Cheryl Koh Qi Yuan, The University of Western Australia, Faculty of Science

Abstract

Globalisation has elicited internationalisation of higher education as a response from universities. The present paper set out to understand the role of international academic staff in facilitating the internationalisation of higher education at an Australian university, and the advantages and barriers to using them as agents of internationalisation. International students have frequently been touted as resources for internationalisation, but there is limited success in utilising them. International academic staff hold a special position as both international individuals and academic staff members, which confers upon them a distinct capacity to teach an international dimension of their discipline. Despite this, the potential of international academic staff remains unexamined and untapped. In the present study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight international academic staff from the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Arts. Results demonstrate unique advantages afforded by international academic staff in facilitating internationalisation, and reveal its specific set of obstacles. In light of these results, universities may consider designating international academic staff to facilitate the internationalisation of higher education, and account for possible hindrances. The article unravels an original and promising avenue for universities and future research to explore.

Keywords: Internationalisation, Higher Education, Policy, Faculty, International Academic Staff, Agents

Introduction

Globalisation is a reality that has resulted from economic, political and societal forces moving institutions towards increased global engagement (Altbach and Knight, 2006: 290). Such forces include a merging global economy, the universal language of English, an international knowledge pool and communicative technology (Altbach et al. 2009: 23-36). As a result, universities face the pressure to cooperate with institutions worldwide in order to develop the quality of their education and research, and yet compete on a global scale to earn economic returns for the education provided (Brandenburg and de Wit, 2011: 15-17). Thus, internationalisation of higher education occurs when these universities execute a range of practices and guidelines in response to globalisation (Altbach et al., 2009: 23-36). As a consequence, academics are faced with increasing pressure to internationalise the curriculum taught (Whitsed and Green, 2016). This process tends to require engagement of the academic's identity (Clifford, 2009: 140). In line with this, the present research aims to uncover the role that international academic staff can play in facilitating internationalisation of higher education at an Australian university.

Definitions

'Internationalisation of Higher Education' is defined as 'the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of post-secondary education' (Knight, 2004). According to Knight, the three concepts of 'purpose, function and delivery' refer respectively to what the mission of the institution is, what the primary elements and tasks that characterise the institution are, and how the mission is achieved through the education courses or programs offered by institutions. Putting this in perspective, the paper focuses on specific aspects of the university's mission in internationalising its higher education: facilitating the international and intercultural dimensions within the university. This research then looks at delivery of the mission as carried out by international academic staff and how it occurs through the function of the formal and informal curriculum in the university.

Within this paper, 'International Academic Staff' are defined as professors, lecturers or researchers whose country of birth was not Australia, and who have studied or taught in countries other than Australia.

Mission

The Australian university involved in this research had a recent Internationalisation Plan (2009-2013) with a primary mission to be internationally acknowledged as a source of knowledge and intensive, cutting-edge research for the wider communities. To achieve the mission, the plan reflected four strategic objectives: 'International Recognition and Reputation', 'International and Intercultural aspects of Education', 'International Students' and 'International Research Linkages and Funding'. It may be observed that international students were included as part of the plan, but not international academic staff. This suggests that the international identity of academic staff may not have been considered as a potential resource for internationalisation.

Therefore, the current research finds it important to draw the link between achieving the university's mission and using international academic staff as a possible mode of delivery to do so.

Delivery

The research assesses the extra contributions that international academic staff can make to 'The Seven Dimensions of Internationalised Teaching' organised by Sanderson (2011: 664) as a result of their international identity. For full details of these dimensions, refer to Appendix A.

Function

To understand how internationalisation may be integrated into a university's function, Leask (2012: 4) divides university curriculum into formal and informal components. The formal curriculum is defined as 'the planned and sequenced program of teaching and learning activities organised around content areas and assessed in various ways', while the informal curriculum includes extra-curricular activities and support services that take place on the university campus (Leask, 2012: 2). The informal curriculum also encompasses the hidden curriculum - explained by Banks and Banks (2001: 287) as 'the one that no teacher explicitly teaches but that all students learn'. It is a strong part of the university's culture, which includes the university's attitude to various issues and treatment of different individuals. Within this research, the formal, informal and hidden curriculums are all considered as pathways for knowledge transfer.

