Monash University is an international university with a culturally and linguistically diverse population. Over a quarter of students enrolled at Monash University are international students (Monash University Planning and Statistics, 2017). Additionally, there is a significant population of domestic students who were either born overseas or have a culturally and linguistically diverse ancestry.
Therefore, developing intercultural competence is essential to be able to incorporate and respond to the cultural diversity at Monash appropriately. This involves learning about other cultures, worldviews, and ways of knowing, whilst simultaneously examining your own culture and assumptions.
It should be noticed that the development of intercultural competence is a lifelong process (Lundgren, 2005), and its development entails having continual interest in upskilling oneself in effective intercultural communication, exposure to multiple intercultural encounters, and gaining intercultural knowledge through education and training. The key factor in becoming an interculturally competent teacher is openness to view the world through others’ lenses and understand the world from their viewpoint (Deardorff, 2009).