UniSA International
Taro Yoshizaki has had a flying start to his career as a pilot. Aviation was Taro’s career goal and the University of South Australia’s Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Aviation) was just what he needed to achieve that goal. “All I wanted to do was aviation and the course was available in UniSA.” He particularly liked the fact that “Theory and practical flying are integrated” allowing him to take flight training to gain his PPL (Private Pilot Licence) and then CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence). He hopes to continue at UniSA as a flying instructor.
The chance to fly brand new planes and participate in special events were highlights. “The school sent me and 7 other pilots to Perth to fly our newly purchased Cessnas back to Parafied.” and “I suggested to our Chief Flying Instructor to conduct a little formation flying on the Adelaide Airport Open Day, which went quite well despite most of the flying displays being cancelled due to strong wind!”
Taro first moved to Adelaide in 2001 when he commenced his high school studies and lived in a home stay with a local family. Following his successful completion of high school, he was accepted into UniSA’s Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Aviation) and moved in with another home stay family. A year later Taro moved to a townhouse in Mawson Lakes with a friend - just 10 minutes walk from the Mawson Lakes campus where he undertook his studies. This meant a relaxed lifestyle. “The best things about being a student in Adelaide were the quiet environment, clean air with no pollution, and there are many other international students. Access to cheap bus tickets was useful too when not in the air!”
Some things about living in Adelaide took a bit of getting used to for Taro compared to Japan - “I found it inconvenient that the shops close early and some don’t open on weekends when I first arrived, but it doesn’t bother me now…public transport is quite easy to use here and rent is reasonable. Local products including food and wine are nice and cheap but imported goods are expensive.”
There are some study differences too “You have to speak out here rather than waiting until you are allowed to do so in Japan but having lived here for 7 years now, it has become sort of home and don’t notice so much difference from Japan…”The support and understanding for international students is very good since there are so many nationalities studying here, which also makes it a very interesting study environment.”
Taro’s advice to other students: “Just be friendly and open, and not study 24 hours a day. You will have a great experience studying and living in Adelaide.”
Taro Yoshizaki
Age: 22
Osaka, Japan
For further information about UniSA programs, use Enquire Online, email international.office@unisa.edu.au or check out our UniSA International website.
