Plenary III - N. Jooste

Globalization Setting a New Agenda for Internationalisation of Higher education

Nico Jooste

AIU- November 2012

Introduction

• Should we – the developing world re-think Higher education internationalisation?

• Why this topic given the current levels of internationalisation

– 80% of Institutions in Africa don't participate in more than on-campus internationalisation

– What is the norm in the developed world?

• Africa needs new solutions to old problems.– The problems that exist in the world today cannot be

solved by the level of thinking that created them

The current situation

• Africa and NAFSA and the EAIE• Other Developing Countries.• IEASA

Brazil Conference 2012:We don't want all universities to be all the same—we don't want to be like

them," Sonia Laus, who researches the internationalization of higher education at the State University of Santa Catarina, said to loud applause during the first plenary debate on internationalization and mobility.

Fernando Leon, rector of the Sistema CETYS University in northern Mexico, said that as the populations of developed countries are shrinking, the population in developing countries continues to grow.

That means the rich nations will look to the poorer ones for labor.

The Developing World Cont.

• Uneven levels of higher education access.

• Can Internationalisation of Higher Education be a focus?

• Is re-thinking thus a relevant question for those that are just beginning to participate?

Setting the Agenda

• The real question is thus what should the developing world be doing differently.

• The practices vs. the globalisation drives.• The question about the future of Higher Education

Internationalisation should be firstly to ask the fundamental questions around what would lead to a more just society in a world that is so unevenly developed.

Question – What would be the most appropriate social contract between university and society as well as the responsible ‘matching’ of international collaboration.

Setting the Agenda

• How do we bring the benefits of internationalisation to the broader community in a society that carries all the injustices of the past. This should be an integral part of the Internationalisation Agenda of the future? How?– Curriculum instead of focussing on global citizenship from a

multi-cultural point of view, should it not include a process of cultural awakening that address an appropriate social contract that is driven by the developing world. What would the rankings look like if this carries more weight?

– Mobility focused on the developing world - can we use the same philosophies when we determine reciprocity?

– The concept of distributive justice in a globalised world should be an underlying philosophy when we set the new agenda.

Setting the Agenda

• Naude (2004): • “ Without distributive justice a double impoverishment

occur: Those in economically advantaged positions will merely reflect the negative aspect of global capitalism and affirm the widening economic gap instead of providing some constructive remedy. Where knowledge systems remain closed to outsiders, everybody is impoverished and ignorance sets in despite the guise of the information age.”

• What does this mean in setting the agenda for the future internationalisation?

A core reality that distinguishes current discussion and action from that of the past is :

• the scale and scope of what internationalization encompasses—

• the breadth of clientele served, the outcomes intended, and

• a reshaping of institutional ethos.

There is a growing sense that inter nationalization is an institutional imperative, not just a desirable possibility

The Future

Challenges.

• Institutions need to connect to a variety of global networks.– Can only connect to the knowledge society through

comprehensive internationalisation strategies.– Needs to be driven by strong institutional leadership

informed by the latest practices in internationalisation– It still require strong leadership

The Future

The Future

• A word of caution – it will not be easy. It cannot be a quick fix.

• The external factors influencing the future agenda, especially the fluidity in the global geo-political environment, will make it complex and challenging. I don’t think we will soon agree on a final agenda, it will probably remain a draft agenda for a long time. By 2025 others will still be finalising the agenda. This is the nature of higher education internationalisation, we will not reach a finalised agenda.

.

How do we move forward?

• Now what?– The future of Internationalisation of higher Education

should not be seen in ‘strict Higher Education speak’. Thus focussing first on those issues that can be defined as the micro matters, the how do we do teaching and research as well as the international relations activities.

– The critical ingredient would be to first set the ground rules. It should be an inclusive process where all participate as equals and not as mere invitees.

– A global dialogue arranged where those that were excluded from the debate plays a real role as equals in the setting of the future agenda.

Conclusion

• The ceiling won’t stay when the room is no longer there.– Universities should stop removing ceilings whose

rooms have long disappeared.

Universities need to create the capacity to connect to the knowledge society if they do not want to be accused of addressing an audience that is not in the room.

However, in setting the agenda we all should strive to be more inclusive and the notion of participative democracy should be the guiding principle.

A Global Dialogue - 2014