Still Academic and National – Internationalisation in Norwegian Research and Higher Education

The paper discusses strategies for internationalisation in Norwegian research and higher educational institutions in terms of understanding them in relation to the organisations’ relation to environments and/or in relation to the organisations basic values and identities. The empirical material consists of six case studies (3 universities, 2 university colleges and 1 research institute). Points of departure are observed through increasing competition, normative transformations in terms of increasing economic justifications of internationalisation and impetus to coherent strategic actions. To what extent does the Norwegian landscape of responses to internationalisation fit such interpretations? Based on this case study we may safely conclude that increased competition as a major driver of internationalisation policies and practices in these organisations is still to come. An economic justification of policies and practices is not the major reason to internationalise, given the perceptions of these organisations. They are currently deeply embedded in academic rationales for internationalisation.     

The internationalisation agenda: a critical examination of internationalisation strategies in public universities in Ghana

Recently, various strategies have been adopted and adapted by universities in Ghana to re/position themselves in the international arena. Utilising postcolonial and neoliberal theories, this paper critically examines the internationalisation strategies of three public universities in Ghana. Although all the universities have adopted strategies to position themselves internationally, the rates at which these strategies have been introduced differ from one university to the other. Various factors including location, size, age and infrastructural strength influence the rate of involvement. It is argued that the strategies adopted by the universities appear to be embedded in postcolonialism and economic rationales based mainly on neoliberal economic thinking, which sees higher education as a quasi market place where knowledge is bought and sold. The paper argues that universities need to adopt strategies that are proactive and that promote alternative notions of internationalisation in ways that challenge the status quo.     

Beyond ‘export education’: aspiring to put students at the heart of a university’s internationalisation strategy

For many universities around the world, internationalisation means the recruitment of fee-paying international students (so-called export education) for primarily commercial reasons. For UK universities, international (non-European Union) students account for approximately 13% of their annual revenues, making them highly dependent on international student recruitment. This paper discusses the attempt by one UK university to change direction and develop a new approach to internationalisation which puts an international learning experience for all students at the heart of its new strategic plan. It discusses the obstacles to changing direction in this way and shares some of the lessons learned about how to roll out an alternative university-wide internationalisation strategy.     

A Probe into the Internationalisation of Higher Education in the New Zealand Context

This paper presents a model of practice for analysing the internationalisation of higher education, and for better providing teaching service and support to both the internal and external other. It is derived from the theoretical analysis of the rationales, concepts and developments of the internationalisation of higher education, and from a New Zealand case study that exemplifies the current trend in the internationalisation of higher education—a shift from aid to trade. In the paper, the author examines the impacts of globalisation and the knowledge economy on the shifting currency of the rationales. The paper concludes that, because of increasing numbers of resident immigrant students, ‘the international (other)’ is no longer beyond national borders but is within them. Therefore, universities would do well to revisit neglected social and cultural dimensions in the provision of higher education services.     

Global rankings in the Nordic region: challenging the identity of research-intensive universities?

Global university rankings currently attract considerable attention, and it is often assumed that such rankings may cause universities to prioritize activities and outcomes that will have a positive effect in their ranking position. A possible consequence of this could be the spread of a particular model of an “ideal” university. This article tests this assumption through an analysis of a sample of research-intensive universities in the Nordic region. Through document analysis and interviews with institutional leaders and staff from central administration, the study explores whether high-ranked Nordic universities take strategic measures as a response to global rankings, and whether the traditional identities of the universities are changing, as they are influenced and affected by the rankings. The study shows that rankings have a relatively modest impact on decision-making and strategic actions in the Nordic universities studied, and that there are few signs of rankings challenging the existing identities of the universities in this region.     

Where is the gap between internationalisation strategic planning and its implementation? A study of 16 Dutch universities’ internationalisation plans

A dominant concern with internationalisation through the past decades has been the process of strategic transformation of universities. While strategic management has been perceived as a necessary and useful approach in the construction of internationalisation, many criticisms have been levelled against the application of strategic management in internationalisation. One of these criticisms is the ‘implementation gap’ between internationalisation strategic plans and their actual outcomes. Based on interview data collected from 73 key actors involved in internationalisation at 16 Dutch public universities, this research identifies 12 elements that comprise the concept strategic management and illustrates how educational practitioners in different sectors (research universities and universities of applied sciences) and job function levels (central and faculty) prioritise these elements. The key contribution of this research is the clarification of the areas where the ‘implementation gap’ exists and the causes of this gap. The findings of this research are particularly important in the midst of uncontested popularisation of strategic management, because they can help universities to reduce this gap and improve the effectiveness of their strategic management practices.     