Rationale

While a review of past literature and current practices in the Australian university largely excludes international academic staff from the internationalisation of higher education (Knight, 2004; Leask, 2012), international academics appear to have unique potential to facilitate it. The rationale for this research is thus two-fold:

1: International academic staff are in a special position as both international individuals and professional academics, which may confer upon them a greater capacity to facilitate internationalisation of higher education.

International academic staff have the means to facilitate more knowledge transfer related to the internationalisation of higher education. A study of multinational corporations by Bonache and Zárraga-Oberty (2008: 14) identified four major factors that determine the success of cultural knowledge transfer from international individuals to local individuals - ease of communication, perceived reliability, a common goal and interpersonal sensitivities. International academic staff are easily able to meet three of the four criteria: firstly, they have a channel through which they can convey their cultural perspectives or share cultural experiences: lectures, tutorials or even consultation sessions. Additionally, in their position as a professional academics, it is expected that they have a degree of perceived reliability to students (Gül, 2010: 164). Finally, they share a common goal with students in that both parties are striving towards the student's acquirement and comprehension of course material (Jones and Siraj-Blatchford, 2013: 159-88). It can thus be conceived that students will be more receptive and open to information passed on by international academic staff, compared with international students.

2. International academic staff offer an alternative unexplored route towards internationalisation of higher education.

In the study of internationalisation of higher education, domestic students are commonly the target audience. This is because domestic students are largely within the comfort zone of their own culture, and tend to be less engaged in the internationalisation of higher education (Sawir, 2013: 370-71). International students are frequently referred to as 'educational resources' that can be used to improve teaching, learning and internationalisation of the curriculum, as well as to develop intercultural competencies in domestic students (Sawir, 2013: 364). This is because it was thought that when the students of different backgrounds interact, there would be cultural disequilibrium. This could then act as a catalyst for intercultural competence to develop (Taylor, 1994: 169). However, such a strategy has had limited success as there is often insufficient or superficial social interaction between the domestic and international students (Sawir, 2013: 369). Domestic students tend not to actively socialise with international students, and international students may not share their cultural perspectives extensively with domestic students.

It has since been suggested that the vehicle through which intercultural competence is learnt also plays a key role in its success or failure. A study by Bhawuk (1998: 637-39) indicated that there were three dimensions to intercultural competence: cognitive, emotional and behavioural. Examining the three dimensions, Paige (1993) and Roberts (2006) indicated that taking the route of emotional provocation may be counterproductive. Cultural disequilibrium occurring in personal interactions between domestic and international students was suggested to produce intense emotional responses that may vary in their nature (Roberts, 2006: 101-02). Positive responses are ideal for learning, while negative responses that occur when cultural differences confront one's deeply held values can lead to distress and induce a fight-or-flight response. This may further discourage domestic students from achieving intercultural competence. As an alternative, the research explores international academic staff as agents of internationalisation instead. It is postulated that by sharing of cultural diversity and experiences through the university's curriculum, international academics appeal to the cognitive dimension in the acquisition of intercultural competence. Furthermore, facilitating conscious cognition of cultural diversity may help students realise their subconscious assumptions about cultural others, as well as demystify the learning process towards intercultural competence (Hamel et al., 2010: 611). While strong emotional responses may still be experienced, it is likely to be less directly confrontational, and hence advantageous for avoiding negative responses.

Therefore, the present research sets out to discover if international academic staff can fill in the gap arising from the lack of expected cultural knowledge transfer from international individuals to local individuals.

Aim

The pilot research aims to identify the role of international academics in facilitating the internationalisation of higher education at an Australian university, and the advantages or barriers that are associated with it.

