Good practice principles for CPLs working cross-culturally

Ensure you have a basic familiarity with the country your partner is located in, the customs and traditions, the people, the organisation, the dress code and business etiquette. You might want to find out about the hierarchy and how important it is and who reports to whom.

You might contact the International Recruitment Manager in the International Office for country specific information or you might make contact or speak to someone from that country or a colleague who has visited before. Please refer to the Collaborative Partnership Leader Database to identify colleagues who support partners in the same country or  organisation.

Different cultures have different ways of communicating. Establish expectations about verbal communication and in particular pace and conciseness, language used, humour, enunciation, directness and firmness. Be aware of cultural non-verbal communication nuances such as the use of eye contact and body language and views on personal space and gesticulation.

Make particular efforts to keep your communication clear, simple and unambiguous.

Don't be afraid to enquire about other people's culture. Be appropriately curious. Explain things about your culture and teaching, learning, assessment and quality assurance practices at the University. Explain why certain things are important. Explain  with clear rationale what might happen if rules are broken.

Explore and respect the teaching, learning, assessment, quality assurance, and student engagement practices of your collaborative partner.

Keep an open mind. Do not make assumptions that practices are deficient or wrong if they are different to what is done in the University and United Kingdom. Recognise and respect  country and institutional differences.

No matter how much you prepare in advance, you will find yourself faced with people and/or practices that you find puzzling. When you do, try to find out why. Doing so will often lead to new insights.

Building trust takes time. Allow time for this in your schedule. The acquisition of cultural competence is a dynamic, on-going, developmental process that requires a long-term commitment and is achieved over time.

Reflect on and learn from your interactions and experiences after they occur. After an interaction think about whether you got the messages across you intended.