Intercultural Competence Beyond International Student Mobility: Insights from a Global Study

This study examines how intercultural competence, shaped through international student mobility, evolves after return and contributes to returnees’ professional and institutional engagement. Drawing on 96 interviews with individuals from 43 countries who studied in the United Kingdom and the United States, the analysis focuses on five dimensions of intercultural competence—communication, adaptability, flexibility, empathy, and resilience. These competencies were not fixed outcomes of mobility but capacities that developed further as returnees navigated institutional hierarchies, policy environments, and workplace norms. The findings show that intercultural competence is not a static skillset, but a situated process shaped by structural conditions in home-country contexts. Participants applied these evolving competencies across sectors, including education, health, governance, and civil society, informing inclusive leadership, advocacy, and institutional reform. The study contributes to debates on international education by offering a situated account of post-mobility intercultural development and its significance for professional practices and institutional change.