1. Academic Mobilities and Immobilities Network
Student International Experience
and Perceived Employability Gains
Dr Toni Wright
Senior Lecturer, Newman University
Eluned Jones
Director of Student Employability, University of Birmingham
Lyn – do you have any ideas about how this slide should look?

2. Introduction
Consider the perceived gains in employability terms from student international experience:
A retrospective qualitative research project conducted by the Careers Services of the four UK based U21 members (The Universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow & Nottingham) into student perspectives of global citizenship and global graduate attributes following international experiences.
Formed the basis for the international strand of the LEGACY Project which explores the perceived gains of different types of international experience from the student point of view.

3. The U21 Project
What emerges from international experience in terms of student self-perception of increased employability?
Do students see ‘Global Citizenship’ as an employability capability in the same way as Careers Professionals and Employers?
What motivates students to undertake an international experience?
What might deter students from undertaking such an experience?
How should HEIs & Careers and Employability Services position and configure their activities to respond to student perceptions and the demand for Global Graduates?

4. Outline of the research
Aim: To explore the impact of international experiences on student self perception of their ability to flourish in a global work/life environment
Four categories of student:
International students ‘studying abroad’ in a UK U21 Institution
UK students returned after a period at a U21 Institution
UK students who have had a period of overseas work or volunteering which has been independently arranged
UK students who have had no International experience beyond studying at a U21 institution in the UK
Participants:
Up to five students from each of the four UK U21 institutions in each category.
75 participants in total took part in semi–structured telephone interviews

5. Outline of the research 2
Question schedule based on a combination of the literature and practitioner experience.
Example questions:
When you think about your future, and careers you might follow, how important do you feel it is to have an understanding of the world beyond the UK? (or your own country)...and why? How do you feel the experience as a whole has affected your outlook, skills or approach to life in general?
*The ethical framework used throughout was that of the British Psychological Society

6. Key Findings 1 Perceived Gains from International Experience
“I got to do more there than I would have been able to in this country.. it gave me more confidence” Birmingham
“getting kind of the roots different people have ..how they look at things” Glasgow
Awareness and appreciation
of different ways of thinking & doing
Ability to use both narrow & wide perspectives of work
Networks & Contacts
Opportunities Transition from national to global systems
Team Working – learning how to work with different people
Adaptability
Confidence
Communication
Resilience
Leadership
Creativity
Imagination
Problem Solving
“you get a really
different perception..
the positives and
benefits of each
different culture..
..get a sense of partnerships
and relationships
within business”
Edinburgh
Independence
Passion
Sensitivity to life
“actually going I think really is the only proper way to understand”
Nottingham
Personal Qualities or Resources
Employment Related Factors
“You develop confidence … you learn to solve problems — all these sort of skills you develop without realising it,.. because you’re doing them just to survive” Nottingham
“might help me stand out on my CV because I’ve done something a bit different…really informed PG study choice” Birmingham

7. Key Findings 2 Priority Global Competencies
(Top 10 as reported in the AGR/CFE/CIHE report, 2011)
Qualities & Skills reported enhanced by International Experience
Team working & learning how to work with different people Confidence and communication Resilience Leadership Creativity/Imagination Awareness/appreciation of different ways of thinking & doing Problem Solving Adaptability Ability to use both narrow & wide perspectives (of work) Using & making networks & contacts Broaden Opportunities Demonstrable ability to cope internationally
An ability to work collaboratively with teams of people from a range of backgrounds & countries. Excellent communication skills: speaking & listening A high degree of drive and resilience An ability to embrace multiple perspectives and challenge thinking A capacity to develop new skills and behaviours according to role requirements A high degree of self awareness An ability to form professional global networks An openness to and respect of a range of perspectives from around the world Multi-cultural learning agility

8. Average Self Ratings on Priority Global Competencies (Global Graduates into Global Leaders, AGR/CFE/CIHE report, 2011)
Competency
UK students with no direct overseas experience
UK students who studied for a period at a U21 institution
Overseas students studying at a UK U21 university
UK students who undertook work overseas
UoB students who undertook structured international internships
Ability to work collaboratively in diverse teams
3.8 4
4.1
4.3
4.6
Communication Skills
3.4
3.7
3.5
Ability to appreciate the point of view of others from a different background
4.4
Note: This could be done with the learning gain participants – 24+ per category in total would give enough for basic stats
Figures give the mean rating where students were asked to rate themselves on a score of 1 – 5 for each competency, where 1 is not strong and 5 is very strong

