Internationalising Higher Education

This poster presentation will focus on the role of www.internationalstaff.org as a pioneering new website to support new international staff taking up posts in UK higher education, offering wide support to staff and their families to improve the overall experience of relocating to the UK and working in a UK higher education institution. A comprehensive survey of international staff at Leeds, a literature review and interviews with international staff and significant others at Leeds, other universities, the British Council, the FCO, and UKCISA highlighted the range of support needed by international academic staff whatever their particular roles in higher education institutions. Principal areas include a network of contacts within the university, meeting people outside the workplace and establishing a social life. The website was launched in Leeds in October 2007 as a result of the project, offering support in both a professional and personal content. It includes a comprehensive database,
covering all aspects of learning and teaching in the UK, and detailed information on personal issues such as finding accommodation and local school services. The site design enables higher education institutions to add their own content, and so will create a repository of national and institution-specific information.