Internationalization of Higher Education: International Vector of the University Development Strategy

Abstract

The article focuses on internationalization of higher education. It analyzes the European experience of implementing internationalization strategies on the examples of Aston University (United Kingdom) and Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). The authors present the results of the research on defining the level of internationalization conducted at Russian higher education institutions under Erasmus+ project “Development of approaches to harmonization of comprehensive internationalization strategies in higher education, research and innovation at EU and partner countries (HARMONY)”. The project partnership is comprised of 14 higher education institutions of different types (classical universities, institutions of applied sciences) from 9 countries of the world, namely Spain, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Russia, Belarus, and Armenia. In Russia the questionnaires were sent to 119 universities located in four Russian federal districts including the Central, North-Western, Volga and Southern federal districts. The survey was based on data of 2015–2016 academic year. Finally, the article analyzes the cooperation between Russia and European Union in the framework of Erasmus+ programme and the role that the programme plays in internationalization of higher education.