Living in two worlds: Challenges faced by and opportunities for international graduate students and faculty

Warraich, Nosheen; Rorrisa, Abebe

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Description

Title

Living in two worlds: Challenges faced by and opportunities for international graduate students and faculty

Author(s)

• Warraich, Nosheen
• Rorrisa, Abebe

Issue Date

2021-09-20

Keyword(s)

• International graduate students
• International library information science faculty in North America
• Academic job market
• Doctorate degrees in North America

Abstract

This panel is a continuation of interactive panels targeting LIS graduate students at previous ALISE annual meetings. The current panel aims to identify the challenges faced by and opportunities for international graduate students in North America. As the proverbial land of opportunities for immigrants, it is evident that a good number of graduate students and faculty are enticed to get their education and/or seek employment in higher learning and research institutions. As a result, they need to maintain connections to their culture and social background while immersing themselves in the traditions and cultures of their newly adopted country, thereby living in two worlds. The panellists will share their experiences and insights about doing their PhDs and seeking jobs in academia. The panellists are all international faculty members who graduated from North American universities and now employed by six different library and information science (LIS) schools. Panellists hold & represent all three academic ranks (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Full Professor) and they are either junior, mid-career, or senior faculty. Panellists will also serve as mentors to current graduate students and faculty who are at various stages in their education and research/teaching careers in order to assist them build a productive academic career track. In this session, panellists will also engage international doctoral students from a number of socio-economic and academic backgrounds in discussions on timely completion of their studies. They will attempt to address a broad set of issues, generally faced by graduate students in general and international students in particular, in looking for and securing good internships, fellowship opportunities, as well as academic positions. Panellists will also discuss these issues in the context of living in two worlds, their native countries and North America, and will focus on cultural differences, academic and research environments, expectations by employers, and work-life balance. In addition, topics such as the role of career counselling, the role of supervisors, career paths and job opportunities for international students, will also be discussed. This session will especially be helpful for international doctoral students and new faculty members to survive and thrive in highly competitive academic environments in North America. It will also serve as an open discussion forum among faculty and students to discuss challenges and opportunities in Academia in the context of North America and international graduate students and faculty. It is our hope that discussions during this panel and any ideas generated will also sensitize audience members, specifically those who are either international graduate students or faculty, to ways of improving their experience and future success in North American academic institutions. PANEL STYLE This panel will last for 90 minutes. We will use PechaKucha model where each of the six panelists will have about 10 minutes to present. The last 30 minutes will be reserved for an open discussion.

Series/Report Name or Number

• Education of information professionals
• Education programs/schools
• Students
• Teaching faculty
• Education

Type of Resource

Text

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