Length of project/engagement: Ongoing since March 2023; held biannually in Spring and Autumn (March/April and November)
Why this approach:
International students at Warwick represent a diverse and dynamic community with unique challenges and perspectives. The International Student Support & Experience team hosts a series of roundtable discussions to better understand their expectation and lived experiences. The views shared during the roundtable enable the team to triangulate and extrapolate information, and use these as part of the evidence base when designing solutions and interventions.
x1 member of staff is responsible for recruitment, onboarding and communication with International Student Ambassadors
Management of the students(approx. 15% of their full-time role)
Support provided by x2 staff roles (ad-hoc, when needed)
The ISSE team (approx. 80hrs total across 2-3 month period):
Devise a list of questions which are used as prompts
Combine all the findings summarised by Student ambassadors and group them into themes, allowing thematic analysis and make recommendations for follow-up actions
Some involvement from external staff- such as MCI, Students Union, and other stakeholders who supported promotion and student engagement
Students:
All student involvement was recruited through communications campaigns- often through Unitemps for paid roles, and through student communications newsletters, word of mouth, academic departmental communications and other platforms available to students.
Each roundtable attracted between 25- 50 international students
We aim to have representation across PGT, UG, Foundation and PGR students
Students’ contributions included personal stories, feedback on services, and suggestions for improvement
Discussions cover: pre-arrival support, onboarding experience, cultural adaptation, digital experience, wellbeing, career planning and experience with transition
Remuneration: £25 voucher
I really enjoyed the experience of being able to offer my opinions to improve overall student experience. Student participant | November 2024 roundtable
Key Objectives
Gather real-time insights into new international students’ pre-arrival, welcome, and onboarding experiences
Identify challenges and emerging trends early in the academic year
Capture qualitative feedback to complement quantitative data from the annual Welcome Survey
Engage current international students to understand their lived experiences
Collect feedback on future plans, concerns, and hopes to inform student experience enhancement initiativeEvaluate and refine ongoing student experience projects through spotlight topics
Enable rapid improvements and inform early design and planning for the next academic year
Key Outcomes
Rapid improvement and structural improvements were made since the first Roundtable in 2023, improving the student journey across multiple touchpoints. These initiatives are now firmly embedded and reviewed regularly for continuous improvement.
Pre-Arrival
Delivered targeted monthly newsletters (enriched with current student video introduction in 2025)
Curated WeChat posts on practical topics (banking, scams etc.) to improve information provision to Chinese students
Curated recent graduate success stories and produced employer guidance on hiring international graduates
Expanded the remit of visa support services and created self-downloadable work-rights leaflets and supporting letters
Continued targeted newsletters during summer vacation for PGT students
Delivered the Your Futures Roadshow - mirroring Welcome Week, this event offers joint career and visa advice, alumni engagement, peer connections, and practical support to help PGT students prepare life after university
Governance
As a result of these projects, a new ‘International Student Experience Advisory Group’ was formed in 2025, reporting to the International Committee and Student Experience Management Group, to deliver the institutional strategic aims in relation to international student experience through cross-departmental collaborative work.
Student workers
Recruitment: International Student Ambassadors are recruited once in November, through advertisement on Unitemps, student communications newsletter and platform available to academic departments. Induction:
Mandatory Moodle course on Information Security
Half-day induction training involving:
Information security (and other online courses) plus time to ask questions
Ice-breaking activities (for them to get to know each other)
How jobs are communicated and where they are posted
Highlight employment conditions (e.g., students cannot work if they are physically outside of the UK, limitations of student working hours linked to their visas)
Timesheet administration
Post type: Casual contract, recruited yearly, typically starting their role in January and ending in October. Some International Student Ambassadors are retained for more than 1 year.
Personal Development Support: For those involved in hosting International Student Roundtables, additional training is provided on facilitating focus group discussions
International Student Ambassador x20-30 (5-8 hrs p/month)
Length in role: 10 Months (Jan- October)
Responsibilities:
Co-create initiatives that enhance the international student journey
Share their lived experiences through student workshops and panel discussions with staff
Provide peer-to-peer support and lead engagement activities
Represent student voice as active members of the International Student Experience Advisory Board
Remuneration: Grade 4 Band 16, Warwick Award points
Support structures: Access and support from dedicated staff member, dedicated Teams site, meetings to help prep for upcoming events and tasks, briefing notes before events and named contact for events.
