International Strategy for Higher Education Institutions
International Strategy for Higher Education Institutions
A different kind of summer school Posted on by Vicky Lewis
Most international summer schools offered by UK universities fall into the category of fee-paying Study Abroad. They cater to students whose families can afford to send them to the UK for a few weeks of study (sometimes credit-bearing, sometimes not), coupled with a social programme and excursions to local (or not so local) tourist attractions.
Many students come from wealthy countries (particularly the US). The summer school can provide a valuable additional income stream for the university and may even whet the appetite of participants to return for postgraduate study.
Some institutions offer scholarships and/or, collaborating with partner universities, make subsidised places available for students from less wealthy countries or less privileged backgrounds.
However, irrespective of any attempts to diversify the cohort, the conceptual basis of the summer school generally centres on show-casing the university’s academic expertise (and the assets of the local area) via a bite-sized experience for which there is sufficient international demand to make it a viable business proposition.
There is nothing wrong with an approach that positions summer schools as part of a university’s portfolio of international income-generating programmes, alongside full undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, short courses and other forms of inbound Study Abroad.
However, parts of the UK higher education sector are increasingly exploring how to make internationalisation less mono-directional and how to engage collaboratively and equitably with universities and other stakeholders in the Global South in ways that are of mutual benefit.
Are there opportunities for summer schools to be used to further these, quite different objectives?
One session at the EAIE annual conference in Toulouse in September 2024 which has really stayed with me was Ideas without frontiers: Social innovation and transformative change. In this session, Mark Majewsky Anderson and Isabell Majewsky Anderson encouraged participants to consider the barriers that prevent institutions from the Global South being globally connected.
This drew on work done by Cascade (of which the Majewsky Andersons are founding members), a not-for-profit foundation committed to addressing inequities in international education and helping institutions across the world become more globally connected. In March 2024, the foundation held two virtual co-creation sessions on the topic of Reversing the Gaze: How can we make internationalisation more equitable?
Participants, drawn from Global North and Global South universities and other organisations with an international education focus, discussed – among many other themes – the importance of Global South voices (or, perhaps more accurately, the voices of those with low socioeconomic power and influence) being listened to more. They are often uniquely placed to address problems because they have actually experienced them, and should have 'the authority and responsibility to lead projects, not just partner on them’ (Reversing the Gaze: Co-creating a new approach – pdf)
By ‘reversing the gaze’ between the Global North and the Global South, a concept was developed for a new type of summer school. The Dreamweavers Festival (still at planning stage) is ‘designed for high-calibre students from the Global South who don’t normally get the opportunity to travel, to bring them to Europe for two weeks, to work alongside their peers to find solutions to societal challenges’ (Dreamweavers Festival: Co-creating concept and content – pdf).
This turns on its head the notion of ‘Global North students coming “to save” the Global South’, instead focusing on the intrinsic value of the knowledge and experience that Global South students have (which may include indigenous skills and tools), and the positive impact to be derived from applying these to address shared challenges.
When co-creating the concept and programme for the summer school, participants (representing potential sending institutions from the Global South, potential hosting institutions from the Global North, and potential impact investors and philanthropic supporters) were asked to consider, from their perspective, the biggest challenges faced by the Global North.
Themes included ethnocentrism (leading to increasing nationalism, polarisation and a blindness to global crises like the climate emergency) and the negative effects of consumerism (linked to overconsumption; neglect of ageing societies; loss of intellectual diversity, innovation and creativity).
It’s exciting to think that, through Dreamweavers, host institutions have an opportunity to benefit from fresh perspectives on these hugely complex issues (which I can imagine leading to collaborative research, teaching or community engagement initiatives), at the same time as providing a truly transformative experience to summer school participants (both those from the Global South and those from the host institution who will work alongside them).
Of course, the outcomes of this kind of summer school are completely different from those of a traditional summer school. The focus is on building intercultural competence, co-creativity and social innovation skills, while addressing societal challenges in a way that contests assumptions about North-South dynamics. Since it’s not about generating income, host institutions are expected to find ways to co-fund the project, potentially through Erasmus mobility schemes or through partnering with corporates, foundations or philanthropists.
In social sciences research, the concept of reversing the gaze is familiar (see, for example, this Swiss National Science Foundation funded project, involving the University of Edinburgh Law School).
However, this shift in perspective can be applied in other areas of university activity too. One European participant in the EAIE conference session described how her university invited teachers from South Africa to help the institution with challenges and opportunities relating to classroom diversity.
I’d be interested to hear of other examples, particularly any that involve UK institutions, of equitably designed international education initiatives where the gaze is reversed.
It would be great if you could add any relevant details or links in the comments.
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