Internationalization in higher education and global access in a digital age

In the past two decades, the trend of internationalization of higher education has been rapidly developed in contemporary China. Moreover, the Chinese government is seeking to keep in pace with the trend of internationalization to address both national and international challenges (Ayoubi and Massoud 2007). The trend of internationalization of Chinese higher education is deeply rooted in the integrated process of transformation of higher education worldwide. The acceleration of internationalization of higher education has been on the agenda at national, regional, and international dimensions (Rui 2014). Since the 1970s, the ultimate goal of the internationalization of higher education in China is to fulfill “Four Modernizations” (of industry, agriculture, defense, science and technology) in Chinese higher education system. Based on this purpose, the internationalization of higher education has been undertaken by the means of sending Chinese students and faculty abroad for international study and research, combining an international orientation into university teaching and learning, and offering transnational projects in consistent with foreign institutional partnerships with Chinese universities (Rui 2014). From a comparative and international perspective, Chinese higher education has obtained diverse advantages by implementing a series of education politics for advocating internationalization of Chinese higher education contextually. Hence, the major purpose of this research involves in mapping the internationalization of higher education in terms of constructing soft power conversion model of higher education (HE) from an international political science perspective. In addition, framing soft power conversion model of HE is implicitly consistent with the internationalization of higher education worldwide. In other words, the process of internationalization of higher education also stimulates constructing soft power of HEs. Moreover, this research also brings a specific initial lens to examine the internationalization of higher education in Chinese higher education context from international political science perspective. Specifically, in this study, this article is divided into three major sections: in the first section, Nye’s theory of soft power has been introduced and elaborated by several steps; then, in the second section, as a main part of this article, conceptualizing soft power conversion model of HE is constituted for explicit pathway and implicit process separately. In the explicit pathway of soft power conversion model of HE, political attractiveness, educational resources, and educational outcomes of internalization of higher education have been investigated and elaborated; in the implicit process of framing soft power conversion model of HE, cultivating and advocating global competency is considered as an essential pathway to enhance soft power of HE worldwide. In the last section, educational policy recommendations and remarks have been illustrated in accordance with constructing soft power conversion model of HE in Chinese higher education context.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the higher education institution’s face-to-face education. Higher education institutions have overcome this challenge through enhanced virtual education which has provided further opportunities to the higher education institutions. One of these opportunities is the ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education which enables higher education institutions to reach more students globally. Purposes: This paper aims to investigate the ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education’s role in glocal sustainable development and how to enhance its use to support glocal sustainability and sustainable development. This paper emphasises importance of political economy of the ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education to support glocal sustainable development and environmental policies. Methodology/Approach: The aim of this paper is achieved based on an in-depth literature review. Findings: This paper highlights effective, strategic and successful ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education’s role in competitiveness of higher education institutions. This paper highlights political economy of the ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education and provides recommendations and key success factors for the ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education to enhance glocal sustainable development and sustainability as well as environmental policies. This paper emphasises importance of considering the ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education in countries’ sustainable development plans, strategies and policies. Discussion: Effective and strategic ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education can support higher education institutions’ competitive advantage globally. They can support higher education institutions’ success in getting intelligent students from all over the world. This can further contribute to their competitiveness. Furthermore, this can enable them to employ, in these ‘virtual’ internationalisation of higher education programmes, globally competitive and competent academic staff from all over the world. This paper can be useful to academics, policy-makers and researchers in the relevant field.

Internationalization in higher education has been the recurring theme of the global academic community in preparing the future world leaders and workers – from the developed to the developing countries. Faculty diversification, which is the primary arm of internationalization, covets an array of geopolitical and geocultural interdisciplinarities that may hinder its prime purpose. This study discerns the determinants of internationalization and faculty diversification in higher education: the exposure of the student-learners to an array of ideas, cultures, behaviors, experiences and standards. Diversification benefits the academic environment by offering optimal educational experiences to a community that promotes peace and harmony in preparing students for their global tasks as future leaders and workers in the acumen of internationalization in education and work globalization. Hence, it benefits the student-learners as diversified teachers are imperative to the need and the focus on extending tertiary education as a vehicle for long term human resource development.

