Abstract
Transnational higher education and collaborative partnerships are a growing trend in UK higher education institutes (Baskerville, 2013). The exponential growth described by Naidoo (2008) can be seen beyond the UK in a global context, though there are limited statistics to quantify this (British Council, 2013).
The University of Bolton is no exception with 32 collaborative partnerships, with 17 of those outside of the UK. Providing a comparable experience for students being taught in collaborative centres is a challenging concept dependent on a variety of factors including delivery mode, the quality of training, resources and support available. Cultural and pedagogical challenges also arise (Smith, 2014) alongside logistical challenges and appropriate infrastructural developments.
This poster addresses both the ‘student’ and ‘success’ elements of the conference in relation to who the students are, their needs and engaging the students in their expectations and realities. Findings from a pilot scheme that used semi-structured interviews to engage students studying at a collaborative partner in Sri Lanka will discuss the student identity, engagement from students, and how to engage more with this group of students to provide a comparable student experience.