Transnational Academic Mobility: A Case Study of Fifteen Academics

Abstract

Academics around the world face many pressures to engage in transnational mobility (TNM) as a part of their scholarly work. This includes travelling abroad for conferences and symposia, teaching abroad, supervising graduate students abroad and participating in international research partnerships/collaborations. This is a case study of 15 academics at different stages of their academic careers, located in 12 different countries and representing a wide range of academic disciplines. The findings confirm the widespread and regular international travel that higher education academics participate in; and that while largely valuing their experiences abroad, most feel pressured to engage in TNM and those pressures are exacerbated for faculty in precarious and early-career positions.