Digital Supports for Transitioning International Students into the Irish Higher Education sector
Channel: National Forum T&L
Date: 2015-11-22

Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund 2014

Lead Partner: Institute of Technology Tralee
Other Partners

Waterford Institute of Technology
Cork Institute of Technology
University College Cork
Institute of Technology, Carlow

his proposal addresses the needs and challenges of overseas students transitioning into the Irish HE system and the needs and challenges of the lecturers delivering the programmes. The proposal will develop digital strategies and tools based on the experiences of incoming students, staff and the local communities to ease the transition and promote positive integration into academic and college life.
A stated objective of “Investing in Global Relationships”, Irelands International Education Strategy 2010-15 (2010) was to increase the number of full-time international students in higher education by 50%. Subsequently, Irish Higher Education (HE) system has seen a strong upward growth in the number of international students enrolling. For Irish HE institutions, increasing diversity represents both a series of opportunities and challenges. In order to make the incoming students experiences of Irish HE as fruitful and productive as possible institutions must ensure the incoming students transition is sufficiently smooth and informed. However, the most recent report from Education in Ireland on International Students in Higher Education 2011-2012 identifies a number of constraints to achieving targets. This proposed project will help tackle such constraints by contributing to systems that are fit for purpose.

Helping the incoming student to make the transition into Ireland is only one half of the equation. This project also aims to support the lecturers transition from teaching and supporting traditional students to teaching and supporting foreign national student groups in an increasingly digital world. This approach is in line with Recommendation 11 of the High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education.

The project consists of six multimedia interactive asynchronous units that are divided into two categories. The first two units are designed to be utilised by the incoming student prior to their departure from their home country. The first unit outlines items concerning Irish customs and culture in general while the second unit focuses on Irish HE custom and practices which experience has shown varies somewhat from culture to culture. The remaining four units aim to provide a series of practical teaching and learning strategies to lecturers who are or may be teaching groups of incoming foreign national students. Drawing on exemplars of practice from the participating colleges and their international students, each of these units will focus on the teaching and learning strategies used by lecturers with extensive experience of teaching groups of foreign national students.