UBC Nightlife Events : International Students (Race and Migration)
Creators: name: Chow, Laura
name: Lam, Hayston
name: Poskitt, Mark
name: Reisman, Sean
name: Rondolo, Ryah
name: Sánchez, Itzel
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2019

description: As an internationally renowned and increasingly cosmopolitan educational institution, a key challenge for the University of British Columbia (UBC) over the coming decades will be nurturing a vibrant, and inclusive community culture that is welcoming to students from all different parts of the world. Part of this challenge will involve planning for the provision of quality ‘uniquely UBC’ events that are inclusive to international students. The purpose of this research is to provide recommendations to UBC’s Community Development team on what a unique nightlife event(s) that attracts and is inclusive to international students could look like. The focus on a ‘night-time event’ was chosen, as this was seen to be a salient gap in terms of current campus events offered and an area of immense opportunity. Due to the lack of literature relating directly to this specific area of research, a preliminary task for our team was to synthesize existing bodies of literature on international student experience on campus, and barriers to international student engagement in campus events. The core focus of our research however, involved carrying out a series of informal interviews, a focus group, and a mapping exercise with twelve international students at UBC (both graduate and undergraduate) to garner their garner their insights into how UBC could construct an appealing inclusive night-time event. This qualitative analysis yielded some perspicacious results. Key findings related to the ideal timing of an event (Fridays, preferably in early-mid fall); the quality of the event (uniqueness and event quality were greatly preferred over event quantity or homogeneous ‘party’ or ‘sports events’); and the disproportionate focus on first year undergraduate students when planning events (3rd or 4th year undergraduates often felt they were a limited number of events aimed at their cohorts). Graduate students also reported feeling socially isolated and uncomfortable attending the many campus events which they perceived to be aimed at undergraduates. There was also a general consensus that marketing was often a weak point in terms of campus events, and that a primary barrier to international student engagement with campus events was lack of awareness about these events in the first place. Our recommendations stem directly from these findings. Several key recommendations include 1. Providing low-cost (or free) events; 2. Utilize existing club networks and capabilities to improve outreach to international students, and to collaborate in the marketing and running of events.; 3. Consider the differences in the student experience for graduate and undergraduate students and what their motivators and interests are. Additional recommendations relating to potential types of events and the timing and location of these are also included in this report. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”