Session convenor: Sahab Deen (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Aspects such as cultural distance, knowledge of the host culture and language or communication challenges create hurdles for international students to access higher education. Intercultural adjustment and proficiency of second language are considered as key challenges for international students (Schartner, 2014). Cultural issues refer to the conflicts, misinterpretations and miscommunications that take place on international campuses. Analysis of the cultural issues highlight some of the unconscious processes that shape individuals ’ perceptions of reality as well as patterns of interaction, including language use and communication (Scollon & Scollon, 2001). Furthermore, intercultural conflicts are happening all around the world, as they always have, and at many different levels, including on international campuses of higher education (Martin & Nakayama, 2010; AIC Report, 2011). Intercultural cooperation and adaptation among international and domestic students are becoming more important in order to internationalise higher education. Thus, Geography as a global discipline should be well placed to address the needs for shaping integration of international students. In this context, the session is intended to invite research papers that engage with the following issues