How Do You Define Internationalization?
How we go about internationalizing higher education, however, is a question that draws some interesting distinctions, notwithstanding our shared vocabulary. In conversation with colleagues from the United States, China, Australia, and other European countries, I find many common ideas. But I’m also conscious of some significant differences between nations.
In many European countries, where university tends to be publicly financed and some degrees take a long time to complete because there is far less pressure to finish them, the strongest international facets seem to be synchronizing countries’ university-degree systems and internationalizing the curriculum. In Asia, the focus is strongly on bringing in foreign students and sending Chinese students overseas, and the recruitment of foreign faculty. In the United States, I am struck that universities are so focused on study abroad (not usually in the form of an exchange with another country) and the establishment of high-profile branch campuses. Meanwhile, in Britain, our international focus for a long time centered on the recruitment of overseas students and is now increasingly turning to business and research links. Read more...