Bring internationalisation back into academia – Hans De Wit

By Karen MacGregor. The internationalisation of higher education must be taken out of international offices and “brought back to where it belongs – in academia”, according to Hans de Wit. It is a mistake to see research and internationalisation as administrative issues residing in a research or an international office.
“No, research is not part of administration. Internationalisation is not part of administration. Research and internationalisation and education and social engagement are part of the leadership of the institution and are part of the academics within the institution.”
Academics drive internationalisation, research and education, said De Wit in a keynote speech on “Trends in Research on the Internationalisation of Higher Education” at the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) conference held in Cape Town from 29-31 August.
De Wit is director of the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, a professor at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and co-editor of the Journal of Studies in International Education. He also blogs for University World News.
While several speakers talked about the internationalisation of research, De Wit’s focus was on research into internationalisation, which has been defined as integrating an international dimension into universities’ core missions of education, research and social engagement.
At the conference, De Wit added, “people have been talking about transcultural knowledge, diversity of ideas, global engagement, and deeper understanding of international diversity. These are elements that are not only part of education but also are part of research. The two are connected – research and education – and also by the international dimension.
“Internationalisation is, like research, one of the driving innovative elements in higher education. And because of that there is also a need for a research agenda to help the higher education community in shaping this innovation. We have to understand better why we are internationalising, and research has to help that,” said De Wit. More...