In the last decade, there have been many studies done on the student experience in the UK, and internationalization in universities. There were both positive and negative findings in every study. The paper called “Moving beyond ‘wishing and hoping’: internationalization and student experiences of inclusion and engagement” focuses on why ‘wishing and hoping’ for cultural diversity does not work, and why UK universities need to plan and implement strategies that improve engagement.

The paper covers what happens to students when they have been forced into encounters that are cross-cultural, without any intervention or action from outside sources. They cover what needs to be learned from the interaction, and how to improve engagement and inclusion for classrooms that are multi-cultural. For all the case studies, there are at least 3 areas listed that universities should work on to improve a student’s engagement. This is a very important part of international student learning, so they learn the skills on how to interact with other students and people.

The paper also has information for academic staff about the informal and formal curriculum. This includes information about task management and design. With increasing numbers of international students in the UK, academic staff needs reflective practices to ensure that they make the right decisions and have a supportive classroom.

Why Internationalization and Student Experiences Are Important?

All over the world, we are seeing more international students at universities. Many universities around the world have been adding international activities to help their students feel more at home. However, in the UK, it is rare to see internationalization in universities. This is due to a number of reasons, from costs to lack of knowledge. For many students, this leaves them feeling out of place, and can lead to student conflicts.

Even though most UK universities have a plan for international students and internationalization, many will not act on them. Funding is one of the problems that UK universities face for internationalization. Some schools have made internationalization plans in the past but stopped them once they found out that they were not going to receive funding for the project.

Internationalization is an important part of student university experiences. However, at the moment, many of the UK universities do not meet the needs of international students. While plans can be in place, most are short-sighted. The paper ‘Moving beyond ‘wishing and hoping’:  internationalization and student experiences of inclusion and engagement’ was meant to help academic staff learn what they can do to improve student experiences, and help with the internationalisation of the overall school. Internationalisation does not need to be an expensive plan, but many universities believe that they need to have a lot of funding to make these changes.