International Student Mobility: Global and Commonwealth Perspectives

A Council for Education in the Commonwealth conference hosted by the The Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change and CR&DALL.

Globally, international student mobility is growing fast, with 4 million students registered for advanced courses outside their home country. Commonwealth member states are major players in this movement, as sending and receiving societies. Nearly 40 per cent of non-EU international students in UK universities are from elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

The Conference will review trends in international and Commonwealth student mobility, before examining their implications for the UK in general and for Scotland and its HE institutions in particular.

Conference themes

To celebrate Glasgow’s hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, CEC will hold its 2014 Regional Conference in the University of Glasgow, hosted by The Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change and CRADALL. The conference will explore:

• International and Commonwealth student mobility in global, UK and Scottish contexts;
• Experiences of, and direct and indirect benefits of mobility for students, institutions and countries;
• National and institutional strategies to attract international students;
• Integrating student and programme mobility.

Invited speakers

The following speakers have been invited:

Alan Mackay: Deputy Vice-Principal International, University of Edinburgh; Director of the University’s international office network and responsible for international partnerships, student recruitment, exchange and support.

Anton Muscatelli: Principal of University of Glasgow and a leading champion of the internationalisation of higher education.

Bernd Wachter: CEO of the Academic Cooperation Association, Brussels, and author of many publications concerning global student mobility, globalisation and internationalisation. With experience of working with many countries, he offers critical insight regarding the different approaches and experiences of countries in their quest to attract globally mobile students.

Kamlesh Sharma: Commonwealth Secretary General since 2008 and previously the Indian High Commissioner to the UK and India’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations.

Michael Russell MSP: Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Government.

Michele Schweisfurth: Professor of Comparative and International Education, University of Glasgow, with special interest in university internationalisation and the transnational, intercultural and academic experiences of mobile students.

Neil Kemp: Deputy Executive Chair, Council for Education in the Commonwealth, and Visiting Fellow, Institute of Education, London. He has authored many publications covering international student mobility, transnational education and internationalisation strategies.

Olanike Adebayo: Management Committee of CEC, author and public speaker concerning international students. She was previously an adviser to the NUS International Students Committee and is author of: ‘The Real Deal: The Journey of an International Student in the UK’.

Ruth Moir: Assistant Principal (International Development), Heriot-Watt University and previously Provost of the Heriot-Watt University Dubai campus.

Student panel: There will be a panel session involving Commonwealth Scholarship awardees, during which the various experiences of international students in Scotland will be explored.

A series of workshop sessions will develop the conference theme of international and Commonwealth student mobility. These are planned to cover:

• Programme mobility and transnational higher education;
• Understanding and enhancing the experiences of globally mobile students;
• National and institutional strategies to attract international students;
• Financing of international student mobility.

Who should attend?

The conference will be of particular interest to:

• University senior managers; international office staff; research and teaching staff; administrative staff; and all concerned with international students, transnational education and university internationalisation.
• International and UK students, particularly those with interest in higher education internationalisation;
• Members of government and official bodies developing international educational policy;
• Private companies involved with international students, recruitment and support.

Applications

Please apply to attend via the dedicated website [1].

Fees for the conference (including lunch and refreshments):

CEC Members: £30
Non-members: £60
Students: £20

Note: Early Bird tickets (£50) are available for all non-members registering before 1 March!

Further details

Further details are available from the conference convenor, Neil Kemp: [email protected] [2]
or phone 01273475316/07921520031

The Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC) was founded in 1959 and is a parliament based NGO that works to promote the development of education in Commonwealth member states, disseminating information about this in the UK and internationally. For more information, including for membership: http://www.cecomm.org.uk [3]