Slightly quieter month in June as I took some annual leave hosting my family here in the UK from India. But the team were pressing on with a range of exciting projects as we draw closer to the end of one academic year and begin looking forward to the next.
We attended NAFSA in Boston – as always an extremely action-packed week, lots of interesting presentations and exhibitions showcasing the latest in international education. It was great to be able to meet face to face with some of our North American partners from Newfoundland, Florida, and New York State.
We also attended the FutureEdTech Inaugural Conference in London in the early part of the month – today’s student experience is very much about the experience of students in the digital world – culturally and systemically a huge challenge for HE.
We have submitted our HEA report on ‘Internationally informed Internationalisation’. The report summarises the findings from our research on understanding the pedagogic approaches adopted by international staff in the practice of internationalisation. Lots of ideas for improving practice and policy here at BU.
Whilst the formal report has been submitted, we always saw this as an on-going programme of work aimed at supporting, promoting and facilitating the development of a global academic community at BU. And I’m pleased to say that this work will continue to be supported through the HEA’s Strategic Excellence Initiative, which we kick off in the coming month.
Finally, I’m excited to be planning a special welcome for our new international students joining us in the Autumn - I’m not going to give too much away just yet – but watch this space!
Dr Sonal Minocha
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement)