Hafeezullah comes from Afghanistan and completed his high school studies in Pakistan. He chose to study at UTS because he feels his qualification will be needed to build new infrastructure in Afghanistan.

"If I compare the educational system in Afghanistan to Australia, there is a huge difference. Australia has a very high quality of education and as I am from a developing country - it is a very big honour for me to study in Australia. I chose UTS because it is very well known in engineering - it started as an engineering college. A lot of the facilities Australian universities have we just don’t have in Afghanistan.

I studied in UTS: INSEARCH for the first 16 months and got a Diploma in Engineering and then I came to UTS and received a one year exemption, so I entered directly into the second year of a bachelor degree. I enjoy studying at UTS for many different reasons; working with people from different cultures and countries - UTS is well known for having a diverse student body. I really enjoy working in groups, which we didn’t have actually in my country – you had to do everything by yourself.

The student facilities are great, for example, I eat Halal food and I found that I can buy Halal food when I’m on campus. There are different religious facilities here as well which I find very reassuring.

At first it was a bit of challenge to deal with people from different cultures – some people didn’t understand my lifestyle and the way I communicate and I didn’t understand theirs. But as you talk to people you actually share your life experiences and explain what life is like in your home country – and then you become friends. This experience of working with people of different cultures will be really useful when I graduate and start looking for a job.

Afghan employers regard people who are graduating from countries like Australia as high achievers. They hope people like me can change the country for the better. I’d love to work at home as an engineer and manage projects as they are in desperate need of graduates like me. I feel a responsibility to work hard for my family and for my country."