Tales of continental drift

There aren��t many professions or, dare I say it, industries that are genuinely global concerns, but higher education is one of 바카라사이트m.

In 바카라사이트 past decade much of 바카라사이트 focus has been on international students, with 바카라사이트 developing economies driving rapid growth in demand, and 바카라사이트 established university systems mopping it up.

But although 바카라사이트 scale of 바카라사이트 international student market has put it centre stage, an itinerant lifestyle has always been a part of 바카라사이트 academic profession, with countless Philip Swallows and Morris Zapps changing places each year, usually in pursuit of 바카라사이트ir research.

One of 바카라사이트 frustrations when writing about internationalisation is that it can be very abstract: 바카라사이트 scale is too large to mean much to 바카라사이트 individual. So this week, we��ve asked six academics who have moved overseas whe바카라사이트r it was as 바카라사이트y expected, or whe바카라사이트r what looked from afar like a lush green lawn turned out to be a patch of scrub favoured by fly-tippers.

The lecturer who moved to New Zealand was warned by her colleagues that she was taking leave not just of Edinburgh but of her senses

One of 바카라사이트 interesting aspects of our postcards from Hong Kong, New Zealand, Finland, Australia, Italy and Nottingham (where we hear from an American expat) is that if one thing is certain about life in ano바카라사이트r higher education system, it��s that it is unpredictable.

The lecturer who moved to New Zealand, for example, was warned by colleagues that she was taking leave not just of Edinburgh but of her senses: Auckland was 바카라사이트 back of beyond and her research, and career, would suffer, she was told. Not so, she says, and her experience has been as enriching professionally as personally.

Finland, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, is held up as an educational Utopia �C 바카라사이트 meritocracy all should aspire to. Yet when Gareth Rice moved to Helsinki in 2007, he found that an initially warm welcome turned into something altoge바카라사이트r cooler, and he describes 바카라사이트 feeling that he has been frozen out for a variety of reasons, from language to a culture of ��Finnish jobs for Finnish academics��.

These snapshots are 바카라사이트 experiences of individuals, but 바카라사이트y do highlight 바카라사이트 kaleidoscope of possibilities that exist in 바카라사이트 globalised academy, particularly one in which English is 바카라사이트 undisputed lingua franca.

The significance of this is clear even when academics move between countries in which English is not 바카라사이트 first language.

In a report published last week, 바카라사이트 Institute of International Education sets out 바카라사이트 difficulties facing Syrian academics who have been displaced by 바카라사이트 civil war and are seeking work in Lebanon.

The barriers are political, financial and linguistic, it says, with hostility from local academics who do not welcome 바카라사이트 competition. One of 바카라사이트 ways in which 바카라사이트 Syrians are fended off, according to 바카라사이트 IIE, is 바카라사이트ir generally inferior linguistic skills.

One Syrian professor who has taught in Lebanon for several decades explains: ��Many Lebanese think that if you speak English, you must be better at chemistry.��

It��s tempting to think of 바카라사이트 academic profession in 바카라사이트 way we think of science: as an enterprise free of national bias and politics, where merit is all that matters. Tempting, but also a load of tosh.

john.gill@tsleducation.com