Method

Procedure

The research used qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews. Email invitations were randomly distributed to international academic staff from the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science, which was followed by a subsequent snowball effect. Each interview session spanned a duration of 30 minutes to an hour. The research received ethics approval and all participants gave their consent for the interview sessions to be recorded. The interviews were fully transcribed and coded into themes. Sense-making was used to interpret the data (Weick et al., 2005: 409-21).

Material

Teekens (n.d.) described 'The Profile' of a lecturer who is ideal for facilitating internationalisation. The Profile was written in a manner that suggested everything was changing due to globalisation. Sanderson (2011: 664) subsequently modified it to reflect how globalisation brings various degrees of change in different processes. This research uses 'The Seven Dimensions of Internationalised Practice' (See Appendix A) by Sanderson (2011: 664) as its overarching framework. A detailed criteria of skills needed to fulfil each dimension was then identified in Teekens' (n.d.) article and used to guide the formation of interview questions (See Appendix B). International academic staff were assessed on whether they thought they could make extra contributions to the seven dimensions as a result of their international identity.

Participants

Eight international academic staff were interviewed, four from the Faculty of Science and four from the Faculty of Arts.

For the purpose of this paper, international academic staff from the Faculty of Science are known as Staff A, Staff B, Staff C and Staff D. Staff A is from Germany and works in the field of Geology. Staff B is an academic in Physics and Math, originally from the United Kingdom. Staff C is a neuroscience research academic from the United Kingdom. Staff D teaches Anatomy and the Medical Sciences and his home country is India.

Meanwhile, international academic staff from the Faculty of Arts are referred to as Staff E, Staff F, Staff G and Staff H. Staff E teaches anthropology and is from the United States. Staff F teaches French and her home country is France. Staff G is a linguistics academic from France. Staff H is from the United Kingdom and teaches Asian Studies in the university.

Results

Common themes expressed by the academic staff are their beliefs that they introduce diversity into the university, increase student exposure to international perspectives, and offer benefits of personal experience in internationalisation to the university. They also expressed that their international identity results in the subconscious integration of internationalisation into their curriculum.

Diversity in the faculty

Within both the Science and Arts faculties, international academics expose local academics to other cultures and perspectives. Many international academics explained that this could occur when they shared their personal experiences in daily conversations with colleagues. It is interesting to note that Staff D continued to engage in more structured methods of knowledge transfer when supported with his faculty's curiosity. He recounted organising the occasional 'International Day', an event where international members of his faculty would prepare food of their culture for everyone and exchange relevant anecdotes. Additionally, he also presented at various seminars within the university about Indian classical music, and the history or geography of India, even though these topics were well outside his discipline.

The international academic staff expressed that they also have a working knowledge of alternative educational practices, and thus provide a different voice in the faculty. This facilitates constructive questioning of how effective current methods are. Staff B affirmed that his different skill set allows him to support his colleagues with fresh ideas when they develop their curriculum. Staff G then suggested that this could partly be due to the different education system that international individuals study under.

Increased student awareness and exposure

Most of the international academic staff interviewed also suggested that their interaction with students increase student awareness about differences across countries and cultures. This is because the international academic staff tend to share personal experiences from their home country that are relevant to curricular material (Staff G and Staff D). Staff E further indicated that international academic staff can act as a different role model, and provide another exemplar of an adult that varies from what students are used to. She explained that this may counter common stereotypes of individuals from different nationalities.

Additionally, Staff A described the 'unbelievable pool of knowledge' that academics with different backgrounds offer, and how this is a 'fantastic pull' for the university. This can be especially helpful for local students, who may sometimes be 'extremely inward looking'. Local students may lack the realisation that since other countries produce world-class scientists as well, they will have to compete on an international scale. Staff A also expressed that international academic staff make the university's working atmosphere more 'interesting' and 'productive'.

