Think Education

Is debacle too strong a term, or not strong enough? International Student Recruitment

International student recruitment caps in Australia – a review and discussion
In this latest episode of the Think Education podcast, Judith and myself were delighted to be joined by return guest, Dr Douglas Proctor, Pro Vice-Chancellor Global Engagement, Swinburne University of Technology.  We were delighted to have the opportunity to talk to Douglas again – even if the subject matter wasn’t all that cheerful in nature.
Douglas provided a deeply insightful and reasoned discussion regarding the recent changes in Australia regarding international student numbers and legislation to curtail and significantly reduce them. Douglas explained that there will be a system of caps put in place to regulate numbers and while these can be exceeded with a financial penalty, Ministers will also have the ability to prevent recruitment and even possibly licenses, should this occur.  While this seems like an extreme case and perhaps unlikely, the fact that the possibility exists is significant.  The capping of numbers will naturally have both a financial and practical impact.  As Douglas explained, in Australia, we are talking of a 48-billion-dollar industry.  In practical terms, there will be a considerable increase in the management and 
We talked about what the medium to long term goals were behind these decisions – impacting not just Australia but many other countries. Douglas made the insightful point that these decisions taken in one country, give license for others to follow suit and highlighted that issues don’t need to be real (allegations of international students taking up all available university places and accommodation), they only have to be believed to be real.  Douglas talked about the significant mechanisms that exist within Australia for universities to be able to communicate to government and that he is hopeful these will be avenues for discussion and influence.
Douglas remained optimistic (even if he had to squint to do so) about the future.  There are some good elements in the recent legislation and plans – namely a greater sense of regulation regarding students changing degrees/providers shortly after having arrived in Australia.
We talked about the role of TNE in all this.  Douglas saw this in a very positive light.  Not as a means to offset reduced international recruitment but as a fundamental function of Australian higher education.
 
#internationalstudentnumbers #australia #UK #Canada #TNE #recruitment #internationalisation #caps #leadership #mobility

Granola for the Soul - Reflections on a life in education

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Judith and Chris talk to Sharon Davies-Smith, College Director/Principal and Chief Operating Officer – The College, Swansea University. In addition to this being a fascinating conversation, it has been a few months since we spoke to somebody from Wales and this could clearly not be allowed to stand any longer!
Sharon talked about her background and journey through education, hall tutor, teacher, commercial buyer for Sainsbury’s and Next and then back to education to her current role as Chief Worrier at Swansea University.  We explored her journey and reflected on how, as if often the case, things make complete sense when seen in reverse.  Sharon also talked about the need to be assertive and put yourself forward for opportunities and how this was, and remains today, a challenge that faces many women.
Sharon reflected on the work in progress that is achieving work-life balance and understanding what things you can let go, what to fight for and how to know the difference.  This is such a relevant topic, now so perhaps more than ever as we openly acknowledge the need to understand mental health and wellbeing.  A professional should not be judged purely on their output as this way madness lies.
We then asked Sharon about her recent holiday (the first one in years) to Japan and how she had approached planning for this, how she had found the experience and the need for distance from work in order to recharge and experience something completely new.
 
It is OK to allow yourself to care a little less at times.
 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-davies-smith-612b12b3/?originalSubdomain=uk
 
#leadership #timemanagement #wellbeing #motivation #prepare #mentorship #mentalhealth

May You Live in Interesting Times

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Judith reflected on her recent attendance at the UUKi’s International Higher Education Forum 2024 – held in London, UK.  Judith highlighted the honesty and reflective nature of presentations and discussions seen now as normal and the value that this bring to the community and understanding.
Three key issues emerged from Judith’s reflections and they are all connected to the shifting realities of higher education:
International student mobility and the impact this has on institutions, cities and communities.  This is not an issue for any single one country or region but rather a sector wide concern.  The conversation naturally focused on international students and the extent to which their presence, and indeed absence, can dramatically impact local, regional and international economies and stability.
Online and distance learning.  Students demonstrating an increasing interest in studying online for the first year or two of their degrees and then switching to in person.  We talked about how this can be seen as evidence of students taking advantage of a disrupted pattern of learning to their own advantage – supported by employer attitudes on the value of a degree.
Employability and graduate outcomes.  In particular, the lack of tracking applied in this regard to international students.  We talked about the role universities should play in this debate and what it will mean to not adapt to emerging, and indeed current, realities.
We tried to end on a positive note and that included referencing Tom Hanks and his work with the American astronauts who faced life and death issues.
Tackle the problem in front of you and then the next one.  Don’t get overwhelmed.
 
