Internationalisation of higher education in the new normal in universities: university management perspectives

Abstract

Universities are universal communities where knowledge is transmitted. It is expected that such knowledge should be globally relevant. Internationalisation of Higher Education is the integration of global dimensions into the delivery of higher education. New normal came because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted every sector of human life including education. This had a great effect on public universities as most of them lacked the capacity to switch online. This constituted a setback for the academic calendar. The mixed method research design was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select two states based on concentration of universities. These include Ogun State with 12 universities and Osun State with 11 universities. Both States have the highest number of universities in Nigeria. The Management is represented in the study by Heads of Department (HODs). Sixty HODs were selected from Ogun State, while 55 HODs were selected from Osun State. The study found out that internationalisation in universities is faced with challenges, which include funding and insecurity among others. The paper recommended among others the need for all beneficiaries of university education to be involved in funding universities to cope with the realities of the new normal.