Personal Experience of Internationalisation

In their migration to Australia, international academic staff have also personally undergone international and intercultural aspects of internationalisation, and understand the difficulties of the process. Thus, many of them believed that they are better equipped to prepare local students for it, or aid international students in their adjustment. As Staff A explained: 'All these issues, I've come through it myself, and I've developed strategies to get around it. (Students) listen to (me) because they know I'm not making this up'. Moreover, Staff C suggested that international academic staff open students up to the possibility that they can travel, study or work internationally, to learn things that are not available locally.

An innate tendency to internationalise

The international academic staff were asked if the university recognised their role in internationalisation. The majority indicated a lack of formal recognition. However, they conveyed that internationalisation of their curriculum still tends to occur as a by-product of their international identity. As Staff D stated, 'my international exposure and awareness (is) probably part of my style of teaching… it's kind of a spontaneous expression of my individual multiculturalism and internationalism. I don't take any conscious steps towards it, it just happens. And I think it happens because I have the experience.' Despite the lack of formal recognition by the university, Staff D explained a different kind of recognition that he receives - colleague acknowledgement of his perspectives and student nominations for teaching awards. He said that his personality is moulded by his international exposures and may be a part of what students appreciate in his teaching style.

Meanwhile, others pointed to how their personal experience in internationalising leads them to believe in the need for internationalisation of higher education and increase efforts channelled towards it. In response to the university's lack of formal recognition, Staff A stated with conviction: 'But then […] I don't need it […] I'm very happy with what I'm doing, I'm convinced it makes a lot of sense.' Intriguingly, a reversed phenomenon was observed in Staff F's case, where students recognise her international identity from France and frequently email her with queries prior to their exchange experience there. Therefore, the facilitation of internationalisation is often integrated with many other skills that international staff have to offer.

Working knowledge

The interview with international academic staff shows that they carry a detailed knowledge of systems in other countries, especially the unwritten rules there. This applies to both structures within universities overseas, as well as unspoken aspects of cultures. Staff B provided an example of how he was able to assist a student going on exchange to the University of Manchester. He managed to identify certain unwritten prerequisites for the Physics units within the university and could advise the student about how to arrange his exchange units accordingly. Staff F and Staff D also mentioned that international academic staff may be able to advise students on differences in their disciplines across countries.

International connections

International academic staff also have a more extensive network of international connections. According to Staff A, 'it is extremely good [for getting] international grants, international access to laboratories and projects with international companies.' Staff B spoke about how international academic staff can access literature of other languages and provide a broader perspective on research. Staff C stated that her international identity adds to her confidence in facilitating international exchange for students. Furthermore, Staff A explained the spill-over effects to fellow Australian colleagues: 'They see how easy (facilitating internationalisation) can be, they see the effort you have to make, the advantage you get out of it.'

University improvements by international academic staff

The international academic staff were asked about their perceptions of positive changes that they might have brought to the university as a result of their international identity. Some staff identified how they manage to draw on all their experiences in various countries and incorporate advantageous teaching content, attitudes towards academic matters or interpersonal communication into their practice. As articulated by Staff D, 'You get a little bit of everything, blend it with the main body of what we have here, and create something even more beautiful […] something that is richer than them all'.

In particular, Staff A recounted how he brought a pioneer practice of that time into the university. He was the first to introduce the use of PowerPoint slides to the university, and taught students how to develop websites. This knowledge came from the United States, which was at the forefront of technology at the time. A similar example is Staff E, who is one of the only three psychological anthropologists in the whole of Australia. Psychological anthropology has its tradition located primarily in United States of America. Staff E has since introduced psychological anthropology to another academic staff and interested her in coordinating a unit about it for the students. Thus, international academics may bring with them highly specific expertise that their country excels in. Some interviewees also made their impact on curricular structure itself. For example, Staff B drew on his background in the United Kingdom and brought about extended lab hours for Physics, to ground students better in Experimental Physics.

Barriers

Potential barriers to using international academic staff in facilitating the internationalisation of higher education were identified.

