Dr Anthony Manning (Director and Dean for Global and Lifelong Learning) and Emma Marku (Global Opportunities Manager) are leading the University of Kent’s efforts in ‘internationalisation at home’. Here, they discuss the importance of opening up international opportunities, the benefits this can bring to institutions, students and the planet, and what is in store for attendees of Global Mobility Conference 2024.
As co-chairs of the UUKi Internationalisation at Home (IaH) Working Group, we look forward to connecting with you at this Global Mobility conference in Lancaster on 20 February. The conference sessions will provide a comprehensive and thought-provoking range of insights into contemporary global mobility issues and opportunities. While we already recognise the important and transformative function of study abroad, we assert that IaH offers a unique and accessible opportunity to build intercultural competencies.
Developing intercultural capabilities without physical mobility promotes inclusive internationalisation in higher education by empowering student groups that are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad. This provides an accessible alternative for students who cannot take part in traditional overseas mobility experiences due to financial constraints, family obligations, health issues, or other restrictions. IaH can also promote sustainable development in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals such as inclusive education and partnerships. In contrast to resource-intensive overseas travel, IaH provides more environmentally sustainable global learning opportunities.
As we will discuss at the conference, IaH encourages all students to learn from each other through sharing diverse perspectives and lived experiences in the formal and informal curriculum. This activity can include modules and courses as well as activities such as Intercultural workshops, global leadership opportunities and virtual exchange. In this way, IaH offers a significant opportunity for the widespread development of global mindsets in a manner that can be both separate from and in support of studying abroad. In addition to the independent integrity offered by IaH as a mechanism to develop cultural intelligence, it can also pave the way for positive mobility journeys in both directions.
Although the unique benefits of IaH are characterised by their local accessibility, IaH offers an essential nurturing and supportive function for international students participating in in-bound study abroad experiences. On-campus IaH activity can ease the transition, creating welcoming communities that celebrate diversity. In addition, IaH allows domestic students to experience other cultures and act as cultural ambassadors.
IaH encourages all students to learn from each other through sharing diverse perspectives and lived experiences in the formal and informal curriculum
As for outbound mobility, IaH allows domestic students to gain confidence through interacting meaningfully with varied international cultures, which helps prepare students to navigate the challenges of study abroad.
We look forward to welcoming you to the UUKi Global Mobility conference and the range of exciting sessions, including ours. We hope you can join us to explore the independent merits of IaH for global citizenship development without travel and the supporting function of IaH for multi-directional global mobility.
By participating in our session, you’ll be able to gain a clearer insight into your own range of IaH activities and reveal opportunities for enhancing what you offer to benefit your students. We’ll start by introducing you to the range of resources in the new IaH Handbook, which will launch in early January, and we’ll then help you to workshop the enhancement of your own practice through the IaH Development and Review Cycle. The activity of our UUKi working group has already helped to raise the profile of the wide-ranging benefits of IaH and its contribution to global mobility. We are sure that your participation in Lancaster will make an important contribution to continuing to increase that impact by enhancing your local activity and extending your collaboration in our sector-level activities.
Anthony and Emma will be presenting on ‘internationalisation at home’ among many other thought-provoking sessions at Global Mobility 2024, taking place at Lancaster University on 20 February 2024.
The Internationalisation at Home handbook and infographic will be released in early January, and will be available on the UUKi publications page.