https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/events/international-higher-education-forum
 #UUKi #conferences #studentmobility #pathways #internationalrecruitment #engagement #challengingtimes #employability #studyonline #leadership #educationalpolicy

AI and Origami: Responding to New Challenges with Old Techniques

AI and Origami: Responding to New Challenges with Old Techniques
 
In this latest Think Education podcast, Judith and Chris continue their previous conversation about resilience and change, but with a focus on the use of technology in education – particularly AI.
Chris reflected on a conference he chaired - The 2nd Global Conference on Research in Education and Research (GCEL 2024) – this past week in Dubai, and talked about the challenges some participants had faced due to the floods in the UAE.  The sheer value of academic engagement and interaction was never more fully evident!
One of the presentations, talked about the use of origami in teaching mathematics – by way of encouraging creativity.  One of the audience members remarked that this was at least one teaching/assessment method that AI could not be used to subvert!  This led Judith and Chris down the verbal pathway of AI, cheating, creativity and technology usage, acceptance and distrust.
We talked about the role of AI in higher education and our response to new technologies more broadly.  Why are we threatened by it?  What does this say about AI and about ourselves?
We are eager to continue this conversation with colleagues engaged in the use of technology and to learn more about views on creativity.  If you are interested in joining a conversation about this, please do let us know.
 
 
#ai #managingchange #GCEL2024 #technologyinteaching #riskassessment #culture #strategy #origami #institutionalresponses
 
 

This too shall pass - resilience in higher education and life

Judith and Chris have been away from the podcasting world for a few weeks – holidays and life – and are now recording this in the midst of some fairly significant natural disasters and home issues.  The current situation prompted us to think about resilience and how we cope with crises in both our personal and professional lives.  And because this is us, we managed to include Jurassic Park, Bruce Lee and King Solomon along the way!
This podcast is an attempt to talk about our approach to coping with issues and the importance of having somebody to talk to and lean on.  We all face issues in our personal and professional lives and being able to take a step back at times and reflect on what we are going through, how we are approaching solving the issue, and what we ultimately hope to achieve can be really helpful.
We talked about working in different environments and understanding how to work within different contexts while maintaining our own sense of integrity and professionalism.  There is a need to compromise and to learn but there is also a need to ensure we are staying true to our core values and expectations – and indeed quality assurance.
We talked about control.  The need to have it and the need to let go at times.
Kindness goes a long way.
 
#resilience #crossculturalunderstanding #kindness #jurassicpark #brucelee #kingsolomon #thistooshallpass #mentalhealth #wellbeing #teamwork

How do we measure success in international higher education?

Judith and Chris discussed the issue of success and how we measure it.  We talked about the problems with the terms and approaches we use here and how we are often trapped by a framework of our own making.
We talked about time and partnerships.  How long it takes to set them up; how long they take to actually take; how long we should stay in them before we consider them a success or a failure.  We also debated what success and failure actually look like in educational partnerships.
 
Somehow, we found ourselves possible defending the value of MoU’s and their collection – we tried to back away from this as quickly as we could but to no real avail.
 
Judith, as is her wont, brought the discussion back to rugby and reflected on what success means for different nations.
 
Chris, not to be outdone, turned to basketball and reflected on comments made by Giannis Antetokounmpo, a professional basketball player with the Milwaukee Bucks in America, about the nature of success and failure and how we need to recalibrate how we think about this.
 
While we did not resolve the issue, we did conclude that how we view and measure success is both a function of organisational culture and leadership.  How we approach the issue of TNE and international education - what we expect it to deliver - will dictate how we interpret its success. 
Perhaps we need to change the input to better understand the output?
 
#success #internationalhighereducation #perception #MoUs #partnerships #perceptionoffailure #measurement #engagement #GiannisAntetokounmpo

Cheese Pie and Agamemnon's Death Mask

There are more things talked about in this podcast than in your imagination.
 
Language always pulls us back and forms a strong element of many of the conversations Judith and I have.  We like language.  We like books.  We like talking about language.  We like talking about books.
Judith reflects on our recent conversations and podcasts and talks about how we learn languages at school and out in the real world.  We talked about school trips abroad and exchange visits, what this meant for us at the time and how we reflect back on them now.
We talked about the sense of wonder when we travel and how that can still be replicated, or whether it has been left by the wayside.  Perhaps it is replaced by empathy and engagement and that can’t be a bad thing.
We found ourselves talking about food all of a sudden – still not entirely sure how this happened – as a function of comfort and memory.  We can of course seamlessly tie this to an abstract construct of identity, representation and travel in international higher education – but at the time, it just happened.
We talked about impact.  How we are impacted by travel and how we, in turn, impact other people we meet.  We reflected on the vast levels of kindness we have experienced when travelling and how this can help us be more empathetic to international students in return.
 
