IEASA Conference 2013

Internationalisation in a Changing World: Higher Education’s Response
Higher Education shares global expectations and challenges. Notable expectations are the contribution higher education (in particular research) can make towards the knowledge economy (especially after the global financial crisis), sustainable development (contributions to the green economy and environment), values and norms (a global ethic), democracy (combating human rights violations), the relevance of the curriculum (higher education is a social good), partnership development and service (the contribution universities, business/industry and government can make towards the promotion of social communities).
Higher education is also sharing common challenges. There is a general concern about the increase of public expenditure and the rapid growth of the student body in recent decades. This resulted in global discussions on what public universities are doing and how well they are doing it. Developments such as academic mobility lead to a growing need to understand the equivalence of qualifications, standards and credits. Hence more attention is being paid to quality assurance systems, funding and finance to steer the higher education system to meet the agenda of the developmental state and the rapid growth of technology.
The emerging question is whether higher education is responding effectively to internationalisation challenges and developments. The importance of this question is challenged by universities’ core mission statements (teaching/learning, research and engagement) and if these statements can keep pace with the on-going challenges of a changing world.
See also on the blog Promoting Higher Education Internationalisation through International Research Collaborations, Partnerships and Innovative Teaching.