Exploring The Realities and Experiences of Students Labelled International
The significance of this project lies in its intended aims: to reconceptualise research with students labelled international, humanise students' experiences, expand the perimeter of social justice and educational equality, and call for a more sustainable HE sector. By questioning the underpinnings of the international label, and of labelling beings using simplistic and sometimes deficit-laden markers, I intend to problematise the mobilisation of the label as a starting point in: research with international students, classroom practices that involve international students, narratives that associate deficit with being international, and policies that target international students.
Since this is an ongoing project, there are already multiple outputs that resulted from research conducted in the last two years, in addition to major contributions to conferences within and beyond the university. Below are some examples:
Research Outputs:
Merabet, R. 2025. Students we label international: an urgent call to reconceptualise research with international students. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 44(3), pp.292-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2024-0048
Ferri, G., Tsouroufli, M., Lendák-Kabók, K., Tzanakou, C. & Merabet, R., 2025. Exploring internationalisation and EDI: an open conversation. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 44(3), pp.356-361.
Invited Plenaries/Keynotes
Keynote speaker: ‘How does it feel to be a problem?’ Situating the international label within a struggling sector (BALEAP Biennial Conference, Plymouth 2025)
Keynote Speaker: ‘One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This’ Scattered thoughts on interculturality and internationalisation within higher education (Language Centre Summer Conference, Leeds 2025)
Invited Talks/Presentations
Researching (and contesting) the ‘International Students’ label (BALEAP ResTES, February 2024)
RIS Beyond the Reading: Ramzi Merabet on 'students we label international' (RIS, November 2024)
Futuring Interculturality: Between Aspirations and Structural Constraints (University of Leeds, June 2025)