C6 Workshop summary and outcomes

Postgraduate researcher strand

Developing researchers to work in a global context

Dr Julie Reeves, Research Training Manager, University of Manchester

Overview

The internationalisation of education brings another dimension to the growing demands on researchers in several areas; notably the need to develop innovative projects, to find new collaborative partners, to disseminate research more widely and to generate income. In this increasingly international market, we have a responsibility to ensure researchers are confident or competent to act globally in these areas, inferring that it is likely that some form of training will be required.

Inter-cultural training alone is likely to prove inadequate in the changing researcher environment. Instead, a combination of interventions may be the most appropriate way of meeting training needs and enabling researchers to work in the global context.

The session explored:

• the current place of international relations in education
• existing training practice and expectations
• problems researchers and trainers are likely to face
• training needs analysis - the why, how and what of training provision
• the global training objectives of HE institutions, funding bodies and researchers
• possible frameworks for providing training.

Presentation summary

The challenges faced by incoming international researchers at Manchester fall into three areas:

1) technical - such as skills of reading and writing in an additional language
2) social - etiquette, cultural differences
3) pedagogic - ‘how does it work?' - understanding institutional/UK academic culture and expectations.

These same problem areas would face outgoing researchers, or researchers working within international collaborations, therefore we can use them as a basis for investigating training need generally.

Manchester is at an early stage of ‘thinking globally' about researcher training. Specific help for incoming international students is well established (from pre-arrival information thru technical skills support to ‘open door'), but provision for ‘home' students furnishes fewer examples (examples are academic reading in French and German and intercultural training for academic sojourners). The likelihood of experiencing ‘reverse culture shock' (problems reintegrating into the home country) is a real issue but one that researchers seem unwilling to acknowledge.

Participants were invited to contribute their own experiences. There was some discussion about the possible differences between ‘working internationally' and ‘working globally'. In the commercial field, companies aimed for ‘global competency' which somehow transcended bi-lateral international competency - the skills needed for moving from one country to another. Participants then offered examples from their own organisations (HE institutions and other bodies).

Discussion outcomes

• There is some excellent ‘good practice' for supporting researchers in the global context. This includes: using researchers' experience to compile literature and country reports; helping researchers find work abroad (eg how to approach the US job market); how to access archives; funding lab visits with a view to collaboration.
• There is a need to address pedagogic and, possibly, language issues, and certainly to deal with reverse culture shock. Institutions need to make more use of incoming international researchers.
• Researchers need pointers to appropriate information, local contacts before they leave and upon arrival. HE institutions need to identify countries/centres where language (other than English) may be an issue. A database of information and alumni-type networks would be useful.

 

 View the C6 presentation slides for Dr Julie Reeves