Belonging beyond borders: A qualitative study on international students' complex belongings, social relations and challenges

International education has been on a rise in the past decades, with more and more students moving abroad for studies. International students are a migrant group with unique characteristics, yet highly diverse within themselves. They enter “transnational social fields” navigating intersecting identities and multiple belongings. The goal of this study is to explore the experiences of international students in Padova, the challenges they face and the social relations they form, through the lens of belonging. A qualitative method was chosen and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews, incorporating narrative elements. The participants were 13 students (5 Bachelor's, 7 Master's and 1 PhD), with 5 coming from EU countries and 8 from non-EU countries. Data analysis was carried out using the ATLAS.ti software. Initial descriptive data are presented through WordClouds and code co-occurrences. The main results are structured through three main networks, which center on the broad themes of conceptualisation of belonging, complexity of belonging, and discrimination, exploring their links to other concepts, feelings and challenges. The findings are discussed referring to relevant literature around multiple belonging and international students’ experiences.