Asia Pacific Student Services Association International Conference

The 18th Asia Pacific Student Services Association International Conference

Thank you to all who attended the 18th APSSA International Conference hosted by Griffith University. As we emerge from this global crisis into a “new normal,” new challenges await students and student affairs, practitioners. New industries need to be built, new businesses need to be created and students will need to learn how to quickly develop new skillsets and competencies to succeed. It is a time to rebuild, re-engage with the world, and rejuvenate among friends and fellow practitioners.

Conference information

Date: 1-4 November 2022

Location: Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia

The conference

The 18th APSSA International Conference provided the platform for all participants to

reconnect with the community for benchmarking best practices
re-imagine how student affairs could be to ensure continued student success is the new normal
re-define what student affairs means to us in this post-pandemic world

Download the conference program

Download the conference parallel

Reconnect

Reimagine

Redefine

Keynote Speaker - Associate Professor Rex Wong

Rex Wong is the director of the Institute of Global Health, and Chair of the Innovation Center of University of Global Health Equity, directing and teaching the Master in Global Health Delivery program. He has over 30 years of hospital and health care work experience globally. He has worked and lived in Liberia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Egypt, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, Hong Kong, United States, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tanzania on various hospital management, national health system and senior leadership programs. Prior to this role, Dr. Wong was the Director of Hospital Strengthening Initiative at Yale University, directing health management, and hospital quality improvement projects, building local faculty capacity, providing senior leadership training, developing the curriculum and course materials, and mentoring students. He previously also conducted similar hospital management programs while serving as Country Director in Rwanda and in Egypt and Regional Director in Ethiopia. He was one of the co-authors of the Blueprints for Hospital Management in Ethiopia, Ethiopia Hospital Management Initiative (2007), which later was developed into Ethiopian Hospital Reform Implementation Guidelines (2010); serves as the standard for all public hospitals in Ethiopia. He also set up Ethiopia's national key performance indicator (KPI) reporting database. His other previous work experience included served as hospital CEO and COO, participating in 2 start-up hospitals in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, set up the first amputee rehabilitation program in the Middle East, and evaluated the Tanzania national medication supply chain program using the Coca-Cola delivery model. He was involved in setting up 8 master’s degree programs in various universities. Dr. Wong has presented in many international conferences and universities and has been instructing in many senior leadership training programs in many countries. He has published over 60 articles.

Please select some Cards to display

Student Mobility in the Current Global Situation 

As countries begin to re-open their borders to international travel and quarantine requirements are eased, international students are once again travelling from their home countries to overseas institutions for face-to-face learning and re-embarking on exchange programmes at their partner universities. However, the different requirements and measures which have been put in place by different countries and institutions around the world now represent an additional set of challenges, not unlike those related to differences in language, culture, or currency, which foreign students will need to cope with. This sub-theme provides opportunities for student affairs practitioners to share their experiences, perspectives, recommendations and best practices for supporting students to become internationally mobile again amidst these new challenges.

Keynote Speaker - Dr Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo

Lisa Bardill Moscaritolo (PhD) is the Executive Director of Student Experience for the American University of Sharjah. Before moving to the United Arab Emirates, Lisa served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean for Students at Pace University in New York for twelve years. Lisa is an advocate for increasing the knowledge, research, and practices of student affairs and services in various parts of the world and is a founding member and secretary-general for the International Student Affairs and Student Services (IASAS) organization, chartered in Brussels. She has served on a student affairs review team for the American University of Beirut in February 2020 and has a two-year appointment on the Governing Board for Student Experience committee at University College Cork in Ireland. She has presented to the Philippines Association Practitioners in Student Affairs and Services in 2017 and 2020 (virtually) and served as one of the external panelists on wellbeing and mental health for the Universidad del Pacifico in Peru in 2021. Lisa serves as an international advisory board member of the Journal for Student Affairs Africa (JSSA). Recent writings include publications on the impact of COVID-19 on student affairs and services globally and SAS advancing the SDGs globally. Lisa is a driving force in two signature events- the Global Summit for professionals and associations in student affairs and services and the Student Leader Global Summit.

Resilience and Wellbeing in Student Affairs and Services 

The psychological wellbeing of both students and student affairs practitioners has been a major concern in many institutions around the world throughout the pandemic. Ample anecdotal evidence exists to suggest that overall levels of mental health in many countries have deteriorated.

What were some of the lessons learnt in supporting students through a global crisis? What interventions, if any, had been effective? What new knowledge can the mental health professionals of today contribute to the literature to prepare the mental health professionals of tomorrow deal with the next global crisis?

Keynote Speaker - Mr Troy Vue

Troy Yue’s passion for education prompted him to start National Institute of Education and Technology (NIET) Group. He has built an interstate network of training colleges and industry partners in 6 years. His group is an education collective comprised of four Australian Registered Training Organisations that based in South East Queensland and Tasmania with 250 university articulations; offers almost 50 qualifications across the care sector, business, hospitality, languages and technology. Also, more than 50 Industry partners working closely with NIET Group. NIET Group has three VET institutions including National Institute of Education and Technology, Charlton Brown, Rhodes Business School, and one higher education Institute – Macleay College. As CEO of the group, he keeps reminding himself the core version for the company – to build a vibrant college culture & tight-knit alumni community, not just a college. Having enrolled at Griffith as an international student, Troy understood the challenges facing students wanting work in Australia – the language and cultural barriers that kept them from utilising their skills. After Troy graduated from Griffith, he found out the link between universities and workplaces is vocational training after did some research, which directly inspired Troy to design the courses to help international students to learn industry-based skills and adapt to the local workforce. Troy mentioned what he has taught from Griffith was that being an educator is meaningful to nurture the generations, to learn practical skills, and to fit for the industry better. He is deeply aware of that education is the fundamental and core values and accumulated knowledge to the society from macroscopical perspective. An element of NIET Troy is particularly proud of is the chain of Okey Dokey cafes operated by the group and staffed by its hospitality students and graduates. Three of the chain’s five sites are now managed by graduates, beginning a self-sustaining cycle of mentoring as those graduates guide current students applying their hospitality skills in the cafes’ commercial environment. In 2021, NIET Group to be awarded as the Winner for Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards for International and Education and Training Awards; as a National Finalist for 59th Australian Export & Investment Awards and in 2022, Troy received Griffith Business School's 2022 Outstanding International Alumnus Award.

Student Success in the New Normal 

As new businesses are created and old businesses closed over the course of the pandemic, the essential skills, competencies and graduate attributes needed for continued student success in the new normal are different from those that students were prepared for before. International corporations are beginning to hire graduates with entrepreneurial knowledge or experience. Institutions of higher learning in many parts of the world are creating opportunities and providing resources for students to develop entrepreneurship skills. The pertinent questions for student affairs practitioners are how they should equip themselves to be able to support students effectively in the new normal, and how they can help students equip themselves with the right skillsets, competencies and graduate attributes to succeed in the post-pandemic world.

In partnership with

Conference Information

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras nisl turpis, luctus a tellus in, posuere vestibulum lacus. Aenean eget turpis a metus sodales ultrices. Proin est enim, pellentesque vehicula turpis nec, malesuada lacinia quam.