Developing intercultural competence in university staff : augmenting internationalisation

The primary aim of this research was to consider the benefit of providing professional development in intercultural competence for general staff at Deakin University. While the question arose from a disparity identified in the University policies, the importance of this consideration was highlighted in an impending audit to be conducted by AUQA, in which internationalisation was a key theme.
In this pilot study, a range of professional staff members across Deakin University was interviewed to identify their strengths, weaknesses, aspirations and expectations on professional development in intercultural competence. Some recommendations were made about how to offer such training.