S01E07: Laurie Lockington-Wong - Diversity is not enough: Helping international and domestic students connect in class

Continuing our International Education Week series, we sit down with Laurie Lockington-Wong, the Engineering Ethics Coordinator and Lecturer at the Thompson Centre for Engineering Leadership & Innovation at Western University. Laurie sheds light on her classroom observations, noting that international students can benefit not only from increased integration into the university, but also from increased collaboration with their domestic peers. For engineering students, the classroom is a microcosm of their future workforce, where all types of students should be encouraged to engage in public speaking and teamwork in order to succeed.

We also discuss efforts to increase enrolment of international students coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and strategies to accordingly support them as needed. Not only do international students contribute to visible diversity on campus; they also enrich the knowledge economy with diverse perspectives and ideas.