British Council Singapore organised a two day symposium in Singapore for leaders and policy makers in educational institutions and government to come together to share best practice on how they can successfully integrate international students with local ones.
Over two days, 120 delegates from a number of countries heard from a wide range of speakers, including Mr Dominic Scott, CEO of UKICISA, Dr Keith Sharp, sociologist and Director University of London International Programmes at LSE, and Neil Harrison from the University of the West of England, well known for his research in this area. Speakers from Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore further added breadth to the discussion, as they explored the issue from a global perspective.
The conference also included a hands-on, half-day seminar, run by Stephen Williams, Assistant Director from the University of Warwick - very helpful in facilitating practitioners to work out their own strategies in crafting policies that will have a direct impact on foreign-local interactions at their institutions.
As a cultural relations organisation, the British Council aims to promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas worldwide. Through events like this, the British Council aims to provide authoritative, independent analysis and advice on international higher education trends and opportunities, and also to leverage its global presence and use its extended network to convene dialogues like this for people around the world to come together to tackle pressing issues in higher education.