Mr Rishen Shekhar

Rishen Shekhar is the Pro Vice Chancellor: International at the University of South Australia (UniSA), where he leads the university’s international student recruitment, global partnerships and business development, admissions and compliance, digital recruitment, transnational education (TNE), and learning abroad functions.

A former international student himself, Rishen brings over 18 years of experience across the international education sector, spanning public universities, TAFE, private RTOs, student accommodation (PBSA), and education technology. He currently serves on the boards of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) and St Ignatius College Adelaide, is an invited member of the IDP Connect ANZ Advisory Panel, and is a former executive of the Australian Universities International Directors’ Forum (AUIDF).

Since joining UniSA in 2015, Rishen has built on previous leadership roles at the University of New England (UNE) and the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), with extensive experience across South Asia, Southeast Asia, greater China, and the Middle East.

Beyond the university sector, he was Business Development Director at StudyLink Asia Pacific, implementing admissions, agent management, and CRM solutions at Griffith University, Macquarie University, TAFE Queensland, and across the Navitas network.

Rishen has also co-delivered workshops with IEAA and ACPET (now ITECA) since 2010, specialising in international marketing, recruitment, agent management, and organisational transformation. 

Passionate about the transformative power of international education and student mobility, he advocates for its role in advancing employability outcomes and global diplomacy.