Transit point of global talent: social/cultural dimensions of short-term student circulation

The development of the modern global economy and the national competition in trade and commerce has intensified. Thus, overseas study as a major form of human capital formation in the Asian region tends to be regarded as an economic measure for enhancing workforce quality and national competitiveness. Mainstream discourses on international students at the national level have been instrumental in ignoring the social and cultural dimensions pursued by transnational interaction and understanding. However, in addition to the rapid advancement of internationalisation, international student mobility has become significantly diversified in terms of scenarios, patterns and motivations. In this paper, two short-term study-abroad programmes in Taiwan and Los Angeles were selected to investigate their influence on participants’ perception and awareness of intercultural literacy. Results indicate that many participants have been highly motivated to engage in ‘local culture, people and tradition’. The international outlook and perspectives of participants have broadened substantially due to these short-term but focused activities. In contrast to the economic purpose of student mobility, the result from this research provides promising information on further raising the young generation’s social and culture understanding of other societies and countries by attending such short-term study programme.