Don’t underestimate the value of the alphabet in deciding where to visit!
 
#language #culture #food #literature #languageteaching #studentexchange #bobblehats #travel #internationalexperience #madrid #home #senseofwonder #thekindnessofstrangers #agamemnon #cheesepie #comfortfood #engagement
 

Culture: Avenues and cul-de-sacs

Judith and Chris wander down the often problematic, and always fascinating labyrinth that is the nature of culture.
What do we think of when we hear the word culture?  Judith reflects on what the term means in the boardroom as compared to in the ‘outside world’.  Inward and outward views abound.
Culture can be perhaps seen in different ways: from the personal perspective thinking about other places and the cultural norms that exist there (fascinating, unnerving perhaps, curious), food, language etc.  And from the professional view of institutional culture – a great term that can both facilitate action and prevent it.
Chris reflected on his experience working in organisations internationally, particularly when working on a branch campus looking to replicate the home campus model in the midst of significant diversity and what this means for culture and identity.
We made no attempt to define culture in this podcast but rather took the opportunity to reflect, muse on the topic and probe a little deeper into our own understanding.  Using examples from our own backgrounds (personal and professional) we talked about language, distance, connection and association with places and how this shapes our experience, our outlook and to some extent, ourselves.
Chris reflected on his time in Malaysia and the UAE and the reality that when places ‘look’ or ‘feel’ the same there is an expectation that they will be the same as ‘home’ and when it inevitably isn’t, this can actually be more jarring that somewhere completely different.  When you are in a distinctly different place, you are the different one and this can help reshape your approach and outlook.
How do we articulate the notion of culture within an organisation, or even within ourselves?  For those of us in international higher education, this is a daily reality – both in conversation and reflection.
 
#culture #languagelearning #diversity #institutionalculture #organisationalculture #smallcultures #senseofplace #association #identity

A Walk in Bucharest - Reflections on TNE in Romania

In this latest Think Education podcast episode, Chris talks to Judith about her recent trip to Romania.  In many ways this is the bookend to Judith’s 2023 trip to Sofia, Bulgaria with the British Council and represents a full commitment to developing sustainable approaches to partnership engagement.
Judith talked about the preparation for this trip and how participants and organisers had developed the model over the course of the two events and used communication and engagement to ensure an interactive and productive experience – with a lot of pre work and interaction in place.
The British Council event brought together the entire infrastructure of international higher education, including representation from QAA, OfS, Romanian and UK HEIs and Envisia – an organisation linking academia and corporate professional development.  This meant that as questions came up, you could simply turn to the person next to you for the expert answer and advice.
Judith reflected that the huge advantage of this event, and indeed the previous one in Bulgaria, was that time was built in for people.  The ability to talk and develop relationships is invaluable.
Sometimes, taking a walk with colleagues is a great way to start a conversation!
 
#TNE #internationalhighereducation #academiccollaboration #studentexchange #research #industrylinks #sustainabilty #britishcouncil #takeawalk #engagement #interaction #mobility #travelabroad #academicecosystem #UniversityofStirling #ArdenUniversity #BucharestUniversityofEconomicStudies #RomanianAmericanUniversity #alumni

What happens next? - Prof. Christopher Hill's Origin Story

We return to looking at origin series again in this Think Education podcast episode and the baton passes from Judith to Chris today.
Chris reflects on his initial career aspirations and how they morphed into a life in international higher education with a seamless (at least in hindsight) journey all mapped out!  Judith and Chris talk about the lessons we learn along the way and how, one thing can quite literally lead to another.  The ability, and freedom, to be open to possibilities is a luxury that often pays off.
Following on from Judith’s honest reflection regarding the challenges of living and working internationally, Chris looks back over his first major professional international move and reflects on his place within this process, what he gained from it and how he navigated the ups and downs. 
Chris talks candidly about what happens at the end of a posting and how this can impact identity, wellbeing and indeed family life.  What happens next is a common question, and indeed concern, for many of us who are working away from our ‘home’ country.
Internationalisation teaches you many things, not least of all that stability is a fluid concept.  We rapidly become more comfortable with chaos and uncertainty, both in our professional and personal lives.  It teaches you the need to be flexible and to roll with the punches.  Life won’t always work out the way you think it will but it will often be quite a ride along the way.    
 
If you would like to come on the podcast and share your international higher education journey, please do let us know.  We would love to hear from you.
 
#originstory #internationalhighereducation #pathways #malaysia #teaching #learningcurve #engagement #culture #travel #globalcitizen