The information below outlines the conference schedule for Day 2 of the RIS Online Conference 2025. The full conference runs between March 10 – 13 and details about the full conference can be found here.
Registration
Registration is required to receive links for all sessions:
Time zones
All times are listed in UK time zone (GMT). Please take a moment to double check all times through a time zone converter:
Tuesday Schedule (March 11)
Session 7: 1:00 to 1:25 pm GMT
Stepping up, standing out: In conversation with an international PGT student on finding purpose in co-creation research
Speakers: Alison Leslie, Clare Wright, and Sally Heier (University of Leeds)
Abstract: Recent reports by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Ebel, 2024) and UKCISA (2024) call for the UK government and universities to do more to value the social and cultural contributions international students bring to the learning experience. This chimes with this network’s calls for reframing how we do research with international students (Mittelmeier et al, 2022). In this presentation, we reflect on the extent to which we have achieved purposeful research in our collaborative study with international PGT students to critically evaluate academic support provision in their Schools. By giving voice to the strengths they feel they bring to the learning experience, recognising the intersectionality of their individual experiences (Lomer, 2024) and co-creating research outputs with them as consultants (Bovill et al, 2015), we hope to have valued international students’ input and expertise (Ajjawi et al, 2023; Lomer, 2024). In focus group workshops they used creative methods to share their voices and design peer-to-peer guidance on making the most of their academic year. Participant feedback suggests that this innovative research approach helped them feel an authentic sense of mattering and was a valuable aspect of their process of ‘becoming’ (Morgan & O’Hara, 2023). In the spirit of continuing to value student input, our presentation will take the form of a panel discussion between the two researchers and one of the student participants. This will focus on what we have learned about research purpose, collaboration, empowerment, equity and agency. For example, why do international students collaborate in research? (How) is it possible for research with international students to meet both the researchers’ and participants’ purpose? How do international students feel about research and outputs targeted at them; are these empowering or do they reinforce the deficit and othering narratives?
Session 8: 1:30 to 1:55 pm GMT
Helping international education practitioners turn real-world questions and dilemmas into research questions and participatory action initiatives with international students
Speakers: Allyson Lindsley (Cleveland State University) and Sehyun Liz Hwang (University of Minnesota)
Abstract: International education practitioners are at the front lines of work with international students. Practitioners provide academic advising, cultural support, programming, and immigration advice, and they help students navigate tricky situations on a daily basis. While international educators are often primarily viewed as practitioners, they are working with large amounts of data on a regular basis.
Practitioners may find themselves asking questions about trends happening with their students. This presentation will pay attention to the “noticings” that practitioners so often experience by providing them with tangible options to transform these noticings into action and research questions. Particular attention will be given to ideas on creating participatory action research with international students as co-facilitators on research projects.
This session will blend the worlds of practice and research in hopes of lessening the distance between them. International education practitioners bring practical knowledge about international student experiences that researchers may overlook. On the other hand, international education practitioners are often bogged down in daily work, which may prevent them from seeing the bigger picture.
The purpose of the session is to create space for practitioners and researchers to share expertise and discuss advocacy strategies for international students.
ECR Network Social: 2:00 to 2:45 pm GMT
Led by: Andreana Pastena (Universitat de les Illes Balears), Vera Spangler (University of Surrey), and Gourangi Kumar (Sciences Po)
Abstract: The Early Career Researchers (ECR) Network within the Research with International Students (RIS) community provides a platform for connection, collaboration, and inspiration. Dedicated to supporting scholars at the start of their careers – whether masters’ students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows, or early-career academics – the network creates spaces where they can come together to exchange ideas, reflect critically on their work, and explore innovative approaches in the field of internationalisation.
Central to the network’s activities is the creation of informal and supportive spaces, where all voices are respected and validated, which encourage researchers to think creatively and interdisciplinary, develop new methodologies, and challenge traditional narratives about international students. By bringing together like-minded scholars, the network fosters a sense of community and shared purpose that helps to sustain and inspire its members.
This social event has two key aims. First, we will introduce several initiatives the RIS ECR Network is currently promoting, such as an ongoing reading group and an upcoming research roundtable. Through our reflections as coordinators, we will illustrate how the network drives collective learning, fosters meaningful relationships, and supports researchers in navigating the complexities of our field, while addressing some of the challenges faced along the way. Second, we will engage in a networking activity to connect with other ECRs working in similar areas and discuss how to further promote innovative thinking and advocacy, and contribute to ethical, purpose-driven scholarship.
