Professionalizing International Students: Helping them Navigate Cultures and Contexts of Communication

Lecture is co-sponsered by the SBU Career Center

Date: Thursday, April 14, 2016, 4:00-5:00 pm

Location: Lecture Hall 1 (Wang Center)

Watch: Professionalizing International Students

Lecture Abstract

From the time international students arrive on US college/university campuses to the time they enter the job market—wherever they decide to do so—they are faced with new contexts and cultures, constantly needing to learn new communicative strategies. But academic institutions either pay limited attention to this area (understandably so, because of greater demands of academic programs) or view professional communication skills as "add-on" rather than integral to academic growth and success. The speaker will discuss how international students learn cross-cultural and context-specific communication skills as part of their professional development, then discuss effective interventions that institutions and mentors can make. What does research show about how international students learn to communicate with local/host, multi-national, and outside audiences? What are the best practices that faculty use for enhancing cross-cultural communication and global perspectives among their students? What can campus support systems and services do to better professionalize international students for increasingly diverse and rapidly changing workplaces? Using case studies of programs on cross-cultural communication and diversity initiatives, the presentation will highlight how institutions can foster communication skills without divorcing its academic aspect from the professional.

About the Speaker: Krishna Bista

Krishna Bista is Chase Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Louisiana Monroe. Dr. Bista’s areas of interest include international student studies, multicultural education, and leadership practices. He is founder/editor of the Journal of International Students, a quarterly publication in international education. His recent publications appear in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, International Journal of Doctoral Studies, College Teaching, and The Educational Forum. He is an active review board member of several academic publications including Kappa Delta Pi Record (Routledge), Sociology Compass (Wiley), International Journal of Leadership in Education (Routledge), Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies (Sage), and Journal of International Education Management (Emerald). His recent publications include (with Foster): Global Perspectives and Local Challenges Surrounding International Student Mobility; Campus Support Services, Programs, and Policies for International Students; Exploring the Social and Academic Experiences of International Students in Higher Education Institutions.