chose to go back home during the pandemic.
"I am super lucky because I chose to go back to Hong Kong and, after four months, then I had a chance to go on this flight [to Darwin]," she said.
"I mean, the timing was just perfect."
Since March, the Australian border has been closed to non-citizens, who have had to seek permission to enter the country. Those who have been successful have had to go into quarantine on arrival.
But Ms Wong was part of the first cohort of international students to arrive in Australia since the pandemic began under a pilot program organised by Charles Darwin University (CDU) and the Northern Territory and Australian governments.
Catch up on the main COVID-19 news from January 16 with our coronavirus blog.
The 63 students from mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia arrived on a charter flight from Singapore a fortnight ago, and were welcomed on campus at CDU with a smoking ceremony by Darwin's Larrakia traditional owners.
None of the students tested positive to COVID-19 during their two weeks quarantining at the Howard Springs facility in Darwin's rural area.
Ms Wong said the charter flight did not influence her decision to study in Darwin as she had already chosen CDU because of how close it was to Asia.
"Because CDU is relatively close to Hong Kong, I can always, well not always, but go back quite often once the border opens," she said.
"I love Australia. I finished my bachelor's degree in Australia.
"I love it here, I love the people here and that makes me choose CDU."
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Larrakia traditional owners welcomed the students to the Charles Darwin University campus with a smoking ceremony. (ABC News: Kate Ashton)
Students appreciated room to move during quarantine
Student Francois Brassard is from Canada but has been living and working in Hong Kong as a biologist.
He is preparing to start a PhD in biology in Darwin.
He said he learned about the possibility of getting to Australia to study quite late, so he only had two weeks to prepare and make sure he had the right visa before his departure.
"It felt hectic, but because of all of the help that we got, everything went really smoothly," he said.
Mr Brassard said it was great not to be locked inside a room during the two weeks of quarantine in rural Darwin.
"At Howard Springs, we had good space, and because of the way the facilities are, we could walk around as long as we were distancing and wearing a mask," he said.
"With the way that it was set up, we were able to slowly meet some of the other students and talk with them.
"It didn't feel as isolating to move into a new country knowing no-one. We started to meet some new people and build a community."
Canadian Francois Brassard (right) has been living and working in Hong Kong but will study biology in Darwin. (Supplied: Francois Brassard)
CDU vice-chancellor Simon Maddocks said there were discussions underway to bring more CDU students to Darwin in 2021.
"We have submitted plans to commence additional flights from January next year, right through to the middle of next year," he said.
"Ultimately that is up for government approval, due to standard immigration and border control procedures.
"Having completed a very successful pilot, I think obviously this is useful for our continued negotiations with government."
There has been criticism of the pilot program from Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, who has said Australians stuck overseas should be brought home before any intake of international students.
But Professor Maddocks said the international students who came as part of the pilot program did not contribute to Australia's overseas arrivals cap.
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New cases at Howard Springs
The Howard Springs quarantine facility also accommodates people who have secured seats on repatriation flights to Australia.
Nearly 1,500 people have been repatriated since flights organised by the Federal Government began in late October.
Today, Northern Territory health authorities confirmed two people who arrived on a recent repatriation flight had tested positive to COVID-19.
The 32-year-old man and 63-year-old woman touched down in Darwin from Frankfurt on Sunday.
They will remain in the care of specialist medical teams at the Howard Springs facility.
Their diagnoses bring the number of people who have arrived on repatriation flights and tested positive to COVID-19 to 33.
Eight of those cases remain active.
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Posted 15 DecDecember 2020TueTuesday 15 DecDecember 2020 at 8:00am , updated 15 DecDecember 2020TueTuesday 15 DecDecember 2020 at 8:44am
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