Living comfortably with diversity

Abstract

Every year, over 30,000 international students study in regional Australia, in urban centres that lack the intercultural resources and cross-cultural literacies of metropolitan cities. The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) supports and brings together over 26,000 students studying both on campus and online, including a diverse international student population of 7,000 students. The university’s enrolment of international on-campus students is the second highest in the Regional Universities Network, of which USQ is a member. This article analyses the experiences of international students as they encounter an unfamiliar Australian culture in the context of studying in Toowoomba, the regional city where USQ has its main campus. These students’ experiences of engaging, becoming familiar with and mastering new and unfamiliar cultural practices and academic literacies provides insight into the processes of acculturation that students undergo as they make their transition to life in regional Australia, both at university and in Queensland communities.