La Trobe University announced the enrolment boom at the official welcome of 38 international students yesterday.

Associate Director Regional Campuses Victor Rajeevan said the increase could be attributed to a renewed focus on promoting the attractions of life at a regional campus.

“We have about 40 per cent more students this year and it’s really a great thing to have those international students attracted to the Bendigo campus.”

Mr Rajeevan said civil engineering, education and pharmacology degrees had proved popular among international students.

International student Hoang Nguyen will spend the next three years in Bendigo studying graphic design.

Hoang believes the environment is the biggest difference between his home city, the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, and Australia.

“I can breath fresh air everywhere here,” he said.

“And the sky is so clear.

“In Hanoi in the middle of the city you look up and you cannot see anything, here you can see every star, every formation.

International students have come from around the globe, including Botswana, Italy, Finland, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and South Africa.