The University of Wollongong has welcomed back its first group of international students after almost two years of disruption wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The 20 students arrived in Australia on Monday, December 6 and spent 72 hours in isolation, before undergoing testing to ensure they were clear of the virus.
They came back to Australia under a pilot program that aims to begin gradually returning enrolled students to university campuses in NSW.
Under the program there are three flights planned so far, with a total of 20 UOW students on each.
"It's a small step, but a very important step," deputy vice-chancellor (global strategy), Professor Alex Frino, said.
The university has 1800 students offshore.
"UOW certainly hasn't been the same without our international students here with us," Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia M. Davidson said.
"For an institution that prides itself on its diversity and multicultural mix, we have dearly missed the various cultures, perspectives and friendly faces that our international students bring to UOW."
Among the students back on campus is fourth-year civil engineering student Ami Kesawa from Indonesia.
Ms Kesawa completed her first and second years of study in Wollongong, but went home last year as the pandemic grew.
She has since been studying online.
"I'm very excited [to be back], especially since it's my final year," Ms Kesawa said.
"I get to experience everything on campus."
Another international student welcomed this week, Wil Hubbard, is setting foot in Wollongong for the first time.
Mr Hubbard hails from the US and is studying with the UOW Graduate Medicine program.
"I was accepted to study for a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2020, but soon after, the Australian borders closed, and I couldn't get a travel exemption," Mr Hubbard said.
While studying online was not the original plan, Mr Hubbard said he got a lot of support from his fellow students and staff.
"Everyone helped so much, meeting with us weekly to ensure we were keeping up," he said/
"Even my classmates reached out with invitations to study online with them."
Professor Frino said international students not only enriched the campus and the classrooms, but made an "enormous" economic and cultural contribution to the wider community as well.
To commemorate the return of the international students, an new Illawarra flame tree was planted at the Keiraville campus.
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