A cross-national comparison of international strategies: global citizenship and the advancement of national competitiveness

This paper examines national-level strategies concerning internationalisation of education and the extent to which global citizenship is deployed in their discourse. We focus on a cross-national comparison of selected internationalisation strategies in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA, all countries with highly developed economies and a relatively high proportion of the market share of international students. We draw on a thematic textual analysis and the use of corpus technologies to explore the framing of discourses and language use in each strategy. Our comparative analysis of national strategies highlights a dominant approach to international education that is primarily competitive in its orientation, with national interest as the key driver. This cross-national comparison also revealed considerable variation in framing of strategic internationalisation on a discourse level. Based on findings, we argue that internationalisation strategies limit the possibilities of advancing central tenets of global citizenship.     

National internationalisation of higher education policy in Singapore and Japan: context and competition

This cross-case analysis explores national level internationalisation of higher education (IoHE) policies in Singapore and Japan. Through comparison of the state level internationalisation strategies, this paper aims to highlight how each country’s unique policy environment impacts their approach to IoHE. The analysis suggests that despite the differing national circumstances and ultimate approaches to internationalisation, both states use it primarily as a means to stay competitive in the twenty-first century global knowledge-based economy. This suggests that while IoHE does build bridges between nations, institutions, and individuals within and between regions, within these cases it is being driven by nationally-centred rationales. While some criticize a competition orientation in IoHE, even with such rationales it may still serve to drive greater collaboration and integration among East Asian higher education systems.     

Applying the Varieties of Capitalism Approach to Higher Education: comparing the internationalisation of German and British universities

In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate distinct national approaches with regard to the internationalisation, globalisation, and Europeanisation of higher education systems. While the university is defined as an organisational actor embedded in the higher education system, the higher education system itself represents an institutional subsystem within the national model of capitalism. An analytical framework is then developed on the basis of the Varieties of Capitalism approach to compare the internationalisation of German and British universities. Findings indicate that the relations between the various actors involved in the internationalisation of universities are based largely on market coordination in the British case. In contrast, this process in Germany relies more on strategic interactions between the various organisational actors in higher education. The development paths in the internationalisation of universities are found to be influenced by and reflect the specific mode of coordination in the respective higher education system and the national model of capitalism more generally. This comparative case study shows that recent conceptions of path dependence as well as conceptual tools developed in the Varieties of Capitalism literature, such as institutional complementarity and comparative institutional advantage, may be fruitfully applied to research on institutional change in higher education systems.     

Internationalisation of higher education: the gap between national policy‐making and institutional needs

The article discusses the impact of the growing emphasis on internationalisation on higher education institutions. Based on case studies of 12 Scandinavian universities and colleges, it is shown how issues related to internationalisation trigger processes of trying to enhance the institutional capacity for strategic decision‐making and institutional integration through processes of formalisation, centralisation and professionalisation. Based on the institutional history and tradition, strategic ability and institutional characteristics, the outcomes of this process still show a considerably degree of variation in the motives and institutional adaptation to internationalisation. In the conclusion, it is argued that future policy‐making in the field of internationalisation should pay attention to the diverse needs of higher education, and develop policies that allow more flexibility and autonomy at the institutional level.     

Structural Development of Finnish Universities: Achieving Competitiveness and Academic Excellence

This paper discusses strategic instruments that are used to enhance the competitiveness of Finnish universities in the context of globalisation, internationalisation and commercialisation of research and education. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a major policy reform, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of Finnish universities through structural development. This article focuses specifically on three themes of structural development: institutional cooperation and mergers between universities; stratification and differentiation; and changes in governance and leadership. Three ongoing projects are used as illustrations.     

The China‐Hong Kong Connection: A Key to Internationalising Chinese Universities

Hong Kong has always served as an undisputed gateway to China. As one of the world's best established centres of information and a well‐reputed bridge between the East and the West, it has helped mainland universities to have access to first class scholars and their academic work, and therefore, has been one of the most prominent geographical foci of the internationalisation of Chinese universities. This article demonstrates that by playing the role as the “beach‐head” of China's higher education internationalisation, Hong Kong universities will provide crucial benefits to their counterparts in the Chinese mainland, as well as maintaining their own continued vigour.

This article reports findings from a survey at 17 universities in Guangzhou in 1998, involving data from interviews and questionnaires. It is also based on long‐standing personal working experience at a university in Guangdong, and on primary as well as secondary sources of information about the current situation in China. At the end, it discusses some strategies that might be employed to effectively facilitate further improvement of internationalisation of higher education in Hong Kong and the mainland.     