In contemporary globalization era, knowledge is always considered as a commodity worldwide in a knowledge-based economy. The debate on globalization and internationalization of higher education in recent decades involves in identifying the rationale and purpose of higher education in a global context. Both internationalization and globalization are complex phenomena with overlap and intertwined with each other (Scott 2006). In this chapter, the complexity and interdependency are the major attributes of globalization and internationalization of higher education. Indeed, it is complicated and multi-faced to distinguish between the ideas of the globalization and internationalization of higher education. Hence, this chapter examines the distinctions and similarities of globalization and internationalization of higher education from the attributes of complexity and interdependency.

Internationalisation has become the main trend for the development of higher education worldwide. So is the case in China where it is not only a hot topic for higher education research, but also an issue that attracts increasing attention from scholars and experts of all circles. Using a case study approach, this chapter investigates the progress achieved in the internationalisation of Chinese higher education, and the opportunities and challenges facing Chinese universities in the process of internationalisation. It first discusses the social economic background for internationalisation of Chinese higher education, with special attention paid to the driving forces such as China’s opening-up and reformation, the information age, and knowledge-based economy. Then it examines the current situation and major forms of the internationalisation of Chinese universities from the perspectives of policy, strategies, measures, and outcomes. Possible approaches to the internationalisation of Chinese universities are finally discussed with regard to domestic and international collaboration and cooperation. This chapter concludes that Chinese universities have just started on the road to internationalisation. They need to draw on experiences of foreign universities in this regard and need more effort and support from all sectors of society.KeywordsHigh EducationFaculty MemberInternational StudentHigh Education ResearchInternational VisionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

The internationalization of higher education is an important way for countries to improve the quality and competitiveness of education in the context of globalization. As a developing country with a huge education system, China faces many opportunities and challenges in the internationalization of higher education. This article aims to analyze the development strategy of the internationalization of China's higher education, explore the challenges it faces, and propose corresponding countermeasures and suggestions, in order to provide reference for the internationalization of China's higher education.

Global university rankings are a worldwide trend that emerged in times of the globalisation and internationalisation of higher education. Universities worldwide are now striving to become “world‐class” institutions and are constantly aiming to improve their ranking position. Global rankings of universities are thus perceived by many as an ultimate tool for assessing the level of internationalisation at individual higher education institutions. This article first discusses the meaning of and relationship between the globalisation and internationalisation of higher education, as their influence on the emergence of global rankings is undeniable. It then outlines the methodological designs of four main global university rankings which serve as key prerequisites for the subsequent analyses of both the international(‐isation) indicators that these rankings include and of the international ranking initiatives that focus exclusively on the international outlook of higher education institutions. In the concluding discussion, the article reveals that, due to the predominantly quantitative orientation of global university rankings (on the internationalisation of higher education), their results should not be generalised or understood as a means to improve the quality of (internationalisation of) higher education.

Research on internationalisation in higher education has dramatically expanded over the last several decades. This study aims to provide an overview of the research developments undertaken between 1980 and 2014, on internationalisation in higher education. Explorative, systematic literature screening and analysis were undertaken, encompassing over 7,000 scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed journals during that period. A novel methodology was developed for collecting, screening, coding, and analysing the gathered data. Through the coding system employed, specific trends were identified and quantified in research on internationalisation within regions, countries, disciplines, years, and subjects of study. Several patterns were revealed, reflecting changing trends in research focusing on internationalisation in education, regarding differences over time and different areas of the world. The findings provide a glimpse into the changing directions research on internationalisation in higher education has taken, and might ignite the discussion of future directions and transformations.

