2016
VicWISE was founded
VicWISE was founded in 2016 as a working group with 12 members, with a mission to empower international students to achieve their career goals through advocacy, collaboration, support, and promotion. We believe that every student, regardless of their cultural background, should have equal opportunities to succeed in the workforce.
.jpg)
2018
Steady growth
VicWISE has steadily grown since its inception, with increasing professional membership and international student interns supporting our NGO.
In 2018, we received a grant from Study Melbourne's International Student Welfare Program, enabling us to host four networking events attended by over 400 professionals, employers, and student graduates. This culminated in a meeting with Drake International's Founder & CEO, Bill Pollock, as the chief guest.
_JPG.jpg)
_JPG.jpg)
2019
Became an NGO
In May 2019, we registered as a non-government organization (NGO), VicWISE Inc, and received an ABN 57 910 163 077. We elected an executive board every two years under the new NGO structure and approved a new logo and introduction of membership fees. Our professional membership grew from 54 to 96 members, and we established a volunteer team of 85 international students to support our NGO.
_JPG.jpg)
2020-2022
Support students throughout COVID
We responded to the immediate needs of international students who were facing traumatic circumstances in their lives, such as job losses, financial and food hardships, homelessness, domestic violence and emotional well-being issues.
We had to find new ways to connect and support students and professionals, and despite losing many professional members due to job losses, we rebuilt our membership base and expanded our services in 2022.
2023
Continue supporting students
In 2020, when the pandemic hit and borders closed, we had to move into the digital world to stay connected. We responded to the immediate needs of international students who were facing traumatic circumstances in their lives, such as job losses, financial and food hardships, homelessness, domestic violence and emotional well-being issues.
We had to find new ways to connect and support students and professionals, and despite losing many professional members due to job losses, we rebuilt our membership base and expanded our services in 2022.
Our journey to become a
one-stop-shop ecosystem
“To create a one-stop-shop ecosystem that has the ability to adapt to changing needs, circumstances that provides comprehensive support to the international student sector.”
Our focus now is on upskilling our volunteers and student members, ensuring they are relevant and future-ready for the hybrid world enabling them to engage with industry partners and communities. However, our mission remains the same, to empower international students to achieve their career goals and pathways through advocacy, collaboration, support, and promotion.
We are proud of what we have achieved over the past seven years, and we are committed to continuing to help thousands of students in pastoral care to navigate the complex job market to achieve their career pathways. Our successes have been made possible through compassion, collaboration, and strong working relationships with our 45 partners.
Our Story
VicWISE is an NGO founded in 2016 to empower international students to achieve their career goals through advocacy, collaboration, and support. Since then, we have grown our professional membership, expanded our services during the pandemic, and are now focused on upskilling our volunteers and members to provide comprehensive support to the international student sector.