International Students’ Day 2021: most welcome guests
International Students’ Day 2021: most welcome guests
Today is International Students' Day, which is acknowledged worldwide as a non-political celebration of international students.Study Group CEO Emma Lancaster shares her thoughts on why this annual event is so important in a global higher education context:
"International students think globally and contribute so much to the societies they live in both culturally and economically, before taking on industry leadership positions and making huge contributions to the world around them.
“The social value of international education is also recognised across the world. In Britain, the recently published UK’s International Education Strategy highlights the importance of the international student experience, noting the value of friendship and cultural exchange alongside academic success.
“International students not only benefit from an excellent education, but they also learn to work together across national, ethnic, religious and gender divides. This serves them well in their future lives and careers and we’re proud that they make lifelong connections and grow as global citizens at our colleges and study centres."
Some of our students reflect on why they love their international study experience on International Students’ Day 2021.
Friendship
“What I enjoy most about being an international student is meeting people from other cultures. Happy International Students’ Day to all my classmates and to all the students around the world!” (Fabian studying at Study Group’s Lancaster University International Study Centre in the UK).
“The way I make friends with international students is by chatting about our own cultures; we discuss national food and the festivals we celebrate.” (Elke studying at Study Group’s University of Surrey International Study Centre in the UK).
“By having friendships with international students from various countries, we can share our cultures and learn different things. Because I am from Korea, lots of people ask me about BTS and Squid Game and I’m really happy that I can share my country’s culture and songs with foreign friends.” (Namju studying at Study Group’s Holland International Study Centre in the Netherlands).
“Part of the experience of being an international student is making new friends in your home away from home. Whilst this seems like a scary prospect, it is actually an amazing thing. My advice to all international students is to join activities such as sports clubs and societies, it is through this that you are able to make friends who are going to help you in life. The best part about being an international student is experiencing a new culture, wherever you are, maybe the UK, you should try new food and hangout in new places – these experiences are worthwhile.” (Sami studying at Study Group’s Kingston University International Study Centre in London, UK).
Cultural exchange
“I think the way to make friends is being empathetic, knowing that we are all in the same situation, being open and curious. It connects to us all having the same thing in common, which is we are new to our environment. What I enjoy most about being an international student is learning from everybody. Everybody has a different culture, different perspectives, different stories and that’s the beautiful thing; having a diverse mindset is going to prepare you for life. Find someone, talk to them, be open, don’t be shy, take your time, be respectful and that’s how we’re going to make friends.” (Gaston studying at Study Group’s Holland International Study Centre in the Netherlands).
“My classmates are from China, Hong Kong and Algeria, I have flatmates from Ghana and Greece. I can exchange different cultures with them. I come from Thailand, which is completely different from the UK, being here is like discovering a whole new world, from food to weather to cultures, I really love it here!” Ploy studying at Study Group’s Lancaster University International Study Centre in the UK).