What are the current trends that mark out the process of internationalization of higher education? In what directions do these trends influence the direction of research and development in African universities? Does internationalization of higher education have the potential to boost knowledge production relevant to Africa’s development needs or it will further hasten the marginalization of both African universities and African development agendas within the global network of scientific knowledge? Internationalization of education is not new. Historically, students have sought better higher education abroad influenced by the desire to benefit from better opportunities provided by universities in the developed countries. The current phase of higher education internationalization has however emerged more vigorously in the 21st century and is associated with the twin trends of globalization and liberalization. Proponents of globalization have argued that higher education is bound to be more strongly affected by worldwide economic developments. They also point out that higher education institutions in developing countries should embrace aspects of internationalization to boost their efforts to be ranked among the best league of universities globally. At the national level, internationalization of higher education is presented as a process that institutions in developing countries must embrace in order to address the persistent challenges of sustainable development. For universities in Africa, the literature argues that internationalization provides them with opportunities that cut across disciplines, institutions, knowledge-systems, and nation-state boundaries thereby exposing the institutions and academics to the world’s best scientific research and infrastructures. In summary, it is contended that internationalization is a strategy to realize success in human-capability and institutional-capacity development in the universities. This chapter revisits these assertions and their tenacity to developing a culture of research and innovation in African universities, and linking the universities to the continent’s development aspirations.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Internationalization of higher education is a well-researched area with a long history. At a time of increasing globalization, particularly in light of recent global health events, the internationalization of medical education may play an important role in medical school teaching - increasing future medical collaboration and building a global medical community. Internationalization of medical education is a less researched discipline and often limited to areas of Global Health. It is typically not part of the standard medical curriculum. While internationalization of medical education has overlapping themes with Global Health education, it has a much wider scope (i.e., preparation of global citizen physicians, international employability, collaboration, cultural and international understanding). Lessons learned from concepts in internationalization of higher education can aid in the realization of internationalization of medical education programs and establish IoME as a distinct area of educational research. This paper suggests elements to consider when implementing programs in internationalization of medical education. Guided by the analysis of an existing program in internationalization of medical education, important components are highlighted from the perspective of concepts found in internationalization of higher education. Several elements that are important features in internationalization of higher education are emphasized - institutional partnerships, goal setting, variety of internationalization at home concepts, international classroom features, multi-directional student mobility, and sustainability. The authors aim to shed light on the area of internationalization of medical education, widen its scope from Global Health education, and introduce it as a field of study for educational research. Adapting models and concepts of international higher education can help with establishing this field.

Under the context of globalization and marketization, the internationalization of higher education has become a common pursuit of nations and higher education institutions. Nonetheless, current studies on the internationalization of higher education are still largely dominated by the westernized paradigm. There is relatively limited research on the internationalization of Russian higher education, especially on the strategies and challenges of internationalization at the institutional level. By conducting a case study of a Russian elite research university, this paper explores the strategies and challenges of internationalization of higher education in Russia. It finds there are some doubts behind the practice from the faculty’s perspective, which would be the improvement direction for future internationalization of Russian universities.

Problem setting. Modern global challenges have significantly changed the landscape of higher education and intensified the process of its internationalization, the consideration of which has become one of the most discussed scientific problems in the field of higher education. Socio-philosophical understanding of the internationalization of higher education allows us to present it not only as an effective tool for improving the competitiveness of universities, but also as a basis for their social responsibility, a significant factor in improving the quality of higher education. This is extremely relevant to the study of the process of internationalization of higher education in a globalized world. Recent research and publications analysis. The study of the problems of internationalization of higher education belongs to the sphere of scientific interests of both Ukrainian and foreign scientists. Among modern domestic researchers who deal with theoretical and methodological issues of internationalization of higher education and analysis of the peculiarities of internationalization of higher education in Ukraine in the context of global challenges should be noted such scientists as Boychenko M., Verbytska A., Voronkova V., Gorbunova L., Debych M. , Zinchenko V., Kiykov A., Krasovska O., Kurbatov S., Mishchenko M., Nitenko O., Sbrueva A., Sikorska I., Stepanenko I., Terepyshchy S., Shipko O. and others. Significant contribution to the theoretical development of ideas for the internationalization of higher education in the context of globalization has also made foreign scientists ‑ Altbach F., Bergmann H., Branderburg W., Brooks R., Wang M., H. de Wit., Geissler M., Knight J. , Robertson S., Scott P., Hudzik J., Hundt S. et al. Despite the fact that the scientific literature has widely reflected the understanding of various problems of internationalization of higher education, still remain debatable a number of issues that need to be constantly considered. Paper objective. The aim of the article is to study the essence of the concept of internationalization of higher education in modern socio-philosophical discourse; consideration of methodological approaches to the analysis of internationalization of higher education; identifying the prerequisites for the development of internationalization of education in a globalized world; disclosure of the national strategy for the internationalization of higher education in Ukraine. Paper main body. The development of modern higher education takes place in the context of global challenges, among which the most important, as stated in the founding document of UNESCO "Higher Education in a Globalized Society", are: the growing importance of the knowledge society / knowledge economy; development of new trade agreements, which include, inter alia, trade in educational services; innovations in the field of information and communication technologies; the growing role of the market and market economy. To date, according to many scholars, the most comprehensive and scientifically sound of the existing definitions of the internationalization of higher education is the definition given by H. de Wit and F. Hunter. According to them, the internationalization of higher education is a deliberate process of integrating the international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and methods of higher education in order to improve the quality of education and research for all students and staff and make a significant contribution to society. Experience shows that in the field of internationalization of higher education there are two institutional models: traditional and complex. The first model includes components such as academic mobility; internationalization of the curriculum; international cooperation in the field of scientific research; partnerships with foreign higher education institutions. The comprehensive model of internationalization of higher education includes academic mobility; internationalization of the curriculum; international cooperation in the field of scientific research; partnerships with foreign higher education institutions; international educational programs of joint / double / multilateral diplomas; branches abroad; online / electronic training courses. Currently, the main ideas of the strategy of internationalization of the market of educational services in Ukraine are: 1. strengthening international competitiveness in higher education and research; 2. active participation of Ukraine in the development of European higher education; 3. expanding the opportunities of Ukrainian higher education institutions to enter the European educational market; 4. positioning Ukraine as a leader in the international market of educational services; 5. expanding opportunities for improving the system of higher education and research infrastructure of universities; 6. development of cross-border higher education. Conclusions of the research. For leading Ukrainian universities seeking to become competitive members of the global education market, internationalization has already become an imperative and has become one of the most important tools for innovative development of higher education in Ukraine, its successful integration into the European and global educational space.

