International Student Experience Advisory Board
International Student Experience Advisory Board
Governance and Meetings
The International Student Experience Advisory Board (ISEAB) was established in March 2025, following the conclusion of the International PGT Student Experience Enhancement Project in November 2024.
The Board convenes the core group of institutional stakeholders for the delivery of the International Strategy commitment:
“We will champion, in conjunction with the articulation of an outstanding academic success offer, the evolution of an exceptional International Student Welcome, Experience and Transition programme at all levels to maximise students' experience whilst at Warwick, as well as their future prospects.”
The ISEAB serves to
- keep the International Committee informed of developments in international student needs and expectations, in the framework of the changing global context, government policy, the voice of students and competitor benchmarking;
- oversee and report on improvement projects feeding in from its membership, recognising that proactive support for the international student experience is an ongoing, current and future requirement to support Warwick's status;
- provide a mechanism for the international student experience to be represented coherently across the Education and Student Experience Strategy, International Strategy and Wellbeing Strategy, connecting up to risks, mitigations and continuous improvement projects;
- give assurance to international students that their experience matters to the University, supporting student experience, reputation and recruitment.
The ISEAB reports dually to the International Committee and the Student Success Subcommittee via the Student Experience Management Group.
Risks
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Maintaining an international student experience risk register;
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Monitoring risks related to international student experience and International Strategy commitments;
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Identifying, designing and implementing interventions to mitigate the risks where possible;
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Reporting quarterly to the International Committee.
Collaboration
- Fostering cross-departmental and student-staff collaboration for continuous improvements to the international student experience;
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Facilitating communication among stakeholders;
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Breaking down operational silos.
Lifecycle Approach
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Overseeing enhancements to international student support at all stages of the international student lifecycle, from pre-arrival to post-graduation.
Evidence and Data
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Basing its actions and recommendations in quantitative data and qualitative insights, the latest research and sector benchmarking, along with active student consultation and co-creation.
Holistic Support
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Empowering service providers to recognise and address barriers and deliver holistic, inclusive and tailored support in both their respective business-as-usual activities and through coordinated, student centred initiatives.
Resource
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Maintaining a log of international student experience interventions and projects delivered by the Board membership and their respective teams;
- Recording resource inputs, work outputs and evaluation of outcomes.
Co-Chair
Echo Zhou – Student Experience
Co-Chair
Naveera Abhayawickrama – Global Lounge Lead
Secretary:
Saida Alimdjanova – Student Experience
Assistant Secretary
Seyda Er – Student Experience
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Lee Griffin |
Academic Director, PGT |
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Ronny Whetton |
Student Union, VP for Postgraduate |
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Josie Englishby |
Warwick Business School |
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Shuo Shi |
Warwick Business School, Careers |
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Amy Hart |
WMG, Student Experience |
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Samantha Wilson-Thain |
School of Life Science (DSEP) |
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Adam Alcock |
Warwick Global Academy |
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Louise Sutcliffe |
Doctoral College |
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Laura Mewis |
Wellbeing and Student Support (RCT) |
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Carol Fryer |
Alumni and Development, Alumni and Supporter Engagement |
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Kate Whiston |
International Strategy and Relations, Sponsors and Scholarship |
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Ali Collins |
Student Opportunity |
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Siobhan Qadir |
Student Opportunity, Careers (international lead) |
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David Molyneux |
Student Opportunity, Employer Connect |
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Kelly Coles |
Student Opportunity, Employer Connect (International) |
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Thomas Greenaway |
Student Opportunity, Skills |
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Parmjit Dhugga |
Student Opportunity, Skills |
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Yousuf Antria |
Student Experience, Student Immigration & Compliance |
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Will Thomas |
Student Experience, Warwick Community Experience |
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Gemma Marakas / Caroline Biggs (job share) |
Student Experience, Warwick Community Experience |
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Sarah Booth |
MCI, Recruitment |
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Clare Hudson |
MCI, Marketing |
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Megan O’Shea |
MCI, Social Media |
Echo Zhou (Deputy Director, Student Experience):
- Email: rong.zhou@warwick.ac.uk
Activity and progress
End of Term 1, 2025/26:
Since the approval of the creation of the ISEAB, Student Experience Division has undergone a minor structural change, resulting in the creation of the International Student Support & Experience team, which now incorporates the former Student Immigration & Compliance team.
The ISEAB group has met four times, and completed the following work.
The Terms of Reference (ToR) and membership are finalised.
Drafted an initial Risk Register and created a Padlet action logLink opens in a new window as evidence base for risk mitigation.
ISEAB received findings of International Student Roundtables held in Nov 2024 and April 2025, including reflections from student members.
Members also fed into the question sets for upcoming Roundtables so that multiple stakeholders can benefit directly from this student voice event.
Canvassed opinions and reported on preparations for the International Student Pre-arrival and Welcome experience, including:
- Enhanced pre-arrival communications featuring student-created video introductions;
- Revamped International Student Welcome event;
- ‘Adapting to UK life’ workshops and its evolution;
- International Student Hub and tailored workshops to help navigate UK life.
- ‘Ask Anything’ sessions which continued to provide peer support for late arrivals.
Launched the ‘Global Lounge’ in Term 1, 2025 to enable international students to connect with each other and with home students in a relaxed, low-pressure environment (the Nook).
The ‘Your Futures Roadshow’ returned in August 2025, with a range of workshops largely delivered by ISEAB members.
Targeted Collaborative Projects:
Worked collaboratively to:
- Address ongoing international payment issues affecting Chinese students;
- Address ongoing concerns on scams targeting international students and parents;
- Review Cyber Security Moodle Course
- Launch and oversee Unibuddy Community for offer holders in June 2025.
Each stakeholder shared updates in their respective areas and plans for 2025/26,identifyingopportunities for good practice sharing and collaboration.
Collaborative work to deliver the January Welcome for over 200 incoming exchange students.
This will include a pilot to try ‘speed friending’ which can be incorporated in the autumn International Student Welcome event, and gather interest in a new ‘Global Buddy Family’ pilot, led by International Student Ambassadors.
a) Collaborative work with MCI on Social Media content strategy targeting Chinese students via RedNote.
b) Continued effort on maintaining stakeholder collaboration on pre-arrival comms.
c) Continue to champion and work collaboratively for social media output content to be timely, relevant and relatable.
Collaborative work with Alumni and SO teams to establish a unified process of collecting recent alumni stories and sharing with current students and offer holders, avoiding duplication.
Development of an in-house replacement of the ‘International Student Success’ course, tailored to our students’ needs.
A dedicated working group has been formed to oversee the project.
Collaborative work between the Visa and Career teams to embed a user-centered approach in advising.
This will focus on developing staff knowledge and resources and using case studies and toolkits to enable self-service.
Collaborative work to ensure that the outcome of the joint project on International Student Wellbeing from Spring 2025 is used to inform the development and implementation of the University’s Wellbeing Strategy.
Planning for the ‘Your Futures Roadshow’ scheduled for July 2026.
Collaboration with WIHEA learning cycle to deliver a Masterclass on ‘Warwick International Student Experience’ (WISE), building on the successful pilot in WMS and Life Sciences in 2025/26.
Creating a WISE staff toolkit to support staff membership who work with international students.
Due to the expanding portfolio of activities and the need to re-prioritise, the Spring version of the ‘International Student Roundtable’ will be suspended.
However, the team has booked the ‘Pizza and Project’ slot in June 2026 for international students to engage and co-create, focusing on three areas - International Student Orientation course user testing; off campus guidance feedback; peer support experience.