International Academics’ Perceptions of Short-term Teaching in a Chinese University: Motives, Challenges and Academic Acculturation

International mobility in academia contributes to knowledge exchange, career progression and internationalization, but limited research has investigated short term roles. This paper studies international academics who travelled to China to teach a four-week summer school program. Participants (n=44) were interviewed about motives for coming to China, challenges encountered, and academic acculturation. Findings showed that motives, challenges, and acculturation experiences were complex and diverse. While disciplinary outreach was a prominent driver, the program itself had an important role. Most challenges for long-term international academics were not applicable to short-term international academics. Instead, short-term mobile academics’ reported challenges tended to be program or discipline-related, and perceptions of difficulty were shaped by individual factors such as frequency of academic mobility and personal world view. In addition, short-term international mobile academics did not report active engagement in a mutual academic acculturation process, although there was evidence of one-way acculturation directed from home (academic staff) to host (students) and reported changing views about the host culture. Findings enrich understanding and support policy for short term international academic mobility.