Attending this event offers a unique opportunity to meet like-minded scholars and gain insights into how the ECR network can support your own journey within the field of internationalisation. We invite participants to join us in building a vibrant and future-focused space and foster a supportive community for early career researchers.
Session 9: 3:00 to 3:25 pm GMT
Examination of Western-based theories via an international context
Speakers: Laura Vaughn (Florida State University) and Amanda Corso (George Mason University)
Abstract: Western theories concerning higher education have been rightly criticized as being focused on white, majoritized students rather than being inclusive of minoritized perspectives. Although some Westernized theories take a critical viewpoint to be more inclusive, there are international scholars who do not recognize these theories to be applicable in non-Western contexts. This presentation aims to examine Western higher education theories, specifically critical and leadership, and study how common critiques fail to consider how some theorists have worked to become more culturally relevant and inclusive of international students.
While many scholars trace critical theories to Karl Marx (Levinson, 2011), some critical theories have been informed by non-Western thinkers. For example, when discussing critical race theory, Kumasi (2011) highlights individuals such as Tupac Amaru (Peru) or Mahatma Gandhi (India), to name a few, as “historical and intellectual precursors” (p. 202). These examples demonstrate that even with frameworks deeply contextualized within, in this case, a U.S. context, these roots are not strictly based in such localized areas but are informed by thinkers across the globe.
Leadership is a concept that originated from Western ideas of leaders having very specific traits that might include being male, white, or having power (Northouse, 2021). Modern research and theories concerning leadership have worked to deconstruct and disrupt these ideas and create models based on culturally relevant viewpoints (Dugan, 2017; Bertrand Jones et al., 2016). As a socially constructed concept, leadership can be reformed and changed, but it requires the systems of power to be changed as well (Liu, 2021).
While examining Western-based theories, we will discuss the adaptation to relevant cultural contexts (Roberts & Yamanaka, 2023). We also will address that Western theories should only be used as a base or deconstruction tool rather than the final product.
Session 10: 3:30 to 3:55 pm GMT
Finding purpose by focusing on student agency
Speaker: Jason Schneider (DePaul University)
Abstract: Attention to international student agency has increased in recent years (e.g., Marginson, 2014; Oldac et al., 2023; Schneider, 2025; Tran, 2016). As these and other scholars argue, highlighting student agency presents a powerful antidote to discourses of deficiency. In this presentation, I argue that investigating student agency can also have positive effects for researchers, leading to feelings of purpose and agency. Drawing on my own experiences—which I present as that, not as a prescription for others—I will develop three points. First, “purpose” suggests “goal,” and the pursuit of goals reflects agency. When we explore students’ agency, we see that agency is grounded in goals, even if those goals are sometimes amorphous. We can extend the same logic to researchers: When we see goals and purpose in our work, we feel agentive. Second, within the framework of structure and agency, we know that the forces working against international students are structural, and an important outcome of educational research is to critique these forces. However, focusing on structure without also, simultaneously, exploring student agency can make us feel that our work has no purpose—that we don’t have agency—because structures are often oppressive and resistant to change. By also engaging with international students’ stories of “becoming” (Tran, 2016, p. 1286), we have the opportunity to see how students are always creating purpose in their lives, even amidst structural challenges. In highlighting students’ experiences of purpose and agency, we can recognize our own purpose and agency. Third, I will share 1-2 examples from my research when I have witnessed students in moments of despair and have then learned how they came to assert agency in their lives over time (using longitudinal methods). For me, these cases have been humbling and inspiring, helping me see purpose in my work.
