The purpose of these workshops are to support AusAid students in managing the cultural transition from their home country to Australia and back again. The workshops are based on the work of Dr Christine Hogan, who has conducted these workshop successfully in previous years.

The entry workshops are two days in length. They include Students from different countries prior to their two week academic orientation and three to five days after their arrival in Australia. Sometimes they have families with them who need their support. Sometimes they have left their families, including quite young children in the care of extended family at home. Students are often in the processes of finding accommodation, enrolling and meeting their supervisors, so the workshops change continuously in order to accommodate the needs of students, to reintegrate them into the workshop after periods of absence and to maintain continuity for all participants.

The going home workshops are one day workshops conducted six weeks to three months prior to the students return home.

Action/Methodology:

In the arrival workshops, a series of activities develops the concepts of:

1. We all have experienced transitions and have developed skills in managing transitions
2. There are seven categories of skills which we can employ to manage transitions
3. There are stages in the transitional process which may be experienced simultaneously
4. There are differences between cultures which we can describe and enjoy
5. Curtin campus offers many services and opportunities to support international students in their study and lives in Australia

Students not only gain information about life in Australia and managing the transition to Australian life, but make connections with colleagues through participatory processes.

In the going home workshops, activities develop the concepts of:

1.       We may experience some ‘return culture shock’

2.       The skills we have used in managing transitions to Australian life can be used to return home

3.       We can map our experience as a ‘hero’s journey’

4.       We can help ourselves by planning what we need to gather together before we return and preparing ourselves and our families for our return.

Outcomes/Findings:

The reflections from students and our own observations indicate the enormous value of reflective processes which enables students to identify the transitions experienced previously, coping skills already developed and employed and other things that they can do to support themselves in times of transition.

Positive relationships are built with students and between students.

It is greatly beneficial to have two facilitators to share the load, to respond to questions and to provide individual support.

How it has been used:

The workshops are repeated with each entry and exit group. There is potential to expand the workshops to include more international students.