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What did institutions learn from our group of international students?

Response times, pre-departure communication with international applicants and integrating with domestic students are important and integral to international students’ successful enrolment and assimilation.

Iraqi student Shahlaa Salih Mohammad Al-Jubori was one of 16 students who shared their experiences with delegates

A policy of ensuring domestic and international students share lodgings would help to build an important peer group, underlined Spanish student Puiggari

These observations were uncovered by a group of 90 delegates who joined an interactive workshop hosted by The PIE News at the Going Global conference in London.

We enabled delegates to quiz 16 international students from 12 different countries about various points in their timeline of studying in the UK, from pre-departure to post-study outcomes.

Unique and personal insight cast a more intimate light on the student journey and more importantly, what they thought about their new host country and institution.

One PhD student from Iraq, studying at University of Bangor in Wales, highlighted that key information can fail to be communicated: she told delegates that she had no idea her children (who accompanied her, along with her husband) would learn Welsh at school, or that Wales was “not in England”.

Spanish student Jose spoke of homesickness, which wasn't immediate

Spanish student Jose spoke of homesickness, which wasn’t immediate

Another student, Jose Joaquin Diaz De Aguilar Puiggari from Spain – currently the Student Union International officer at Sheffield University – also drove home the point that universities should never assume they are doing enough through a systemised approach to orientation.

“I struggled in my first year,” he told delegates, experiencing bad homesickness despite deciding against going to the initial orientation session at the university.

“It was a bit of a kind of rollercoaster,” he said, “feeling happy about the freedom that you have but then you get tired of assimilating all the different things and that can lead to homesickness.”

Group discussions looking at six stages in the student lifecycle and revealed that in the early stages, the time it takes universities to respond to student enquiries can be a deciding factor for some students when trying to decide between similar institutions.

She had no idea her children would learn Welsh at school, or that Wales was “not in England”

One Nepalese student ruled out a prestigious university in the UK because it took several weeks to respond to an enquiry. For him, the importance of prompt and effective communication was paramount.

For those students who did use agents to apply to university, having some degree of familiarity with the company they used was important. For example, some said that they had approached a particular agency based on a recommendation from a friend or family member. Mari, a Norwegian student studying at University of Roehampton, met her agent at a study fair she attended.

Some students used forums to find out more about life in the UK. The Student Room was cited as one example.

Once they arrived, several students mentioned struggling to integrate with the wider student population, and discussions highlighted a number of areas where institutions could make this easier for international students. There was a need for practical information, such as where the nearest supermarket was, and how to use the bus.

Delegates had to learn about their students and report back

Delegates had to learn about their students and report back

Accommodation was a particular concern, with one table noting that international and domestic students are sometimes placed in different buildings, sometimes miles apart.

A policy of ensuring domestic and international students share lodgings would help to build an important peer group, underlined Spanish student Puiggari who said the choice of accommodation in the first year set the path for friendships to be formed.

Others mentioned feeling more comfortable with other international students than with domestic students, but felt that there was little structural support in place to facilitate greater integration.

Joining activities had to be emphasised as another way to integrate, said Nancy Nhu Bui from Vietnam.

Another suggestion was for students to be given a way to contact each other prior to departure, which has proved problematic due to data protection laws.

While culture shock led to personal enrichment, institutions should do more to ensure students did not fail to adjust and then dropped out, delegates heard.

There was a need for practical information, such as where the nearest supermarket was, and how to use the bus

Once they have adjusted to life in the UK, “students feel more open, tolerant, and proud of their experience” said Puiggari.

Postgraduate students in particular said they felt they were given less support than undergraduates at the pre-departure stage.

As well as making friends, feeling at home was important to students and something they considered during the decision-making process. Some students in particular said they felt a quieter or more rural setting could achieve this more readily.

The participating students had differing goals post-graduation, with several saying they would like to stay on and work.

Vietnamese studentOverall, they felt that employers understood and valued the skills international graduates could bring, but some recommended that universities do more to engage with businesses to help international students obtain work post-graduation.

One student added that most of his friends did not start thinking about their employment options until the end of their courses, at which point the time limitation of the student visa became a major obstacle to finding a job.

International students were also not aware that not all businesses are permitted to hire international students

International students were also not aware that not all businesses are permitted to hire international students. One student from Hong Kong, Alan Sze, said he had resorted to emailing all the businesses listed on the Tier 2 sponsor register after finding out that the hotel where he had worked during university did not have a licence to recruit international graduates.

“I would say it is very difficult,” he said, underlining he got no help from his university. “The visa just makes everything more difficult [for employers].”

One further tip from our student panellists: offer orientation for going home too! With ideas of job possibilities in their home countries, links to other university alumni and advice on readjusting to life in a home country.

You can watch a summary of the session here.

group

Our group of international students with Archie, Clare and Amy of The PIE, who moderated the session

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15 Responses to What did institutions learn from our group of international students?

  1. “Another suggestion was for students to be given a way to contact each other prior to departure, which has proved problematic due to data protection laws.”

    I wonder whether this is really a ‘problem’. Most legal issues with information sharing cease to become issues if the consent for the intended use of the information is obtained from the individual concerned.

    As part of the enrollment process universities could ask whether students are comfortable with their contact details being shared with other new students. Alternatively, universities could set up mini social networks focused on new international students and give each new applicant the option of joining early in the enrollment process.

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