Internationalisation of higher education through academic mobility is a pivotal strategy to cultivate knowledge of the host country and world. The traditional personal outcomes of academic mobility, such as broadened perspectives and knowledge, improved foreign language ability, intercultural and interpersonal skills, and the ability to live and work in diverse cultural settings, provide the foundation for a contemporary social benefit: knowledge diplomacy. Unlike cultural diplomacy and soft power that emphasize the power paradigm and admiration between the host country and home country to advance political and economic agendas, knowledge diplomacy places priority on the mutual benefits of all actors in the creation of an understanding of the host country and world through transformative international experiences.
This study aims to explore the long-term impacts of study abroad through a lens of knowledge diplomacy. It draws upon original data sources on the two-way flow of US and Japanese one-year study abroad students from the 1960s to 2010s. Phase one, which focuses on the subsequent lived experiences of US study abroad participants in Japan, employs a sequential explanatory mixed method design with an online quantitative survey and follow-up qualitative in-depth interviews. Phase two, which focuses on the life paths of Japanese study abroad participants in US, is currently in the early stages and will utilize the same research design as phase one. The study provides empirical evidence that illuminates how the personal impacts of study abroad (academic, professional and personal development) form the base of knowledge diplomacy through the creation of an in-depth understanding of the host country and awakened consciousness of the world. The findings are salient given the current imperative for the cultivation of individuals with knowledge of the world and cultures outside of their own to engage with an increasingly diverse society both at home and abroad.