Language Barrier. A common concern was the language barrier between international academics and students. Factors that were suggested to play a role include student difficulty in understanding the accent of the international academic staff, and the English language proficiency of the international academic staff. However, some interviewees provided counter-arguments to these issues. Staff D believed that people in Australia are generally used to hearing a wide array of different accents and would likely be able to adapt. Staff G then pointed to available support provided by the university in resolving proficiency issues. Staff A commented that it is also the role of students to make an effort to bridge language barriers with their international academics.

Motivations for Attending University. The receptiveness of students to efforts by international academic staff at internationalisation is affected by their motivations for being at university. This was pointed out by Staff E, who elaborated that many students are not at university with the aim of becoming a world citizen. Instead, they attend university for much more materialistic and superficial reasons such as earning more money and having a successful future career. Thus, each student's curiosity and outlook can affect their response to efforts at internationalisation, and the extent of benefits that international academic staff can transfer.

Administration of Internationalisation. The interviewees described administrative obstacles they have met with in their attempts at internationalisation. The existing local culture and rigidity of the university to changes may affect an international academic staff's ability to bring about changes to the curriculum (Staff B and Staff F). Most of the international academic staff indicated the lack of a clear mechanism they can follow to internationalise their curriculum. Staff F described her frustration as: 'they just tell you that we need to have more projects for internationalisation […] they never tell you how'. Her sentiments are echoed by Staff B: 'One of the problems is that big committees have big policy and ideas, for the people involved, we're asking, what does that really mean?' Staff D indicated that, without precise guidelines, efforts by academic staff into internationalisation would be 'scattered individual effort'. Furthermore, the interviewees communicated a lack of formal recognition or funding given to their work in internationalisation. This may be because the teaching curriculum is driven by the content to be delivered, and internationalisation is not considered part of the educational process (Staff D). Results demonstrate that the international academic staff are at an apparent loss of how to proceed, and efforts towards internationalisation often go unrecognised.

Other commonly indicated barriers to attracting international academics include the international reputation of the university, the high cost of living in Perth, the attractiveness of starting salaries and how desirable Perth is as a workplace location.

Comparison of two faculties

A comparison of the findings from the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science demonstrated some differences.

Curricular internationalisation varies between the two faculties. The Faculty of Arts included internationalisation as core content that the curriculum taught. According to Staff G, for example, linguistics students are educated on the validity of every language system despite their divergence from what students may be used to. Meanwhile, findings for the Faculty of Science suggest that internationalisation is not included in the core content of the curriculum. There were little to no comments supporting contributions of the Science curriculum to internationalisation as well. Staff D suggested that this might be because the university strives more towards producing a local workforce. He gave an example using the education of medical students: 'We are producing all these doctors because the country needs so many doctors […] We don't produce doctors to export'.

Both faculties made certain distinctions about the research topic. International staff from the Faculty of Arts distinguished their capacity to facilitate internationalisation according to the curriculum from the additional contributions they make as an international individual. Within the curriculum, internationalisation was indicated to occur based on lesson objectives. Some staff further emphasised that the ability to facilitate internationalisation within their classes is a result of their professional training in the discipline, not their international identity. Thus, local academic staff can be equally as capable of doing so.

Meanwhile, the Faculty of Science had a different concern. They distinguished the curriculum itself from the process of internationalisation. Science was indicated to be an international language, or a culture of its own. Thus, internationalisation should not and does not affect the study, approach and research of Science. One of the staff explained, 'There will be cultural differences in individual lives, but I don't see how it will dilute the art or (complexity) of Science. Their approaches might differ depending on their culture, but I don't see why the Science itself should be different.' In this way, Science is demonstrated to be universal, the practice and applications of which is similar across the globe. Some staff from the Faculty of Science were also worried that time and effort spent on developing interculturality within the curriculum will compromise on the depth of scientific content taught. This was suggested to be detrimental since students have to compete on an international scale. However, despite the above view, some points raised by the international academics during the interview demonstrate internationalisation of scientific knowledge in the curriculum. For example, Staff D informed that he broadens his teaching to prepare medical students with knowledge that extends beyond local settings. Hence, in ensuring that students also meet international examination standards, Staff D has in fact internationalised the core content in the scientific curriculum itself. Staff C also reflected that in order for scientists to 'try and get new ideas and techniques', 'it is important for scientists or researchers (to have) international experience […] of other labs and other fields'. Therefore, international academic staff from the Faculty of Science appear to internationalise their curriculum and core content in some ways, despite holding certain beliefs that internationalisation occurs external to Science.

