HIGHER EDUCATION INTERNATIONALIZATION

There are different definitions for education internationalization that have evolved over the years. One reason for that is the evolution of education and how affected it is by a globalized world, where geographical boundaries have not been considered a challenge as they used to be.

Along with the speed of information flow through a digital worldview.

Looking at the contemporary context, it is easy to see that globalization is not just about growing the circulation of products, capital, and services among global companies, but especially at the intersection of people's boundaries.

This process specifically concerns human mobility, and this has become an essential element of the global economy due to countries' demand for companies and skilled labor to improve their services and hence their competitiveness. The mobility of the skilled workforce has moved education internationally, across borders and placing recognition of higher education at the top of national and international politics (WESTPHAL; GISI, 2019 p.

371).

According to De Wit et al. (2015), education internationalization is the intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural or “global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of post-secondary education, in order to enhance the quality of education and research for all students and staff, and to make a meaningful contribution to society”.

“Internationalization of Higher Education,” European Parliament, Brussels: EU). The International Association of Universities (IAU), founded in 1950 by UNESCO, uses this definition as a reference. IAU is the leading global association of higher education institutions and organizations from around the world.

The IAU (2019) also states that this definition emphasizes that internationalization is an intentional process, not a passive experience. Furthermore, it highlights that internationalization is not a goal but a means of enhancing higher education and research quality and excellence.

Besides that, it notes that internationalization needs to serve societal needs rather than focusing solely on economic rationales and returns.

We simply need to look to countries and/or regions of the world that are promoting internationalization in the higher education sphere to see Western models being touted as “modern” and successful approaches to internationalization. The unidirectional flow reflects power relations and the dominance of Western cultures. Internationalization practices are not value-neutral and cannot be devoid of cultural dimensions. The work must be contextualized. How scholars and practitioners conceptualize and implement internationalization activities must take into account the specificities of the environment it is emanating from and aims to benefit (DE WIT, 2017, p. xxii).

About how the universities should face globalization, according to IAU (2019), it affects all institutions, and HEIs experience different pressures; they exist in different contexts and have different needs. Therefore, there is no “one size fits all” model or approach for internationalization. Instead, each HEI must find its way of internationalizing. At the same time, all HEIs can benefit from the best thinking and good practice from other institutions worldwide.

3.1 International Student

It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by Foreign students, International students, Mobile students, and the country of primary education. Therefore, considering that these terms might be used in this Thesis, the expression “International student” is going to be adopted as a reference according to the definitions stated below:

Foreign students are those who are not citizens of the country in which they are enrolled and where the data are collected. Although they are counted as internationally mobile, they may be long-term residents or even be born in the

“host” country. While pragmatic and operational, this classification may be inappropriate for capturing student mobility because of differing national policies regarding the naturalization of immigrants. In general, international students are a subset of foreign students (OECD, 2020, p. 235).

International (or internationally mobile) “students are students who have crossed a national or territorial border for the purpose of education and are now enrolled outside their country of origin” (UNESCO, [202?]). “Mobile students are students who are either international or foreign” (OECD, 2020, p. 235).

International students are those who left their country of origin and moved to another country for the purpose of study. The country of origin of a tertiary student is defined according to the criterion of “country of upper secondary education”, “country of prior education” or “country of usual residence” (see below). Depending on country-specific immigration legislation, mobility arrangements (such as the free mobility of individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area) and data availability, international students may be defined as students who are not permanent or usual residents of their country of study, or alternatively as students who obtained their prior education in a different country (OECD, 2020, p. 235).

This shows a need to be explicit about exactly what is meant by the expression ‘country of prior education’. Since there is a reference of the country where the student comes from and his/her future destination. Also, each country has its regulations about immigration, which must be considered in the correlation of the student's home country and the nation where his/her university is located. This process usually takes place when the student is approved and must obtain the visa before crossing the borders of the expected country.

The country of prior education is the country in which students obtained their upper secondary qualification (upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary completion with access to non-tertiary education programmes) or the qualification required to enroll in their current level of education. Where countries are unable to operationalize this definition, it is recommended that they use the country of usual or permanent residence to determine the country of origin (OECD, 2020, p. 235).

However, the digital disruption could be a contributing factor to how education internationalization has been impacted worldwide. Higher Education Institutions have been expanding to the virtual world, enabling students to ‘study abroad’ from their home country.

Universities themselves have become global players. Increasingly, they are competing with one another to attract funds, professors and talented students.

The reputation of a university is made at the global level. This trend will accelerate with the digital revolution, which is giving worldclass universities an even greater global presence through their online courses (UNESCO, 2015, p. 3).

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the international education world scenario has changed. Since 2020 the pandemic due to Covid-19 has been declared and university students’

lives were turned upside down. “The shift to online learning was a challenge for many, while others had to make the difficult decision of whether to stay at their university or travel home to their families” (THE STUDENT, 2021).

According to the Berkeley University of California website, inside the Berkeley Summer Sessions, on the webpage How to Determine if you are an International Student, it is defined: “international students are defined as ‘non-immigrant’ visitors who come to the United States temporarily to take classes or take online courses virtually from anywhere in the world.”

(BERKELEY, [202?]).

4 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INFORMATION BEHAVIOR – ESSENTIAL