How does a couple from Norway, who have been together for four years, travelled the world extensively and studied in other countries, end up studying on the Gold Coast with Central Queensland University (CQU)?.

"Because we chose CQU through the internet. It had our courses. It gives us great opportunity to see many parts of Australia and to meet new cultures at the same time," said John Stokke.

Stokke is studying towards his business degree in Human Resource Management while Margarita Solem is doing an IT degree in Multi Media. While studying in New Zealand, John and Margarita decided to find somewhere that was more likely to provide them with the education that would allow them to compete in a shrinking global employment market. "It is important to understand other cultures, especially in this day and age where companies are becoming multinational," John suggested. John's ambition to eventually gain employment as a HR Manager in an international organisation led him to CQU, where students and staff come from many countries of the world. He said he appreciated the extra services that CQU offers, such as the Student Training and Employment Program (STEP) course, which he is accessing at the Gold Coast Campus.

Caption: Two Norwegian students packed their trunks to study at Central Queensland University.

For Margarita, the multi media course offered by CQU was exactly what she was looking for, in order to achieve her ambition of working in multi media in an international organisation.

John and Margarita reviewed courses, costs and career prospects when considering CQU, but the chose CQU because of its multiple campus locations in Australia. "We come from a cold country and wanted to enjoy a warm climate and to do all the exciting things that you can do in Australia, like diving on the Barrier Reef and paragliding on the Gold Coast," said Margarita.

With campuses in Central Queensland, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne, the couple has plenty of opportunity to see many parts of Australia while remaining enrolled in the same university. "We thought this was an attractive feature and important, because if we wanted to change or preferred another location, we could always move to a different city or region and not have to change universities," the couple agreed.

For more information on Central Queensland University degree programs and offerings, please go to http://www.cqu.edu.au/ or call 1300 360 444 (within Australia) or 61 7 4930 9777 -- END --