The phenomenon observed between the two faculties was described rather aptly by Staff E as 'preparing people to work' (teaching skills) versus 'preparing people to live' (teaching values and perspectives). The Faculty of Science appeared to view internationalisation as a part of 'preparing students to live', while the curriculum of scientific education lies in a separate realm of 'preparing students to work'. Conversely, since internationalisation is part of the curriculum taught by the Faculty of Arts, the two aspects appeared to be understood as inextricably connected within the discipline.

Discussion

The current research set out to understand the role that international academic staff play in facilitating the internationalisation of higher education, and the advantages and barriers that are associated with it.

The results found that there are many advantages to having international academic staff facilitate the internationalisation of higher education. International academic staff introduce diversity into the university, which benefits both staff and students. They also tend to subconsciously channel greater efforts into internationalisation of their curriculum. Results also identified potential barriers such as the administration of internationalisation and language barriers.

Some of these findings are reflected in previous literature. Kim (2009: 401) suggested that international academics might contribute unique advantages to the host university, such as interculturality of higher education and 'outsider' perspectives. However, their potential is unrecognised in British universities, and hence put aside (Kim, 2009: 402). Meanwhile, foreign English academics at a Japanese university found themselves in a sidelined and constrained professional position due to their international identity (Whitsed, 2011: 136-37). However, they still felt a responsibility on their part to 'implement intercultural education' (Whitsed, 2011: 4) and increase students' ability to appreciate diversity (Whitsed, 2011: 148). This is similar to a running theme in the present paper where international academics more strongly believe in and facilitate internationalisation. In their articles, both Kim (2009) and Whitsed (2011) recognised a lack of specific research efforts into potential contributions of international academic staff, and indicated a need for it.

Furthermore, there is a lack of clear guidelines and formal recognition for internationalisation within the university. The advantages that international academic staff bring tend to go unnoticed. A possible explanation for this is that political and economic forces have the main influence over transnational mobility and the job scope of international academics (Kim, 2009: 401-02). Despite this, it is heartening to see that international academic staff continue to exert subtle effects on the informal curriculum. However, results of the research suggest that in order to assimilate the advantages of international academics into formal curriculum, it is necessary to formally recognise and explicitly emphasise their role in internationalisation. Universities may consider including international academic staff in internationalisation plans, or even designate internationalisation of the curriculum as part of their job scope. In line with this, structuring clear guidelines for academics to internationalise their curriculum can be beneficial.

Meanwhile, the differences between faculty interpretation of internationalisation are reflected by Agnew (2012:183-202) as well. The results demonstrate Agnew's claim that the manner in which a faculty thinks of internationalisation could affect how they engage in it. Thus, cultivating a detailed understanding of internationalisation across all international academics can allow facilitation to occur in an informed manner. Subsequently, the paper also recognises that different approaches may be needed from faculty to faculty (and even within disciplines of each faculty), when trying to internationalise higher education. Stohl (2007: 368) emphasised the importance of recognising that each scholarly field has a different culture, curricular focus and resources regarding internationalisation. This affects their expectations of its pros and cons, and their participation in it. When structuring internationalisation guidelines, room should be left for adaptation based on specific qualities of each discipline, and the different ways that they comprehend and apply internationalisation (Agnew, 2012). This ensures that ever-changing contexts for internationalisation can always be met with dynamic responses (Leask, 2013: 97).

