HE senior mgrs_Apr18 - Bournemouth University

e realised if the vision is supported throughpolicies and strategies which make explicit therelevance and importance of internationalisationin all aspects of university life. Such documentsmay include the Corporate Plan, Assessment,Learning and Teaching strategy, Research,Retention and Widening Participation strategies inaddition to Equality, Diversity, Human Resourcesand Sustainability policies.Strong international partnerships are animportant mechanism in supportinginternationalisation. These can facilitate staffsecondments, student exchanges, internationalresearch, development and benchmarkingopportunities. Such positive partnership linkscan go well beyond student exchanges and staffvisits, leading to shared curriculum, researchpublications and other opportunities to supportcurriculum internationalisation.Appointing diverse staff with varied internationalexperience and bringing in regular internationalvisiting lecturers is essential for a strategicapproach to internationalisation. Equallyimportant is enabling staff of all categories tohave international experiences as part of aninstitutional enrichment process. Exchangeprogrammes or visits to partner institutions arevaluable for the majority of staff and the resultinglearning or benchmarking process can enhancepractice in the home institution. Opportunitiescan be found for support staff, as well as theiracademic colleagues, to engage in internationalresearch, knowledge exchange, partnershipworking and capacity-building. At Leeds Met wehave enabled professional administrators toundertake secondments in partner institutions aswell as helping to deliver governance andbenchmarking projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.Staff from our Learning Support team work withstudents on programmes delivered overseas, thusenabling them to bring back the experience theyhave gained, and to support internationalstudents at the home campus more effectively.Systematically providing staff developmentopportunities to support internationalisation canmake a real impact on institutional change. Thismay include providing for language learning andcross-cultural capability training, or seminars onworking with students whose first language isnot English.Regular recognition and celebration ofinternational developments can also facilitateculture change and may include a programme ofevents to make explicit the institution’sinternational intents. Recognising and valuing theinternational achievements of staff and studentscan support this. Whether this is linked topromotion and career progression, or whether itis celebrated by public recognition throughinternal awards, it is important to value what staffdo to promote global perspectives in all aspectsof their work, including learning, teaching,assessment, research or student support. It maynot be the case that all staff share the enthusiasmand the capability necessary for turning theinternational vision into reality, so it is helpful toidentify and support internationalisationchampions across the institution. They, in turn,can help to spread the word amongst thosestaff who may be less eager to embracethe challenge.A critical mass of international students oncampus across a range of courses and fromdiverse countries can help the internationalisationeffort. This needs to be coupled with actions toassist effective integration within and acrossnational and cultural boundaries, includingwelcome events for international students,buddying schemes, arranged opportunities forstudents to network within and beyond theirnational groups, and targeted social activities. Itshould also be linked to, and benefit from, thebroader celebration of diversity across theinstitution, and to policies and practice whichenhance the diversity of the home studentpopulation. Leeds Met’s partnership with theInternational Indian Film Academy enabled 150international and UK students to work asvolunteers when the awards ceremony took placerecently in Yorkshire. Not only were they able torub shoulders with the stars but working togetheras a team became a useful vehicle to support theintegration of home and international students.A flexible, integrated and discipline-focusedPerspectives, policy and institutional cultures27