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Abstract

ABSTRACT              AS GLOBALIZATION EXPANDS, THE IDEA OF “WORLD READINESS” BECOMES AN INCREASING IMPORTANT HIGHER EDUCATION NARRATIVE, PROMPTING THE GROWTH OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMES AND INFRASTRUCTURES AND THE RESULTING EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. DEBATES ABOUT DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ESPECIALLY IN CITIES MUST THEREFORE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THIS SIGNIFICANT MINORITY. THIS PAPER COMPARES THE EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS HOSTED BY THREE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN SINGAPORE, SEOUL AND BEIJING IN ORDER TO REVEAL HOW THEIR LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP WITH THE HOST POPULATION IS SHAPED BY HOUSING ARRANGEMENT AND THEIR SOCIAL POSITION WITHIN THE URBAN POPULATION OF THESE THREE CITIES. DRAWING FROM A MULTINATIONAL SURVEY AND BIOGRAPHICAL INTERVIEWS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, THIS PAPER PRESENTS THREE EFFECTS OF MIXING BASED ON THE DIFFERENCE OF HOUSING ARRANGEMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: ON-CAMPUS MIXING, OFF-CAMPUS MIXING AND IMPACT OF DIVERSITY EXPERIENCE ON THEIR PLANS AFTER GRADUATION. RESEARCH FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS CAN PLAY A POSITIVE INFORMAL ROLE IN FACILITATING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN HOSTS AND GUESTS. WE NOTE THAT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FORM AN EMERGING EDUCATED MIDDLE CLASS, AND THEIR ROLES MAY BE AMONG URBAN MIDDLE CLASS YOUTH SEGMENT. THIS SAID, INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE EXCELLENT AMBASSADORS OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY, AND RESIDENT CAMPUSES ARE EFFECTIVE SPACES IN PROMOTING SOCIAL MIXING. THE CENTRAL ARGUMENT WE ARE MAKING IN THIS CHAPTER IS THAT STUDENTS AS MIGRANTS ARE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CITIES WHERE THEY ARE HOSTED. WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EVERYDAY COSMOPOLITAN PRACTICES, THESE STUDENTS, THROUGH THEIR MULTICULTURAL ATTITUDES DEVELOPED ON CAMPUS AND THEIR INVOLVEMENTS IN HOST SOCIETIES, THEY CONTRIBUTE INFORMALLY TO URBAN LIFESTYLES AND PRACTICES.