9. Key Findings 3 Barriers to International Experience
“I wouldn’t have been able to get my job back when I returned ..and I’d lose the place in a flat with my girlfriend” Glasgow
Social, Cultural & Financial
Institutional & Course related
“the primary reason that put me off it was I’m a student with a disability” Glasgow
Barriers to
International
Experience
“I would have liked to but … joint honours course I would have had to drop one or the other and I didn’t want to” Nottingham
“..study English...it wouldn’t enrich my course a huge amount” Birmingham

10. Key Findings 4 University Contribution to an International Perspective
“probably one of the first settings where
I was exposed in a more professional,
more working sense to people that
gave me some sort of global
and international context
and experience”
Glasgow
“so many international students
here… speaking to them
has given me more of an
insight into international
opportunities”
Nottingham
University Contribution to an International Perspective
Diverse Environment
People from different
backgrounds and countries:
In lectures In shared halls/flats houses
In University Societies
In volunteering
Course of Study
Critical & Questioning Perspective
Subject Specific knowledge
“..banking is really
global and we need to be
aware of everything that’s going
on around the world” Birmingham
“loads and loads of international
students and lots of things going on,
so I feel like I’m more culturally aware” Edinburgh

11. Summary
Findings showed connections between employability & international experience (Crossman & Clarke, 2010)
Those who undertook work experience overseas were often the least confident initially.
Those who undertook international work experience reported the most increase in confidence and higher perceived increases in life skills and employability.
Students who had undertaken structured internships with preparatory and reflective learning elements reported higher levels of perceived competency and less initial apprehension
The majority of students are unable to undertake international experience for good reasons
The relatively high level of self-perceived competency in students who had not undertaken any international experience was surprising - global citizenship can be developed via on-campus activity? – encourage and accredit this?
Communication skills and self-confidence may be developed as part of the process of undertaking a degree (Tymon, 2013) and differences between the self-perception of priority global competencies for participants with different types of experience and none may be in terms of enhancement of abilities, rather than developing new and unique attributes (Crossman & Clarke, 2010).

12. Legacy Project Internationalisation
This strand seeks to identify students self-perceived employability gains from international experience and help develop more effective interventions

13. Internationalisation
Significant interest across the sector in measuring the impact of international experience on students’ employability
Current reports focus primarily on overseas experience and graduate destination data
Semi-structured interviews pre and post experience, seek to identify self-perceived employability learning gains achieved by current students who have undertaken one of the following activities:
Study Abroad
Work Abroad
On-campus experiences
Initial Demographics
25% of participants male and 75% female
Age range - 19 to 25 years of age and all are undergraduates
70% of participants final year students; second years 20% of sample and first years 10%
For participants for whom the data is available, 80% describe their ethnicity as white
66% of identified participants study Arts and Humanities, 24% Natural Sciences and 10% Social
Sciences

14. Internationalisation
Findings So Far..
Study abroad
41 transcripts, 38 pre-experience - 6 institutions (saturation reached); 3 post-experience
Motivation and hoped for gains: academic related, employability related, personal interest & development
Work abroad
19 transcripts , 17 pre-experience - 4 institutions; 2 post-experience
Extrinsic factors (CVs and experience) mentioned - more by compulsory students
Intrinsic motivations more frequent and more emphasised – less by compulsory
Hoped for gains tended to match global competencies (Diamond et al, 2011) but were not related to employability by participants
On-campus experience
23 transcripts, 21 pre-experience - 4 institutions; 4 post-experience
Reasons for not undertaking international experience tend to suggest risk averse behaviour
No reported change in quantitative perception of global competencies (op cit), but all reported a perceived positive impact on at least one competency post experience.

15. Internationalisation
Findings will be used to:
Provide sector with better evidence on what students believe they gain from international experience
Better design and promotion of international experiences
Develop enhanced pre-experience preparatory resources and post-experience reflection
On-campus cohort findings will identify activities and approaches that enhance employability learning gain from on-campus opportunities
(particularly important for the widening participation agenda)

16. Increase impact of current activity
Year Abroad
Exchange Programs
Internships
Volunteering / Travel
On Campus
Do we need to keep this one?

17. Increase impact of current activity
The majority of students fall into on-campus / volunteering categories –
Encourage and develop this activity
Create more cohesive methods to acknowledge / accredit it
Do we need to keep this one?

18. References
Crossman, J.E. & Clarke, M (2010) International Experience and Graduate Employability: Stakeholder Perceptions on the connection. Higher Education, 59,
Diamond, A., Walkley, L. & Scott-Davies, S. (2011) Global Graduates into Global Leaders, Report: Association of Graduate Recruiters, CFE Research & Council for Industry & Higher Education
Tymon, A. (2013) The student perspective on employability. Studies in Higher Education, 38, 6,
Do we need to keep this one?

19. Thank you Dr Toni Wright Eluned Jones T.Wright@newman.ac.uk
Do we need to keep this one?