A set of indicators for measuring and comparing university internationalisation performance across national boundaries

Since universities’ commitment to internationalisation has been increasing, instruments for measuring institutional internationalisation performance are urgently needed to monitor and evaluate the progress made about internationalisation. Although efforts have been made to develop various tools, an internationally applicable instrument for universities to measure and compare their internationalisation performance remains missing. This study attempted to develop an indicator framework of such kind to fill the gap. A total of 182 administrative staff and 17 policymakers from 17 flagship universities in Australia, Singapore and China were consulted in order to establish the framework. The study resulted in a set of 15 indicators that captures six key dimensions of university internationalisation. It attempts to cover internationalisation in its widest possible sense with practical number of indicators. This study also contributes to the knowledge body of developing measurement for university internationalisation by reflecting on the fundamental challenge of measuring the phenomenon.     

Lessons from Star Trek: engaging academic staff in the internationalisation of the curriculum

One consequence of globalisation is the demand on academics to better prepare students for work and life in an interconnected world through curriculum internationalisation. Many academics are hesitant, resistant, or ill-prepared to engage with curriculum internationalisation. This paper explores how this can be addressed by reconfiguring the way academic developers engage with academics within their teaching/program teams at the discipline level. Drawing on Star Trek and nomadic space, we theorise a participatory, situative approach to engaging disciplinary academic teams in the internationalisation of the curriculum process. We illustrate this from our work with teaching/program teams in two Australian universities.     

Internationalisation in higher education in Latin America: policies and practice in Colombia and Mexico

There is now an extensive literature about internationalisation in higher education. However, much of the research relates to North America and Europe. This paper is concerned with internationalisation in Latin America and seeks to consider perceptions and experiences in Colombia and Mexico, and to compare practice in the public and private sectors. Based on detailed analysis of interviews with senior managers in six universities, the paper shows a growing level of activity, with some increasing levels of planning and strategy. Important differences are identified in the response of public and private universities, reflecting funding differences and freedom to determine institutional priorities.     

The Internationalisation Agenda: a critical look at the conceptualisation and rationalisation of internationalisation in public universities in Ghana

Abstract

Using postcolonial theory, this paper discusses the conceptualisation and rationalisation of internationalisation in some universities in Ghana. The paper is based on a study conducted to critically examine internationalisation in three public Ghanaian universities. It is argued that although internationalisation is a major concept at the universities, there are different nuances in how it is perceived and conceptualised there. There are also differences in its rationalisation. These different nuances are presented as internationalisation models at the universities. This paper argues for the need of a critical debate of internationalisation, one that is not perceived in the dominant neoliberal way but that emphasises diversity, and that is defined to suit the specific context of Ghana.     

论大学文化强校的战略选择

文化强校战略是指导大学发展的永恒性战略,同时是上位性和主体性战略。它与大学的其他战略一同担负着大学发展的战略责任。做好文化强校的战略设计,是提高大学发展质量的关键;构建和创新文化强校战略的保障机制,是战略实施的前提和基础。同时,从文化的视角探讨大学发展战略,有利于提升大学的文化品质。     

创建世界一流大学的战略领导

当前我国瞄准创建世界一流大学进行重点建设的院校正面临着如何实施有效的战略领导的问题,大多数创建院校习惯于把适应性挑战当作技术性挑战,而实际上创建大学主要面临的是适应性问题。创建世界一流大学的战略领导要求大学识别出所面临的适应性挑战,开展适应性工作,并确立战略适应性主导的战略领导模式。通过对北大2003年教师聘任和职务晋升改革的适应性分析表明,中国瞄准世界一流大学开展重点建设的院校只有认识到创建工程是适应性挑战,并遵循客观的适应性工作原则,才能确立对创建战略的有效领导。     

Global citizens or global workers? Comparing university programmes for global citizenship education in Japan and the UK

Abstract

The implementation of global citizenship programmes at universities has been taking place against a backdrop of growing internationalisation and marketisation in higher education, leading some to conclude that universities are cultivating global workers rather than global citizens. This small-scale exploratory study aimed to investigate these claims through the comparison of global citizenship education (GCE) programmes in two contrasting contexts – the UK and Japan. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, our findings suggest that the universities in both the UK and Japanese contexts demonstrate examples of adaptation and localisation of GCE to fit with institutional commitments, and both universities have significant elements of employability agendas infused into their programmes. We argue that while different in many respects, the two programmes both demonstrate an adaptation of GCE to fit within broader internationalisation strategies aimed at maximising global competitiveness and an alignment with the neoliberal trends shaping the global higher education sector.