International Strategy for Higher Education Institutions
International Strategy for Higher Education Institutions
Sustainable TNE Posted on by Vicky Lewis
Today I read a Times Higher Education article which sets out the risks of ‘islands of internationalisation’ developing as central Asian hubs grow.
The focus of the article is on Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but the implications are wider.
Here’s how it starts:
‘Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have been warned that bringing in foreign universities does not always strengthen a region’s wider education system as both countries continue to expand their international partnerships.’
This reminds me of the oft-repeated assertion that simply recruiting international students does not automatically internationalise the institution, strengthen its educational offer, or enhance the experience of the student body as a whole. Purposeful work is needed to support their full integration into the institution and community, and to ensure curricula are designed so that the presence of international students enriches the global learning and cross-cultural experiences of all.
Similarly, the mere presence of international universities in a country that hosts TNE does not in itself strengthen the national education system or improve the quality of provision.
The host country needs to be deliberate and intentional about the way it integrates international partnerships into its higher education system.
This means exploring a number of questions, including those raised by Chankseliani in the article:
‘The crucial question is what happens around the foreign university. Are local academics involved in developing curricula and research? Are they gaining opportunities to work with international colleagues? Are local universities developing stronger teaching and research ecosystems? Are research relationships being created?’
Connections to the surrounding university system are essential if the capabilities of that system are to be strengthened.
As Suleimenov points out in the article:
‘Importing a university brand is relatively easy. Embedding its quality and institutional culture into the domestic system is much harder’.
Just as international student mobility (recruitment) should benefit domestic students and the wider community (within the university and beyond), so international programme mobility (TNE) should benefit the host institution’s community and the education system in which it operates.
If TNE is to be mutually valuable and sustainable, that’s something that exporting and hosting institutions (and countries) need to keep front of mind and work on collaboratively.
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