PLAP 2025, held at HOTA: Residence of the Arts in Surfer’s Paradise, Gold Coast, Australia from July 29–30, marked the third version of the coveted worldwide training convention.
The primary main occasion for the sector since Anthony Albanese-led Labor’s landslide victory in Australia, PLAP 2025 introduced collectively authorities officers, policymakers, college management, training suppliers, consultants, entrepreneurs, and worldwide college students from greater than 20 nations for the two-day convention.
Whereas discussions targeted on coverage developments in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific area, the two-day occasion additionally explored themes similar to AI’s impression on training, pupil entrepreneurship, sustainability, Ok–12, transnational training, edu-immigration, and the way forward for the area.
The occasion additionally served as a second to honour worldwide training stalwarts Ravi Lochan Singh and Mark Lucas with the Lifetime Affect Award for the South Asian and Asia Pacific areas respectively, sponsored by Griffith College, for his or her decades-long contributions to the sector.
I arrived right here in 1990 as a pupil from India at Bond College. Now, 35 years later, I’m again in Gold Coast, receiving this award that recognises my work over the previous three-and-a-half many years
Ravi Lochan Samh, World Racht
Began as an concept in 1991, Singh based World Attain after finishing his MBA from Bond College on the Gold Coast.
What started as an on-campus dialogue between three graduating MBA college students at Bond, together with Sushil Sukhwani, founding father of Edwise Worldwide, and early roadshows for Australian universities, has since grown into an abroad training consultancy with 46 places of work throughout Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and partnerships with over 500 universities worldwide.
Since its inception, World Attain has grown into one of many main consultancies in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and is taken into account a “market chief” in Nepal and Bhutan.
This progress was additional highlighted in a 2024 evaluation by The PIE Informationwhich revealed that World Attain and IDP maintain the best variety of partnerships with Australian universities for pupil recruitment and associated companies.
Singh additionally served as president of the Affiliation of Australian Schooling Representatives in India (AAERI) from 2019 to 2023, enjoying a key function in selling credibility and moral practices amongst Indian brokers recruiting college students for Australian training and coaching establishments.
“Gold Coast is actually golden! I arrived right here in 1990 as a pupil from India at Bond College. Now, 35 years later, I’m again in Gold Coast, receiving this award that recognises my work over the previous three and a half many years,” Singh acknowledged in a LinkedIn publish about profitable the Lifetime Affect award at PLAP 2025.
“This award is so particular as a result of it’s the primary time I’ve acquired an award with my household by my aspect. My spouse, Shobhna, my youngsters, Aditeya and Akanksha and my daughter-in-law, Muskan, are all right here to have fun with me. Because of them for being my rock and my supply of inspiration all through my life.”
Lucas, who was honoured with the award for the Asia Pacific area by Marnie Watson, vice chairman (world), Griffith College, has been a long-time contributor to worldwide training conversations throughout his decades-old management expertise within the sector.
The previous chairperson of the Australian Council of Non-public Schooling, now often called the Unbiased Tertiary Schooling Council Australia, Lucas has held a lot of directorial and advisory roles in each Australia and China.
One in every of Lucas’s most notable roles was as managing director, iae World, the place he targeted on enterprise improvement at one of many main pupil recruitment organisations, providing visa assist, college choice, and pre-departure companies, with places of work throughout Asia, Australia, the UK, and Canada.
Beneath Lucas, iae World expanded its presence in key pupil markets similar to Vietnam, India, and Japan, whereas additionally seeing elevated recruitment from Korea and China.
The organisation additionally shifted from a language-provider-focused strategy to working extra carefully with universities and pathway suppliers.
Lucas, a vocal advocate for bettering agent-university relations, has beforehand served as a board member of the American Worldwide Recruitment Council (AIRC) and as chair of Worldwide Pupil Schooling Brokers Australia (ISEAA), the height physique for brokers in Australia.
He presently serves as senior VP, enterprise improvement and world partnerships at Huatong Worldwide, the Shanghai-based arm of iae China.
Furthermore, PLAP 2025 additionally recognised Rohan Pasiri, co-founder and CEO of Manifest World, with the Rising Chief of the Yr – Asia Pacific & South Asia award, for his efforts in connecting faculties, universities, and college students to simplify worldwide admissions.
“This recognition is a strong reminder that what we’re constructing at Manifest World issues. The work we’re doing to reshape world training – throughout borders and programs – is resonating,” Pasiri acknowledged on LinkedIn.
“We’re advancing into areas that haven’t been absolutely constructed earlier than. Accelerating concepts that put college students first. And forging paths that convey faculties, universities, and companions collectively in completely new methods. All of this finally to realize greatness for humanity.”
