Rohan has worked in the international education sector for over 17 years in Australia and the United Kingdom, in roles covering study abroad, student recruitment, marketing, and transnational education, and student services and advising.
He is currently the Global Mobility and Partnerships Manager at the University of Sussex, where he oversees the development and operations of the inbound visiting and exchange program.
What is your favorite travel memory?
It's especially hard to pick just one! But a favorite travel memory that comes to my mind is taking almost three months of long service leave from my job and traveling around Canada during the hot summer of 2014!
I visited dozens of towns and cities along the way, from Vancouver Island in the west to Prince Edward Island in the east. I loved this trip especially since I got to experience the many 'cultures within cultures' that Canada has to offer, catch up with old friends and meet new friends on what was one of the few extended vacations in my life.
Experiencing this time in Canada shaped a lot about how I feel we should be designing our own study abroad programs for students.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I've been at the University of Sussex for seven months, since moving to the United Kingdom from Australia earlier in 2019. Sussex is the third university in which I've worked during my international education career, and I am loving that there is a broad scope in my role to develop and grow our inbound study abroad program. It's exciting to be able to come to work and focus on a range of exciting projects!
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
When I was in Australia, a former student who returned from the program to his home in the United Kingdom wrote to me a couple of years down the track to say that, while he didn't have an appreciation for it necessarily at the time, he is blown away by what the opportunity of going on exchange to Australia did for him - academically, socially/personally and for his employability.
He said that now he can't help but divide his life into 'before exchange' and 'after exchange' - and he's become a zealot for global study among his friends and family members! I really loved this story because in its simplicity it embodies everything we know to be true about studying abroad.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
If I had to pick just one kind of program, I would say I'd love to go through the Sussex's Erasmus program opportunities to a university in Germany or Scandinavia. Over 32 years, there have been over 3 million Erasmus students across its various programs... What an amazing contribution they have made to the destiny of Europe and the world by opening their global horizons. And I learned recently that the main architect of the Erasmus program was a Sussex staff member!
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
The University of Sussex is a quiet achiever... We don't always shout the loudest, but we contribute an amazing amount to the world of teaching, learning, and research, with many leading disciplines in the world and the UK!
Sussex and the community of Brighton emphasize values of kindness, dignity, respect, inclusivity - and individuality.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
Kindness. Among the leadership, the professionals, and in our case the students. When we practice kindness to ourselves, our clients and our stakeholders, we differentiate ourselves and stand out as a location of choice for staff and students. These days we see a lot of mean and degrading behaviors played out on a global stage. When we set local standards of contrasting behaviors, we show ourselves to be a force for good!
