Abstract
Although internationalisation has been identified as a key transformative factor of higher education at the beginning of the 21st century and is firmly embedded in most institutional missions, there is growing concern amongst educators that internationalisation is being devalued and that the progress of its implementation has stalled. One particularly worrying aspect is a rather limited, predominantly instrumental implementation of internationalisation by institutions subsumed by neoliberal ideologies, economics and rankings, which prioritises international student recruitment over enhancing intercultural understanding, curricula and students’ personal development. Responding to calls to re-orient institutional missions, this reflective essay seeks to stimulate a discussion of how aspirations of socially responsible internationalisation (internationalism) and learning for global citizenship may be reclaimed. Drawing on selected cases from the field of spatial planning, the author suggests that interinstitutional collaboration and partnerships could be a valid means to support (explicitly or implicitly) socially responsible internationalisation while also covering institutional performance targets. Cases are interrogated for their rationale (aims, institutional arrangements, focus) to gain an understanding of how they address various aspects of internationalisation and to draw lessons for wider adoption.
Highlights
Internationalisation has been identified as a key transformative factor in higher education at the beginning of the 21st century (Gacel-Ávila, 2005)
Building on Frank and Symonds (2008) who have argued that inter-institutional collaboration could create significant synergies in efforts to provide a curriculum containing up-to-date content on domestic and international topics, another approach may be for institutions to share resources and duties, i.e. collaborate, to achieve higher quality results and more inclusive, socially responsible internationalisation
Internationalisation – in the sense of integrating global dimensions into all aspects of higher education is an important aim for institutions at the start of the 21st century (Gacel-Ávila, 2005; UN Habitat, 2009)
Summary
Internationalisation has been identified as a key transformative factor in higher education at the beginning of the 21st century (Gacel-Ávila, 2005). Drawing on selected cases of innovative initiatives in the field of urban and spatial planning education, the author argues that interinstitutional and international collaborations with multiple aims and agendas could enable academics to invoke synergies and compliance with broader institutional agendas while developing quality learning and curriculum internationalisation for staff and students. This in turn allows all involved to focus on learning and becoming. Challenges and opportunities of collaboration for internationalisation are discussed and lessons drawn to assist wider adoption
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