Broadcast: News items
International agenda at new forum
Posted on behalf of: International Office
Last updated: Friday, 1 February 2013
Staff from across the University met yesterday (Thursday 31 January) to discuss internationalisation at Sussex.
Senior managers talked about the importance of effective cross working across Professional Services and academic Schools as they outlined plans to further increase the number of international students on campus in line with the University growth agenda, diversify the mix of nationalities and develop stronger international partnerships.
In the first of what will be an annual event, the Sussex International Forum also gave staff the chance to meet the newly-configured International Office team, learn more about international activities at Sussex and network with colleagues from across the University.
Professor Chris Marlin, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International), opened the forum in Bramber House. He suggested that internationalisation should be thought of in its broadest sense.
He said: “We are currently developing a new strategic plan for the University and internationalisation is a big part of that. I was asked whether I thought that internationalisation should have its own section in the plan. But I said no, international is a thread that runs through everything that we do here at Sussex.
“Sussex is an international university and we want to be thinking about internationalisation in all areas.”
Around 70 staff attended, including heads of school and heads of department as well as representatives from units that provide services or support to international students, such as Careers & Employability and Academic Registry. They also heard from the Director of Student Recruitment, Marcus Williams, who spoke about collaborative working and the development of partnerships.
Marcus said: “Teamwork and effective cross working between the International Office and School colleagues is going to be pivotal to achieving success in the long term.
“International students are a key part of the lifeblood of the University. We can see our global reach in terms of our alumni profile, with world leaders and leading figures in the arts, media, politics and science among our former students.
“We’ve never had a more relevant international offer. Many of our courses are addressing global concerns and one-in-six of our Masters courses has ‘international’ or ‘global’ in the title, which speaks for itself.”
Martin Hookham, Head of International Office, introduced the refocused International Office team, who are responsible for recruiting overseas students and helping to develop international partnerships.
Martin said: “When I started at the University it struck me how much international activity takes place at Sussex.
“But I knew that we needed to do more to support the international aims of colleagues across campus.
“I’m proud that we have been able to review the priorities for the International Office team to create a more regional focus and we now have five senior members of staff leading on specific regional responsibilities.
“One area where we need to do even more work is in developing relationships and I hope this forum can fit into that. Today is only the start of the conversation.”
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