ANAA Pre-Departure Programme for Australia-Bound Students

KATHMANDU, NEPAL • 26 MAY 2026

The Association of Nepalese Alumni from Australia formally inaugurated its Pre-Departure Session and Guidebook at a landmark event in Kathmandu, offering Australia-bound Nepali students the preparation that previous generations never received.

By ANAA Communications .26 May 2026

On a Tuesday afternoon in Kathmandu, more than a hundred students, parents, alumni, and education professionals gathered at Hotel Dusit Princess in Lazimpat for an event that its organisers called a long time coming.

The Association of Nepalese Alumni from Australia — known as ANAA — held its inaugural Pre-Departure Session, a structured programme designed to prepare Nepali students for the realities of academic life, work, and culture in Australia before they board their flights.

The event, supported by the Australian Government, also marked the official launch of the ANAA Pre-Departure Guidebook — a comprehensive resource for students that its creators hope will become standard reading for every Nepali heading to Australia.

"When I flew to Melbourne, I left with a visa, a suitcase, and almost no idea what was waiting for me. That gap is exactly what this programme exists to close." — Ananta Poudyal, President, ANAA .

The session opened at 2:00 PM with registration and welcome coffee, as guests arrived at the Dusit Princess ballroom. By the time proceedings formally began at 2:30 PM, the atmosphere was one of quiet anticipation — students seated alongside parents who had travelled from across Nepal, many attending their first event of this kind.

ANAA President Mr. Ananta Poudyal delivered the opening address, speaking with a candour that set the tone for everything that followed. A graduate of Monash University and current Director at Nabil Bank, he recalled his own arrival in Melbourne years ago — unprepared, uncertain, and navigating an unfamiliar system largely alone.

The formal highlight of the early programme was the launch of the ANAA Pre-Departure Guidebook, unveiled jointly by Mr. Poudyal, Chief Guest H.E. Mr. Simon Ernst (Australian Ambassador to Nepal), and former ANAA Presidents Dr. Damodar Prasad Pokhrel and Dr. Ram Hari Aryal. The guidebook — developed with the support of Mr. Jileshan Shah, designed by Mr. Aseem Gautam, and written with contributions from Ms. Shraddha Gautam — drew extended applause from the audience.

The substantive programme began with a pre-departure presentation from Mr. Sushant Rijal, a recipient of the prestigious Australia Awards Scholarship and graduate of The Australian National University. Currently Head of Innovation Kitchen at King's College, Mr. Rijal guided students through the practical realities awaiting them: academic expectations, open-book examinations, work rights, cultural adjustment, and the mechanics of building a life far from home.

A student Q&A session followed — an open floor that proved one of the afternoon's most energetic exchanges. Students asked about everything from visa conditions to mental health support, accommodation, and part-time employment. Panel members responded with a directness that drew audible appreciation from the room.

Alumni experience sharing came next, with Ms. Ashlesha Karki — a University of Melbourne graduate and now Deputy Managing Director of Hotel Mechi Crown — offering a frank account of her years in Australia. She spoke of the distance from family, the culture shock of Australian classrooms, and the professional path she built after returning to Nepal.

Those global friendships are more valuable than any riches. Build your network as carefully as you build your degree. — Ananta Poudyal, President, ANAA

Special Guest Mr. Anil Keshary Shah — Director and former CEO of Nabil Bank, with over three decades at the helm of Nepal's financial sector — spoke with the perspective of a senior leader who has recently observed the Nepali diaspora in Australia firsthand. His address drew connections between individual student ambition and Nepal's broader economic and social trajectory.

The formal proceedings concluded with an address by Chief Guest H.E. Mr. Simon Ernst, the Australian Ambassador to Nepal. Mr. Ernst, a career public servant with nearly three decades of experience in indigenous and international affairs, expressed Australia's strong commitment to educational partnership with Nepal, and offered personal encouragement to the students in the room.

The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Mr. Pranil M.S. Pradhan on behalf of the ANAA Executive Committee, before the event gave way to high tea and an hour of networking — students exchanging contacts with alumni, mentors circling tables, and parents lingering to ask questions they had not raised in the formal session.

More than 50,000 Nepalese students are currently enrolled in Australian universities — a figure that has grown substantially over the past decade, making Nepal one of the top source countries for international students in Australia. Yet for many years, students arrived in Australia with limited preparation for what awaited them. ANAA's Pre-Departure Programme is an attempt to change that. Backed by alumni who lived through the experience themselves, it offers something that no consulting firm or university brochure can fully provide: honest, practical knowledge from people who made the same journey. Mr. Poudyal closed his address with a call that resonated through the room: "These students are not only Australia-bound. They carry the entire future of Nepal and the Nepali people with them."

Exclusive event partner Singapore Airlines provided ticketing benefits to students attending the session, continuing its support for Nepali students making the journey to Australia. ANAA also acknowledged Secretary Mr. Sujan Thapa and organising volunteers Mr. Alok and Mr. Rohan Thakur, whose work behind the scenes made the event possible.

The ANAA Pre-Departure Guidebook

© Association of Nepalese Alumni from Australia (ANAA) | 2026