Celebrating International Students
This project sought to gain a better understanding of the international student experience at U of T. The project combined data collected about the international student experience directly and analyzed existing data from the Innovation Hub archive of 600+ interviews.
Fall/Winter 2021-2022
What is the international student experience?
The international student experience at UofT is neither homogeneous nor easily captured in just numbers. All students in this complex group have unique stories and experiences, which we set out to explore. We took a human-centred, qualitative approach to studying international student experiences. While all of their stories are unique, they share commonalities in the challenges they face and in the way that they brave these challenges.
KEY FINDINGS
International students brave the unfamiliar, challenging themselves to be resilient
All students in this complex group have unique stories and experiences, which we set out to explore. We took a human-centred, qualitative approach to studying international student experiences. While all of their stories are unique, they share commonalities in the challenges they face and in the way that they brave these challenges.
The overall findings play out in three themes:
- Daring Dreams and Discoveries
- Communicating Courageously
- Making Bold Connections
We also provide a special section called 'Exceptional Times', which highlights how international students braved the pandemic with incredible resilience. Alongside the themes and insights, we developed 'Building Bravery Design Principles' to guide how to honour the courage and resilience of international students at U of T.
Daring Dreams and Discoveries: New beginnings prompt excitement, but also bring challenges that international students must face and adapt to along the way. Students explained that the newness sometimes transformed into feelings of loneliness and homesickness. Their unfamiliarity with the education system and the overwhelming amount of information they encountered as they adjusted to their new environment also proved difÿcult. To combat this, international students described taking the initiative to build communities and networks of support among one another to share support as they familiarized themselves with their new home.
Communicating Courageously: Many, though not all, international students expressed that learning and communicating in an unfamiliar language was more challenging than they expected. International students choose U of T for its quality of education, but some students explained that they felt unsure of communicating and working in advanced academic settings. Moreover, cultural differences make it even more difficult for them to be understood by their peers, instructors, and staff. However, with time, practice, and support, international students gain confidence in these areas throughout their studies.
Making Bold Connections: Being in a new culture and community can make building friendships difficult for international students. They reported occasional difficulties in making friends outside of peers of their own culture or those on a similar walk of life. Their sense of lack of belonging and related struggles (e.g., financial burdens, distance from home, and family expectations) can create additional strains on international students, including relationships with their families. In this process, hearing their voices with empathy is essential to helping them forge strong relationships at U of T.