<p>Amid growing critiques of mobility-centric and market-driven approaches to internationalisation in higher education, this study explores an alternative model of cultural competence education (CCE). It innovates CCE by integrating Fei Xiaotong’s theory of cultural self-awareness into the framework of Internationalisation at Home (IaH). The study responds to the need for more inclusive, sustainable, and contextually embedded intercultural learning that extends beyond physically mobile and socioeconomically privileged students. Drawing on narrative inquiry, it analyses sixteen reflective journal entries from four undergraduate students with varied intercultural experiences on a culturally diverse campus. The findings reveal multiple, nonlinear trajectories of intercultural learning shaped by distinct emotional entry points and intellectual engagements. Central to these trajectories is the concept of appreciation, which emerges not only as a pedagogical tool but also as an educational ethos that fosters reciprocal, reflective, and enduring engagement with both self and other cultures. By highlighting the co-constitutive roles of emotional triggers and critical reflection in developing cultural competence, the study contributes to the growing body of work on IaH. It offers a development-oriented model of CCE that transcends disciplinary boundaries and narrowly defined learning outcomes. In doing so, it reframes appreciation as a core element in reimagining universities as spaces for intercultural engagement and the public good, rather than as instruments of economic competition. The study holds significant policy implications, advocating for CCE to be integrated institutionally within everyday curricula and supported through long-term, resource-sensitive strategies that ensure all students, not only those with international mobility, benefit from internationalisation.</p>