About this course
This course presents an overview of the fundamentals of the international student-alumni lifecycle for international education professionals with limited experience in this functional area. Using a range of self-paced individual and interactive learning activities, this online asynchronous course introduces learners to the core concepts and the key practical aspects of ensuring success across the international student-alumni lifecycle. This course will be available for purchase in March 2025.
Course units
Unit 1: Introduction to onboarding and ongoing engagement and support
Are you keen to learn more about the onboarding of international students and how to provide them with ongoing engagement and support? In this unit, our Subject Matter Expert Louise Staunton (Associate Director, Trinity Global Experience at the Global Engagement Office, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) will help you gain useful knowledge on this topic, including: what is covered by the term ‘induction’, what a successful onboarding process look like, best practices in pre- and post-arrival induction programmes, as well as how to evaluate interventions to assess impact.
Louise Staunton
Louise has been working in international education for almost 25 years. In her current role, she develops strategies to support the lived experience of international students and the wider global experience of all students, including internationalisation at home activities, while working collaboratively across the institution. She is also Trinity’s representative on the Irish Universities Association (IUA) sub-group on International Student Experience and leads Trinity’s University of Sanctuary activities supporting students from asylum, refugee and international protection backgrounds, including management of Trinity’s Global Incident Response Unit.
She was previously Programme and Training Manager at the Irish Council for International Students, where she delivered intercultural competence courses across the Irish higher education sector and authored an innovative intercultural skills training guide and video resource, Diverse Voices: Listening to International Students (2015). During this time, she was also responsible for the management of the Ireland Fellows Programme for students from developing countries funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Louise served as an elected member of the EAIE Expert Community on Mobility Advising from 2019 to 2022. She has written for EAIE publications and presented at numerous conferences globally on international education.
Unit 2: Introduction to career preparation
How can a higher education institution prepare students for their future careers? What is important to consider when talking about career preparation? In this unit, our Subject Matter Expert Sandra Slotte (Senior Policy Advisor for Internationalisation at Arcada University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland) guides you along the essentials of this topic, touching upon the importance of career support in international education, the role of various stakeholders, what successful career support looks like and the difference between employability and employer-ability. She is joined by guest speaker Jessica Schueller (Senior Desk Officer, Campus-Initiative for International Talents, German Academic Exchange Service, Germany).
Sandra Slotte
Sandra’s expertise lies in the strategic and comprehensive internationalisation of higher education, as well as in matters related to the employability of international students and the employer-ability of receiving organisations.
Sandra's professional journey began with professional competence development and then, as part of a team, established a recruitment company for young professionals in Helsinki. From there she moved on to international marketing and communications and further on to international student recruitment and admissions, including student experience and success. This took her into Internationalisation at Home (IaH) and then to sustainable and holistic career support. She now works with strategic, comprehensive and ethical internationalisation.
She has served as Secretary for the Steering Group for Internationalisation at Arcada since 2019. She was elected as a member of the Steering Group of the EAIE Expert Community for Strategy and Management 2022–2024 and is a member of the EAIE Thematic Committee for Leadership, strategy and policy 2024–2026.
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/sandraslotte/
Jessica Schüller
Jessica is a scholar-practitioner in international higher education, specialising in international career services and the employability of international students.
She is known as an advocate for international students' career development and labour market integration in Germany, and she currently serves as the Senior Desk Officer for the Campus Initiative for International Talents at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In this capacity, her primary responsibilities encompass strategy formulation, research initiatives and cultivating strategic partnerships to further the objectives of the Campus Initiative.
Previously, Jessica held roles in international scholar advising, international student services, EU project management and higher education research management. Her role in building an international career service at a German university laid the foundation for her career, which focused on supporting internationally mobile students with their global career development. She has since significantly contributed to research on international career services and authored over 20 publications.
Unit 3: Introduction to post-study engagement and support
The student lifecycle continues even after students have left your institution, since alumni can play an important and useful role in various institutional processes. Eager to learn more about the area of post-study engagement and support? Join our Subject Matter Expert Sandra Rincón (Consultant on Global Stakeholder Engagement, the Netherlands) as she explains the various stages of alumni engagement, what a successful alumni strategy looks like and what skills are needed to work within international alumni relations.
Sandra Rincón
Sandra is a trainer, researcher and author on global engagement. She believes in building communities to promote diversity as a pillar in innovating a more inclusive, sustainable and kinder world.
As a recognised leader in international education in Europe (PIE, 2023) and consultant with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Sandra advises and trains professionals in governments and higher education institutions in building engaged global communities. She is finalising her PhD at Tilburg University on SDGs and Internationalisation.
She authored Engaging International Alumni as Strategic Partners, (NAFSA, 2021), edited Alumni Connection (Hivebrite, 2023), hosted Brite Ideas, a podcast for advancement professionals and founded the Holland alumni network-NL, to support international alumni who stay to work after graduation.
Sandra serves as a member of CASE Continental Europe Cabinet, and as a research committee member of ICARe-Alumni. She presents annually at the CASE-EU, EAIE, ICARe-Alumni and NAFSA conferences and often publishes in the professional literature on global engagement.
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/sandrarincon
This on-demand course will help you with:
- Understanding key terms and concepts related to induction, orientation and student engagement.
- Identifying and implementing good practices for career support in the context of international education.
- Identifying and applying proven methods to foster meaningful connections with alumni on a global scale, enhancing their ongoing relationship with your institution.
- Applying course knowledge to enhance your daily work in supporting international students.
- Recognising opportunities for ongoing professional growth and skill development in this field.
Who is it for?
This course is specifically aimed at international education professionals with limited experience in areas such as onboarding, engaging and supporting international students, career engagement and supporting students post-study who are keen to learn more. This course will introduce you to both the core concepts and key practical aspects to ensure success, with the help of an expert within this topic area.
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