In the growing area of international education discussion tends to focus on the personal and professional issues of international students. But what do we know about academic staff who have been appointed from abroad? What are their concerns? How do they adapt? In this time of rapid growth in the tertiary sector and increasing mobility in higher education, there is much that is ‘unknown’ about their specific needs. This paper promotes the view that staff developers could have a significant role to play in providing opportunities for academic staff to acculturate.

Keywords: staff development; intercultural issues; academic staff; internationalisation; acculturation.