The development of internationalization of higher education is increasingly enlarging, which is an urgent need of new areas for research. This paper focuses on in-depth study of the influencing factors on the internationalization of higher education with the path analysis model, based on survey data of Universities’ internationalization within Tianjin and Hebei regions. It is found that correlation exists between government factors and internationalization of higher education at the same direction. Obviously, there are significant differences in the implementation process on government factors between indifferent regions. Full implementation of the strategic factors, International standards of organizational factors and Incentive measure of effective factors will promote a positive development on the internationalization of higher education. Therefore, in order to strengthen the internationalization of higher education, governments, universities, institutions and managers need to coordinate, and give full play to the maximum potential in various aspects of the development on internationalization of higher education.

Internationalization of higher education in East Africa raises various questions related to its magnitude and intensity, its capacity to address issues of access, equity and regional research and developmental needs. Internationalization and regionalization as processes in higher education can synergize each other but can also limit the success of the other depending on their focus. In East Africa, internationalization has mainly involved new forms of provision of higher education and not necessarily relevant content. At the same time, regional approaches in the context of wider Pan-African concerns on the implications of internationalization in the continent are at play. This paper gives an overview of the two processes. A discussion of the challenges that internationalization of higher education has to regional quality assurance and knowledge production in east Africa is presented.

Internationalization of higher education is recognized as a strategic pillar for strengthening the quality of Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), although it faces significant challenges. This study aimed to synthesize the scientific literature published in 2024 regarding the challenges faced by Brazilian HEIs in implementing internationalization strategies. Theoretically and methodologically, the research adopted a rapid review framework to ensure a timely synthesis aligned with PRISMA-S guidelines (Garritty et al., 2024; Klerings et al., 2023; Nussbaumer-Streit et al., 2023; Tricco et al., 2015). It employed a dual-stage screening process and reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022) to organize and analyze the data, complemented by a critical appraisal of the evidence using the CASP Qualitative Checklist. The corpus consisted of 12 articles, selected according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Thematic analysis enabled the identification and synthesis of the main obstacles to the internationalization process of Brazilian HEIs. The results revealed challenges distributed across internal factors (institutional policies, linguistic barriers, infrastructure), external factors (colonial logics, marketization, global asymmetries), financial limitations, and perceptions of the academic community. This study presents a threefold potential: (i) it promotes critical reflection on the internationalization of Brazilian higher education; (ii) it offers insights for the formulation of institutional and public policies; and (iii) it highlights gaps that can guide future research on the topic.