Practera

International education and international students make an enormous economic and social contribution to NSW and Australia.

At Practera, we have seen that contribution first-hand through our long-running partnership with Study NSW. Since 2016, we have worked together to deliver programs that engage more than 2,000 NSW business and community organisations with more than 10,000 international students from 44 NSW higher education institutions, helping to research business challenges, build capability, and support investment decisions.

We are proud to support Study NSW in promoting the 2026 NSW International Education Awards, especially the Employer Award category, which recognises NSW employers creating genuine pathways, inclusive workplaces and meaningful outcomes for international students and graduates.

We are also excited to partner with Study NSW on their Global Skills Pathway program, connecting NSW-based businesses with global talent and giving them the opportunity to contribute to a stronger global talent system in NSW.

If your organisation, or someone in your network, is helping international students contribute to NSW, consider nominating them.

Nominations close Friday, 31 July 2026:

https://www.study.nsw.gov.au/current-students/nsw-international-education-awards/submit-a-nomination

Always exciting to see University-Industry partnerships delivering moments like this. Shoutout to Francesca Longfellow for sharing their experience 👏



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Over the last two weeks I completed a professional business project consulting for Luca Jakab and ANTIDOTE Changemakers - a purpose-led strategy studio that equips changemakers with ethical strategy, accessible tools and collaborative learning spaces.

During the project, my role included researching competitor pricing strategies and identifying benchmarks for ANTIDOTE. Through teamwork, researching and the assistance of generative AI, I was able to produce a detailed report for Luca. Luca gave excellent feedback, enabling the team to make improvements and learn more about consulting.

Overall, I learnt how to turn hours of market research and analysis into a consice, informative piece of work for my client. In the future, I hope to apply the skills obtained when participating in other consulting and research projects.

Thank you so much, Luca Jakab, Practera and Durham University for this incredible experience which has enabled me to colloborate with other Durham University students in a real world business situation.

The QS Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings 2027 are out, with more than 1,500 universities across 100 locations assessed.

While rankings provide a valuable benchmark, they tell only part of the story. The institutions making the greatest impact are those that combine academic excellence with meaningful opportunities for students to develop real-world skills and experience.

Today, employability, industry engagement, and practical learning are no longer optional extras. They are essential components of a high-quality student experience.

We're proud to see so many of our university partners featured in this year's rankings. Congratulations to all of them on this well-deserved recognition.

Indian students are choosing global education in record numbers in 2026, and it is not hard to see why. World-class universities, international career pathways, cross-cultural exposure and the kind of practical learning that actually prepares you for the workforce. The ambition is there. What bridges the gap between studying abroad and thriving professionally is real-world experience that goes beyond the classroom.

If you are working in higher education and looking to strengthen employability outcomes, deepen industry engagement and give students the kind of experiences that genuinely move the needle, we would love to connect. There is so much we can explore together.

Experiential learning is one of those terms that gets used a lot but does not always get put into practice in a meaningful way. The gap between knowing what it is and actually delivering it well at scale is where most institutions get stuck.

The idea is straightforward. Students learn best when they are doing real work, getting real feedback and reflecting on real outcomes. Not case studies. Not simulations. Actual projects with actual stakes. The platform and programs behind this are what make it possible to deliver that kind of experience to thousands of students across different universities, disciplines and geographies without losing the quality that makes it worth doing in the first place.

Have a read below 👇

https://lnkd.in/grjkdGZE

Curious about how it works? Connect for a discussion https://lnkd.in/gYG34pK7

When an industry partner says they would recommend a program to other business owners without being asked, that is worth paying attention to.

Chloe B. ( from Movement Performance Training joined the Australian Institute of Higher Education - AIH Practical Industry Projects program with a real problem on her hands: automating client onboarding and streamlining how training gets delivered. What the capstone team brought back was an AI-powered smart intake and mobility assessment system, a proposal that spoke directly to the challenge rather than around it. She noted their professionalism, clear communication and strong initiative throughout.

That kind of grounded, generous feedback from a client is exactly what this program is built for. A big thank you to Chloe and the team at Movement Performance Training for being the kind of partner that makes this experience genuinely worthwhile.

A degree opens the door. But it is what students can actually do that gets them through it. Associate Professor Bonnie Dean from the University of Wollongong makes this case compellingly in her latest piece for Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, and it is one of the most important reads in the WIL space right now.

The data backs it up, too. Graduates who participated in at least one experiential learning opportunity showed a 12% increase in positive outcomes compared to those who did not. And yet, more than one-third of graduates wish their education programs worked more closely with employers to build career-relevant courses and skills. Embedding work-integrated and career development learning into every degree is no longer a nice addition to the curriculum. It is the whole point.

Worth a read for anyone working in higher education, careers or WIL. Link in the comments. 👇

This is what experiential learning looks like in practice. Thank you for putting it into words, Samuel Ridge.

Happy Pride Month! 🌈 June is a time to celebrate the incredible people who make our communities what they are. Every student, educator and industry partner we work with brings something different to the table, and that is something worth celebrating every single day.

To everyone in our community marking this month, we see you, and we are cheering you on.

"The Virtual Industry Project effectively simulated a professional consulting experience." — Hui Yee Wong, The University of Melbourne

There's something telling about the way Hui Yee put it. Not "it was a great learning experience" or "I developed transferable skills", the usual things students say when they're being polite. She called it a simulation of professional consulting, and meant it as a compliment. A lot of programs claim to bridge the gap between university and the real world, and very few actually do. What the UoM FBE Virtual Industry Projects program got right was the structure: clear milestones, genuine industry feedback, and a team setup that gave students enough independence to arrive at ideas that were actually their own rather than pre-cooked answers to manufactured problems.

For Hui Yee, the outcome was a sharper ability to think critically, communicate findings clearly, and turn research into practical recommendations. Those skills don't come from coursework alone. They come from being handed a real challenge and being trusted to figure it out. A big thank you to the University of Melbourne Business and Economics at Melbourne team for building something that takes that responsibility seriously. 🎓