International Student Employability

Group Submission Type: Book Launch

Description of Session

International Student Employability: Narratives of Strengths, Challenges, and Strategies from Global South Students examines how international undergraduate and graduate level students and graduates use their agency to make sense of what
they are learning and how they apply that knowledge to employability in career pathways. The concept of critical employability frames many of the chapters.
Critical employability challenges traditional employability pathways by questioning who is served and not served within a GN global market framework. At the core of critical employability, diversity and equity need to be taken into consideration
when framing the role of higher education and employability. This term includes
four criteria. First, how students make sense of the intersection of their higher educational institutional (HEI) experiences to their employability options. Second, it
requires students to understand how globalization changes professions and alters
industry standards. Thirdly, it explores how students utilize their agency to foster
self-development and effectively utilize HEI services in order to meet their individual needs and acquire transversal skills and capabilities. Finally, how students use their agency to envision alternative pathways to anticipate and respond to crisis
changes in the economy, environment, and national politics.
This book adds to the literature by bringing in diverse student voices that are long
missing in the field of international student employability (Fakulne, 2021b). The
chapters show how deeply the experiences of studying abroad deepen students cultural sensitivity, adaptability, and transferability of skills and capabilities that are essential to graduate employability. The book also uses case studies to examine broader, and sometimes, critical elements of employability. The chapters in the
book show that there is a need to widen our scope of understanding employability
beyond current dominant perspectives.

Sub Unit

• Pre-Conference Workshops, Book launches, and Visual Art Exhibits / Book Launch

Chair

• Anoo Bhopti, Monash University

Book Launch Presenter

• Anoo Bhopti, Monash University