By Dr Danau Tanu

In an era marked by unprecedented global mobility and shifting educational paradigms, the transition from secondary school to university has become increasingly complex, especially for internationally mobile students. At the upcoming CIS workshop Bridging the Gap Between Schools and Universities, keynote speaker Dr Danau Tanu will invite educators and institutional leaders to re-examine the assumptions that underpin student support systems.

Dr Tanu is an anthropologist and author whose work has reshaped how we understand the lived experiences of Third Culture Kids (TCKs)—young people who grow up outside their parents’ culture due to international schooling. Her seminal book, Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School, is the first ethnographic study to expose structural discrimination within international education through the lens of Asian TCKs.

The forthcoming CIS Transitions-care model draws on her seminal research and provides a framework for this workshop, emphasizing the need for holistic, culturally responsive support that recognises the layered transitions international students undergo—not just academic, but linguistic, cultural, emotional, and social.

Why this workshop, and why now?

“Recent world events and trends are rapidly changing the landscape of international education and global student mobility,” Dr Tanu notes. “Secondary school counsellors, international student recruiters, and university student services personnel are all vital bridges in this ecosystem. It’s essential they hear directly from each other and from experts in real time.”

Participants will:

• Gain insight into the desires and concerns of a new generation of students and how global trends influence their higher education choices.
• Learn how universities are adapting to demographic shifts and the emergence of new educational players.
• Hear from experts about what to expect from the evolving student population.

From theory to practice

Dr Tanu’s keynote will equip attendees with actionable insights:

• Understand the many facets of students with an internationally-mobile childhood and how this affects their cultural background and needs (in relation to their university experience)
• Understand international school students and their expressions of global citizenship, especially of those from the majority world (non-European descent), and how this affects their expectations of university life

Challenging assumptions

Dr Tanu describes some of the common mistakes or misconceptions that educational leaders and educators make when tackling student transition from secondary school to university:

• Making assumptions about a student’s cultural background based on their nationality or vice versa and provide support that does not match student needs. For example, assuming that an Anglo British student knows how things work in the UK and does not need the type of practical support usually provided to international students despite the fact that they have spent most of their childhood overseas and this is the first time they will be living in the UK and attend a British educational institution.
• Assuming that, like local students, they are merely transitioning from high school into university, when in reality international students are making multiple transitions all at once. For example, one student might be transitioning from high school to university as well as transitioning from their home country into a foreign country where everything is new; from their native language into living and studying in a foreign language where it takes extra effort and energy to understand; from a familiar value system of their own culture into a new culture with completely different value systems, which can cause confusion; from childhood into adulthood; from a protected environment into living independently (including being financially responsible); from having family, friends and community support to having none at all, and so on.
• Assuming that sudden leap that characterizes the transition that international students often make from the highly protected environment of high school life into university life where they are suddenly treated like adults is ‘normal’, and thus not prepare them adequately from early on in high school.

A shared responsibility

Dr Tanu’s work reminds us that transitions are not merely logistical—they are deeply personal. By centring student voices and challenging institutional norms, she calls on educators to move beyond standardised support and toward a more inclusive, responsive model of care.

The Bridging the Gap workshop offers a rare opportunity for cross-sector dialogue and collaboration. With Dr Tanu’s keynote anchoring the day, participants will leave not only with new insights but with renewed purpose—to ensure that every student, regardless of background, is supported to thrive.