Different Perspectives, Different Cultures, Different Places

Eight international and four domestic doctoral students share the story of completing their doctoral journey at an Australian university, as well as their experiences of being part of a large collaborative research group that served as a source of support and motivation on their doctoral journey. They share their dreams, hopes, and frustrations of searching, applying, being rejected and finally accepted as a doctoral candidate. International students share their impressions and experiences of being in a new land with a new language and immersing themselves and their families in a distinctly different culture and society. These are the stories of the challenges they encountered and their struggles and successes.

Contributors are: Elizabeth Allotta, Laura Emily Clark, Maria Ejlertsen, Daeul Jeong, Solange Lima, Huifang Liu, Mohammad Tareque Rahman, Umme Salma, Margaret Schuls, Sara Haghighi Siahgorabi, Lauren Thomasse and Tran Le Nghi Tran.

Elizabeth Allotta completed her doctoral study at the University of Queensland, while working as a fulltime teacher. She has authored textbooks and contributed chapters to academic books and journal articles. Her current interests include exploring and sharing stories of lived experience.

"Reading her chapter takes the reader to places one might have never been to. Not only the descriptions but also the lyrical accounts of events add to the overall reading experience. [...] Reading the book has the effect of becoming more interested in both the journey of the contributors and what life in higher education means." Zsófia Vincze, in the Hungarian Educational Research Journal, 2024