International students express feeling isolated at the University of Canterbury

From left to right: Miu Horikoshi, 20, Rebecca Cropley, 20, Isabel Smail, 21, Riku Guttesen, 25, are all international students studying at the University Of Canterbury.

International students are expressing feelings of isolation after arriving at the University of Canterbury to study.

The international students that have just arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand have the issue of entering the second semester of the year which means they have missed out on the initial welcome given to the domestic students at the start of the academic year.

There is no longer a significant attempt to ensure students meet and make friends by this point. 

The University of Canterbury, and other universities across the country, heavily rely on the enrolment of international students to make up a lot of the funding for the tertiary institutions, meaning that the possibility of a drop in enrolments over these hardships is worrying for the university.

International student, Rebecca Cropley, refers to her time at the University of Canterbury as like being in an “international bubble.”

Rebecca Cropley, 20, and Riku Guttesen, 25, standing outside their flat building.

The student resides in the Sonoda Christchurch accommodation, mainly consisting of international students, and located a 20 minute walk from the university campus.

“I feel more like an international student than I do a UC student,” said Cropley, after comparing the accommodation as similar to that of a gated community.

The Sonoda Christchurch accommodation is also the lesser known accommodation for the university, with mainly international students knowing of its existence. 

The Sonoda Christchurch Campus where most international students live.

Cropley’s testimony sparks worry for the university as it surfaces in a time when universities all over the country are going to new lengths, after Covid-19, to reignite international student’s interest in studying abroad in New Zealand.

Riku Guttesen, a student from Finland, told Canta that coming from the northern hemisphere and joining in the university in semester two, has meant that he has struggled to feel fully integrated into the UC’s community.

He describes the difficulties of joining in the middle of the year, as social circles have already been established.

Whilst the university has made efforts to create events for international students to meet each other, Guttesen states that he feels as though there has not been a real effort from the university to incorporate them with the domestic students.

Despite being isolated from other UC students, the interviewed international students stated that a close knit community has been established amongst those who are temporarily living in New Zealand.