The present research explores a relatively new field in the internationalisation of higher education. More larger scale studies may be necessary to determine the best way forward and pre-empt potential barriers. Further research to design clear mechanisms for internationalisation using international academic staff can also maximise their potential. Finally, many countries currently measure the success of internationalisation strategies via performance indicators (Hunter et. al, 2015). However, this results in a quantitative approach that assesses outcomes in numbers, instead of qualitatively understanding the growth of education and research (Hunter et. al, 2015). In light of the personal expertise of international academics, future research may explore their suitability as assessors of qualitative outcomes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this research finds that international academic staff have untapped potential to facilitate the internationalisation of higher education via formal and informal curriculum in the university. The unique advantages that they offer include their ability to influence the curriculum of other academic staff in the faculty, their personal experience in internationalisation that leads to enhanced motivation to facilitate it, their increased access to international resources, and the highly specific expertise that they bring in from overseas. The paper notes that a lack of student curiosity, insufficient administrative support and language barriers have to be overcome. Additionally, the study recognises that internationalisation may be performed differently, depending on the nature of various disciplines. It is therefore suggested that international academic staff may be the ideal agents of internationalisation to support the needs of their own disciplines. Shifting research emphasis towards this area of study and implementing mechanisms for this objective lays down a hopeful new direction for internationalisation of higher education.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my research supervisor, Professor Sally Sandover, for her valuable guidance and warm support.

Notes

Cheryl Koh Qi Yuan is from Singapore and is currently studying the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at The University of Western Australia in Perth.

Appendix A - Seven Dimensions of Internationalised Practice by Sanderson (2011)

Have some basic knowledge of educational theory.

Incorporate internationalised content into subject material.

Have a critical appreciation of one's own culture and its assumptions.

Have some knowledge of other countries and cultures, but a preference for being open to and appreciating other worldviews.

Use universal teaching strategies to enhance the learning experiences of all students.

Understand the way one's academic discipline and its related profession are structured in a range of countries.

Understand the international labour market in relation to one's academic discipline.

Appendix B - Interview Questions

What is your understanding of the issue 'Internationalisation of Higher Education'?

How important do you think the internationalisation of higher education is?

What do you believe is your role, as an international academic, in facilitating the internationalisation of higher education?

Do you feel that your international identity gives you an extra edge to contribute to the internationalisation of higher education?

In your interaction with non-international academic, do you think that you manage to contribute in any way to the internationalisation of the curriculum they teach?

Do you feel that you have increased your students' openness to other cultures and appreciation of cultural diversity in any way?

Do you feel that you prepare your students for the international labour market of your discipline in any way?

Do you feel that the university recognises your role in the internationalisation of higher education?

Do you think that there are benefits to using international academics to facilitate the internationalisation of higher education?

Do you think that there are barriers in using international academics to facilitate the internationalisation of higher education?

Appendix C - Consent Form

Impacts of International Academic Staff on the

Internationalisation of Higher Education

I _____________ consent to being a participant in the 'Impacts of International Academic Staff on the Internationalisation of Higher Education' and willingly agree to participate in an interview with Cheryl Koh.

I have read the information sheet and all of my questions and concerns regarding the research have been answered to my satisfaction.

I understand that my participation in this research project is entirely voluntary.

I also realise that I can withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice.

I understand that the transcript of my interview will not include any personal identifiers and that all personal information provided by me will be treated as strictly confidential.

I agree that research data for the study may be published provided that all names and other identifying information are not used.

I understand that I can contact Cheryl Koh at the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and request additional information about the study.

_________________________

Participant's Signature

_________________________

Date

_________________________

Contact telephone number

_________________________

Contact email

_________________________

Contact address

References

 

To cite this paper please use the following details: Koh, C.Q.Y. (2017), 'International Academic Staff: What is their Role in the Internationalisation of Higher Education at an Australian University?', Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 10, Issue 1, http://www.warwick.ac.uk/reinventionjournal/archive/volume10issue1/koh. Date accessed [insert date]. If you cite this article or use it in any teaching or other related activities please let us know by e-mailing us at Reinventionjournal at warwick dot ac dot uk.