Internationalisation in higher education

Annual Nova seminar 2010

Selfoss Iceland

Björn Þorsteinsson

Agricultural University of Iceland

• Most of the research available on acedemic mobility and international education seems to be occational, coincidental, sporadic and episodic.

• Ulrich Techler 1996

Authors adressing the international dimensions of

higher education

• Philip G Altbach • Marvin Bartell• Jane Knight • Barbara Kehm • Ulrich Teichler

• Hans de Wit• Peter Scott• Ivar Bleiklie • Ase Gronitzka • Marijk van der Wende

• Medival universities were international institutions

• Nation-state focused academie inward• After emergence of third world from colonialism

in mid 20th century, national universities were established

• Now academie has regained international scope and direction

• Many forces propel internationalization• Altbach and Knight 2007.

Globalisation

• Globalisation is the flow of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values, ideas..... across borders.

• Globalisation affects each country in a different way due to nations individual history, traditions, culture and priorities

• Knight 1996

Internationalisation

• Internationalisation of higher education is one of the ways a country responds to the impact of globalisation yet, at the same time respects the individuality of the nation.

• Thus globalisation can be seen as the catalyst but internationalisation as a response

• Knight 1996

Four approaches to internationalization

Knight (1996) :

– Activity– Competency– Ethos– Process

Activity:

• Types of activity to describe internationalization: – Curriculum, – student / faculty exchange, – technical assistance, – international students.

Competency:

• Development of new skills, knowledge, attitudes and values by students, faculty and staff.

• As the emphasis of outcomes of education grows there is increasing interest in identifying and defining global/international competencies.

Ethos

• Emphasis is on creation a culture or climate on campus, which promotes and supports international/intercultural activities or initiatives

Process:

• Integration or infusion of an international or intercultural dimension into teaching, research and service through a combination of a wide range of activities, policies and procedures

• Marvin Bartell (2003) claims that Internationalisation may be viewed as occurring on a continuum. .......

• Bartell M, 2003 Internationalization of universities: A university culture-based framework. Higher education 45:43-70

• ... At one end we can have limited, symbolic internationalisation reflected by handful of students from distant countries having presence on a campus....

• .... while at the other end internationalisation is a synergistc transformative process, involving curriculum, research programs, that influences the role and and activities of all stakeholders, including faculty, students, administrators and community-at-large....

• Universities are complex organisations with distinctive set of characteristics which have strong impact on culture of those intitutions.

• In summary: universities are loosely coupled systems or more colorfully expressed organized anarchies.

• What can be measured:• 1) International student participation• 2) Curriculum change• 3) International partnerships• 4) Mobilizing financial, human and technological resoruces for

internantionalisation• 5) University private partnerships• 6) Faculty contribution to internationalisation• 7) Contribution of research to internationalisation• 8) Contribution of university internationalisation development

projects to internationalisation• Canadian indicators granting awards for excellence in Internationalisation (asssociation of Universities and

Colleges of Canada and the Bank of Nova Scotia)

Research topics in international education

(Kehm and Teichler 2007)

• Kehm and Teichler 2007. Research on Internationalisation in Higher Education. Journal of Studies in international Education vol 11 No 3/4

Major themes in research litearture

• Mobility of students and academic staff• Mutual influences of higher education systems to each

other• Internationalisation of the substance of teaching learning

and research• Institutional strategies of internationalisation• Knowledge transfer• Cooperation and competititon• National and supranational policies as regarding the

international dimension of higher education

Mobility of academic staff and students

• Mobility flows and statistics,

• Impact of mobility on careers,

• Recognition of study abroad,

• Vertical and horizontal mobility,

• Recruitment and selection of international students

• Support structures for international students

• Organization and funding of study abroad,

• “Virtual mobility” with the help of ICT

Mutual influences of higher education systems on each other

• Influenced by globalization and trade in educational services

• Strategic alliances• Export of study

programs• Branch campuses

abroad

• Convergence of the European higher education systems

• Developed and developing countries.

Internationalisation of the substance of

teaching, learning, and research • Definition to analyses

of practice• Internationalization of

curricula• Quality of

international programmes

• Internationalisation at home

• The role of foreign language knowledge and teaching and learning in a foreign language

• Joint and double degree programmes

Institutional strategies of internationalisation

• Marketing, • Profile building, • Active and selective

recruitment of foreign students,

• Export of programs

• Partners for exchange

• Education as business

• Rankings and quality issues

Knowledge transfer

• Underlying rationale in debates about the role of the university in the knowledge society.

• This special topic will be discussed by Professor Jón Torfi Jónasson later this morning.

Cooperation and competition

• Higher education system made more attractive to foreign staff and students

• Higher education institutions more selective in their choice of partners

• A shift from cooperation to competition

• Competitiveness usually accompanied by strategic alliances

• Brain drain, brain gain, and marketisation of higher education

National and supranational policies

• national policies continue to play an important role

• policies of international and supranational organisations

• higher education institutions in developing and developed countries

• European cooperation and integration processes

• European Commission• GATS• World Bank • UNESCO• OECD• Nordic Council of

Ministers

Major conclusions (Kehm and Teichler 2007)

• Mobility is no longer that of students and staff alone but also of programmes.

• Driving forces are no longer institutions and national policy makers alone but increasingly also supranational organisations.

• New actors have entered the field- international consortia and networks.

• higher education has shifted to encompass all regions of the world.

The future of internationalisation

• International students 2 million in 2007

• How many in 2025?

Uncertainities in future internationalization

• Political realities and national security• Government policies and the cost of study• Expanded domestic capacity• English• The internationalization of the curriculum• E-learning• The private sector• Quality assurance and control• European policies

• Altbach and Knight 2007

Conclusions

• International higher education will provide substantial access in some countries and will be a “niche market” in others.

• Today’s emerging programs and practices must ensure that international efforts in higher education as the NOVA network benefits the public and strengthens our universities.