Cultural competence: a key component for training global citizens

As globalization continues to make cross-cultural interactions more of a reality, the need to develop the cultural competence of students and staff is imperative. The University of Sydney has included cultural competence in its 2016-20 strategic plan, necessitating the embedding of cultural competence across all functions of the University. The National Centre for Cultural Competence (NCCC) at The University of Sydney was created to lead the thinking on cultural competence, which includes creating teaching and learning resources to guide University students and staff on their cultural competence journey. In this paper, we discuss a cultural competence seminar developed and delivered by the NCCC to students participating in a broader program designed to educate and prepare them to be global citizens. We will examine the efficacy of our approach to cultural competence training with this particular cohort of students.