International Strategy for Higher Education Institutions
International Strategy for Higher Education Institutions
UK university strategy case study Posted on by Vicky Lewis
The theme of Winter Forum 2024, the magazine of the European Association for International Education (EAIE), is ‘Building Back Better?’.
This issue explores the ways in which international education has shifted since the pandemic. As the Editorial puts it:
‘What does ‘building back better’ really mean for international education? The emphasis is on the word ‘better’; it invites higher education institutions to rethink internationalisation through the lenses of ethics, inclusivity and sustainability. It calls for more equitable partnerships and encourages reflection on the environmental impact of mobility programmes… This issue of Forum provides a truly global perspective with thought-provoking and stimulating contributions targeted at educators who want to innovate their thinking and their classrooms and build back better.’
I was delighted to have an article accepted for publication in this edition of Forum.
The article, titled Time for a Reset: Post-Pandemic Internationalisation in the UK (pdf download), was co-authored with Ian Storey, Director of Global Engagement at University of the Arts London (UAL).
In it, we provide some context on the internationalisation discourse in the UK during and since the pandemic, before launching into a Q&A-style case study exploring UAL’s determination not to lose sight of its global social purpose when crafting its post-pandemic strategy.
Social purpose is at the heart of UAL’s institutional strategy, The World Needs Creativity. The emphasis is on the role of creative education to make the world a better place, and on capitalising on UAL’s position to shape thriving and sustainable creative industries and to bring high-quality creative education to more students than ever before, both in the UK and internationally. This cascades into UAL’s new global engagement strategy, which introduces measures to foster dialogue with global communities and to make global and intercultural experiences widely accessible.
I asked Ian the following questions which he responds to in the article:
Ian is honest in his recognition of the financial challenges that most UK universities are facing (which have worsened since we wrote the article).
Competing demands on resources mean that it’s hard to find the investment needed to build the expertise and capacity to deliver change. However, new developments are gradually coming to fruition. For example, the creation of UAL Online (a key plank of the University’s mission to expand access), which is launching with a suite of fully online Master’s programmes in 2025.
In the article, there’s also a shout-out to University of Kent for the work they're doing on Internationalisation at Home and to SOAS University of London for their commitment to equitable partnerships.
The article, written not long after the July 2024 election of the Labour government, ends on a note of optimism. Reflecting on things now, five months on, it feels as if it may take longer that we’d hoped to ‘reset’ the international dimension of UK higher education.
The desire to change and ‘build back better’ is present at many UK universities. The fiscal realities make this difficult. However, despite the challenges, there’s plenty of good practice going on across the sector and it’s important to shine a spotlight on this.
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