Special Session: Students' Experiences and Sense of Academic and Social Belonging within the 'Globalized' Engineering Graduate Education: Translating Research into Practice

This special session will guide participants - engineering educators involved in graduate education - to reflect on their current strategies and considerations in research and practice related to supporting engineering graduate students. Through reflective and interactive discussions, participants will have the opportunity to question or evaluate whether they have adequately considered the globalized characteristics of the engineering education learning environment when studying or supporting the experiences and sense of belonging of both domestic and international students. Structured small- and large-group activities are designed to help participants explore the interplay of globalized dynamics in students' experiences, navigate similarities and differences between domestic and international students, and identify potential gaps between student perceptions of supports and barriers and those held by participants; who design support strategies and structures. By the conclusion of the session, we hope participants will gain actionable insights to enhance their research and practice by collaboratively brainstorming improvements based on evidence-informed discussions and activities.