International students bring a wealth of perspectives and experiences – but recent research reveals they face significant barriers studying here. What can be done to better support them? Jisc consultant, Dr Tabetha Newman, discusses.
In the autumn of 2023, two significant reports were released by Advance HE and Jisc, each offering a unique lens into the experiences of international students studying in the UK. Despite their distinctly different research objectives, methodologies, and questions, a common narrative emerged from the voices of international students.
A comparison of the reports – Jisc’s ISDX and Advance HE’s Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) – identifies several clear themes about what international students who travel to the UK to study want from their experience – while some are transactional (e.g. learning and the curriculum, assessment and skills) others are cultural, stressing the continued importance of community and human interactions.
The PTES report identified that “Interaction with other students and lecturers was greatly valued, with seminar groups and group work often mentioned in relation to what had been most enjoyable or interesting in the course.” It goes on to state that whilst group work can be a challenging form of assessment, it provides significant benefit through enabling diverse and internationalised experiences.