Session 11: 4:00 to 4:25 pm GMT
Going beyond the campus bubble: Rethinking university support for international students
Speakers: Oğuzhan Tekin and Vijay Ramjattan (University of Toronto)
Abstract: Most research with international students tends to focus on the on-campus context, neglecting the potential challenges international students may face outside the campus. Similarly, most universities channel their institutional resources to orient international students to life on campus. Given that international students’ experiences are part of an ecosystem that goes beyond the university, we argue that both research concerning international students and institutional efforts to meaningfully support these students should go beyond the “campus bubble,” where they likely face more injustices and inequities. For example, in the professional realm, international students are often positioned as linguistically deficient in the job market which hinders their employment opportunities. In the social domain, perceived as outsiders, international students find it challenging to connect with locals (i.e., build healthy social networks). This, in turn, may impinge on their sense of belonging in the community, which is a fundamental human need, according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Therefore, we propose that future research should explore how international students are made to be deficient in professional spaces while being other-ed in the social realm. Insights from this line of research would ideally inform future efforts within universities that improve international students’ experiences beyond the confines of the campus. From a professional standpoint, universities may act as formal advocates for international student job seekers, whereas, from a social standpoint, universities could better prepare international students for the sociolinguistic realities of their host communities prior to their arrival and proactively create opportunities for them to strengthen their ties with locals through institutionally supported intergroup contact.
Session 12: 4:30 to 4:55 pm GMT
Implied but uncertain: Capturing international students in gray spaces
Speakers: Shannon Hutcheson (McGill University)
Abstract: What does being caught between spaces and statuses mean as an international student? In seeking inclusive conceptualizations of international students, scholars caution against definitions that omit the varied experiences of those who may not be seen “traditionally” as international students (e.g., Bennett et al., 2023). However, this status is often defined narrowly by the purpose of one’s study intention and visa status. The field of research with international students can find purpose in amplifying those unseen in “in-between” spaces and statuses that international students can occupy (e.g., students with precarious or expired visa status, international students transitioning from student to worker, or students who shift to asylum-seeking or refugee status).
Informed by interviews with international graduate students, archival research, and critical reflections on evolving immigration policies, this presentation provides context and scope on these less-defined spaces of international student status and corresponding experiences and importantly brings visibility to the often unseen or omitted. This presentation draws on the speaker’s own autoethnographic perspective, incorporating their experience as an international student with implied status.
The title of this talk, Implied but Uncertain refers to the hazy visa category of international students who have a lapse or change in status. In Canada, formerly referred to as “implied status”, “maintained status” refers to the waiting period while international students are waiting for status to renew, restore, or change. There are inequitable and marginalizing implications for this category. Using graduated international students as an example, this can include employers’ hesitation to hire those with implied status, loss of the limited healthcare offered to international students while also not falling under the purview of provincial healthcare, and the loss of free institutional immigration support. A critical lens on these spaces between and hazy international student status helps bring depth to how we understand international students, and the systemic marginalization surrounding the navigation of implied status, validating our often silenced experience. I hope that through naming this overlooked gray space, those who have felt lost in status can feel seen.
Session 13: 5:00 to 5:25 pm GMT
Decolonial perspectives on internationalization: Unpacking international students’ discourses
Speakers: Ezgi Ozyonum and Tanja Tajmel
Abstract: This study critically examines the experiences of international students in Canadian higher education, addressing the colonial legacies embedded in global academic systems. Drawing on the framework of coloniality of power, knowledge, and being (Quijano, 2007; Grosfoguel, 2013; Maldonado-Torres, 2007), it investigates how systemic inequities shape international students’ motivations, academic trajectories, and agency. Rejecting deficit approaches of assimilation (Guo & Guo, 2017; Mittelmeier et al., 2024), the research highlights how students navigate colonial structures while asserting resilience and resistance.
Using a decolonial framework, this study shifts the focus from problematizing international students to critically interrogating the structures and practices of internationalization. It examines how colonial legacies in higher education shape students’ motivations, experiences, and discourses, positioning them within systemic inequalities that reinforce linguistic exclusion, epistemic dominance, and “othering” dynamics (Stein, 2017). Through critical discourse analysis (Parker, 1992; Van Dijk, 2006) and semi-structured interviews with international master’s engineering students, the research reveals tensions between students’ imagined expectations of higher education in Canada and their lived experiences in Quebec.
The findings illuminate patterns of coloniality and decoloniality, offering deeper insights into international students’ agency, motivations, and experiences. By advancing these perspectives, this research contributes to a more critical and nuanced understanding of the label of “international students” while demonstrating the importance of purpose in research with international students. It highlights how decolonial frameworks and methodologies not only challenge deficit approaches but also provide avenues to reimagine internationalization as a more inclusive process. In doing so, this study invites scholars to engage in critical and relational approaches that reaffirm the value and purpose of research with international students.
There are two more days of the conference! Check out the speaker schedules for other days: