International academics in Malaysian public universities: recruitment, integration, and retention

Abstract

Malaysia aspires for its higher education to be relevant, referred, and respected globally. To achieve that, the Malaysia Education Blueprint (Higher Education) 2015–2025 spelt out the need to search for talent beyond national boundaries, as well as develop the capacity to attract, develop and retain this talent. International academics, who are non-Malaysian citizens, also make up part of this pool of talent. This paper examines issues surrounding the recruitment, integration, and retention of international academics in three public research universities. In addition to understanding the trend for employing international academics, a typology of international academics is proposed to enable a more focused understanding of the challenges and constraints in recruiting, integrating, and retaining international academics in Malaysian public universities.