Rapid Acculturation Mateship Program – rationale and ideas for scaling up a mateship program for international students
About this Masterclass
The Rapid Acculturation Mateship Program (RAMP) aims to facilitate the adjustment of internationals students to UQ, Australia and the reciprocal learning of cultures. RAMP is a formal 19-week program connecting incoming international students (RAMP Participants) with domestic students (RAMP Mates). The main purpose of RAMP is to create positive contact experiences for both international and domestic students by facilitating rapid adjustment to UQ and Australia for international students and reciprocal learning of cultures for domestic students. The program involves organised workshops for domestic students, organised social activities, fitness programs and Brisbane based activities initiated by the RAMP team and Participants. The initial feedback is that RAMP Participants are connecting well with their RAMP Mates, they are gallivanting around Brisbane, and visiting places they would not visit themselves (including the local Mates who have lived in Brisbane for many years). Participants feel welcomed at UQ and it has “…helped me settle in the life at UQ.”
International students are now the life-line of Australian Universities, as such, this is an important program to enhance the student experience of our first year under- and post-graduate international students. It also provides the opportunity for local UQ students and other UQ students the opportunity to mentor their peers for a 19-week period. There is no other mentoring program at UQ that provides both Mates and Participants such depth to learn from each other.
Draft program
- Introduction of RAMP
- Theoretical rationale (motivation for RAMP)
- Group discussion/role play
- Description of program
- Operationalisation
- Findings
- Improved acculturation
- Cultural intelligence
- Discussion
- Group discussion how RAMP can be improved
- How RAMP can be adapted to different faculties – if not already implemented
Presenters
- Dr Andre Pekerti, UQ Business School
- Dr Miriam Moeller, UQ Business School
- Honorary Professor Fons van der Vijver, School of Psychology
About ITaLI Teaching Masterclass Series
The ITaLI Teaching Masterclass Series provides a venue for inspirational and successful teachers to share effective approaches and best practices for teaching. Each Masterclass aims to assist attendees in learning tangible, practical skills that help them build on their existing expertise to excel in teaching for 21st-century students. If you have any suggestions or feedback on how we can improve the series, please contact us using this feedback form or email Dr Hassan Khosravi.
If you wish to download the presentation slides or listen to the video recordings of past events, select a Masterclass in the list of past sessions. Alternatively, all the videos are available on our YouTube channel - ITaLI Masterclasses playlist.