Personal and Professional Opportunities and Challenges

1. Personal and Professional
Opportunities and Challenges of
Studying Higher Education in
Abroad
Course: Issues in Teacher Education
Program: PhD in Education
Course Facilitator: Dr.Anjum Bano Kazimi
Presenter: Manzoor Ahmed(22003)
Date: 03/04/2022

2. Introduction
• To study abroad at a university in a place full of strangers and with a
completely different environment, culture and customs can be
overwhelming.
• But if the institution you get admitted to is a worthy one, the people
around you friendly and welcoming, and the culture warm and
accepting, then the experience can become one of life’s most fulfilling
ones and this challenge can be turned into an opportunity.
• To study overseas is therefore a challenge which can be turned into a
life changing opportunity through hard work, force of will,
confidence.

3. Opportunities
• Excellent Education
This is one of the most and lucrative opportunities that studying
abroad affords you. You get to learn from the some of the best
professionals and teachers in the world as well as get a chance to get
exposed to some of the best and the most industry oriented courses in
the world.

4. Cont.…
• Explore the World
An important part of studying abroad is that you get to explore a new
culture and get to see new places.

5. Cont.…
• Expand Network
Studying abroad helps you get in touch with people from all over the
world, be it your classmates, your teachers or other contacts that you
develop during the course of your stay in the country. All these help in
expanding your network, and ultimately getting you in touch with the
industry’s best and helping you in your career.

6. Cont.…
• Impress Employers
Studying abroad will turn your resume into a powerful and impressive
one, and what more do potential employers ask for? An education
abroad will therefore make you an excellent candidate for whatever
jobs you apply for.

7. Challenges and Issues
• A Different Culture
One of the biggest challenges that a student faces upon reaching their
place of study in a foreign country is the cultural shock. The country
they arrive in has a different language, a different set of customs and
different cultural traits. While writing a foreign language and reading
it for the sake of academics seems pretty easy, having to converse and
carry out your everyday activities in a language other than your
mother tongue can become frustrating and difficult. And while
language may be the biggest cultural factor presenting a challenge to a
new student, other cultural factors may become a barrier too.

8. Cont.…
• Feeling like an Outsider
Arriving at a completely new place also presents the challenge of not
knowing anyone. While consultancy services and the university and
college officials will help you in this by, for example, including you in
social clubs and connecting you with college fraternities, sometimes a
feeling of being an outsider will storm you. But this is also a challenge
that you can overcome after you have spent some time in your place of
study, as there are others like you who are looking to connect with
people. A shared group therefore comes to befriend each other, and
your social circle will soon be brimming with friends.

9. Cont.…
• Different Educational Setup
This is also a big challenge when it comes to arriving in a foreign
country. students are brought up in a particular educational set up in
which they are used to understanding different aspects of academics
like how grades work, how and when the exams are conducted etc. But
to get adjusted to a different educations setup also takes some time.

10. Cont.…
• Challenges with Currency
This one is actually more manageable than the others, as there are a
number of services offered both by the governments of the new
country and by the university authorities to exchange currency and
also for money transfers back home.
• Academic and language issues
• Social issues
• Financial issues

11. Suggested Strategies to Help International
Students
• Tseng and Newton (2002) reported eight methods that help international
students adjust positively. International Journal of Humanities and Social
Science Vol. 6, No. 5; May 2016 20 Those methods include:
• Forming relationships
• Seeking assistance
• Increasing English proficiency
• Improving social and cultural communications
• Building relationships with faculty members
• Paltridge et al. (2012) wrote that volunteer jobs can play pivotal role in
supporting international students socially
• Seek Part time job to overcome the financial issue

12. Reference
• Tseng, W. C., & Newton, F. B. (2002). International students'
strategies for well-being. College student journal, 36(4), 591-598.
• Paltridge, N. G., Milham, P. J., Ortiz-Monasterio, J. I., Velu, G.,
Yasmin, Z., Palmer, L. J., ... & Stangoulis, J. C. (2012). Energy-
dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry as a tool for zinc, iron and
selenium analysis in whole grain wheat. Plant and Soil, 361(1), 261-
269.