Imperative, but how to get there?

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14 mei 2012 | A UNESCO based non-profit organization calls upon universities to embrace internationalization. This trend has become an “institutional imperative”. In a report, a number of guidelines are defined to maximize the upsides of internationalization, while keeping adverse affects at bay.

A recent report by the UNESCO based InternationalAssociation of Universities (IAU) underlines the pros and cons of internationalization inhigher education. While promoting global citizenship, creatingprestige and new revenue streams, this trend may also hurtcountries through brain drain and cultural homogenization.

Global citizenship, improved teaching quality andresearch, additional income

“The goals of internationalization are continuously evolving,ranging from educating global citizens, building capacity forresearch, to generating income from international student tuitionfees and the quest to enhance institutional prestige.” Overallinternationalization has become “an institutional imperative” andoffers great opportunities if handled accordingly.

The report finishes with a number of guidelines universitiesshould follow in order to maximize the benefits thatinternationalization offers. Values such as “academic freedom,institutional autonomy, and social responsibility” would of theutmost importance in this context. In addition to that, academicgoals such as “student learning and the advancement of research”needed to be defined clearly.