“I think we’ve all seen the limitations of student mobility,” Jos Beelen, professor of global learning at The Hague University of Applied Sciences told delegates at the Eurasia Higher Education Summit in Istanbul.
“For more than 30 years we’ve been trying to send students abroad, and if we make it to 20%-25%, we’ve done really well,” he said.
While 34% of universities in western Europe are prioritising internationalisation, only 10% of universities in Western Asia – including universities in Turkey – prioritise it, Beelen noted.
A diverse classroom mix is not enough, it is “just a starting point”, he explained. Universities need to ensure that home students work with international students in class, he said – and that should be a priority around the world.
“We know that the students we send abroad are socio-economic and socio-cultural elites,” he added. “What we are talking about is internationalisation for all students.”
However, targets for international student numbers are still prevalent globally.
In 2018, the Turkish government joined the fray, announcing a plan to bring 350,000 international students into the country to study at its 206 higher education institutions – and its universities are open for cooperation in all directions.
“[It’s not] about turning East or West – it has to be both,” Ayse Deniz Ozkan, co-ordinator of the EURIE program, said.
“Europe is important for us, we are part of the European Higher Education Area, we are beneficiaries to the Erasmus+ program, which is very important for Turkish universities,” she told The PIE News.
“Of course Turkey is now diversifying… so we are looking to develop more academic collaborations, but also recruiting students from Asia.”
In an emphatic speech, president of EURAS – the Eurasian Universities Union – Mustafa Aydin spoke of confidence in the region’s universities achieving their aims and breaking the sector model for success.
“There is no set of rules that says that the only innovative ideas are going to come from MIT, Berkeley or other such universities,” he said. “Innovative ideas can come from an elementary school in a village or a university that is low in the rankings.”
“They have inherited better opportunities, it doesn’t mean that [we are] not capable of anything less than them… We are always going to strive for more,” he noted.
As Turkish universities seek to diverse their portfolios, research projects and classrooms, according to Ozkan, China is a key player they are looking to connect with.
“When you talk about China, of course you see UK institutions there because they are interested in recruiting Chinese students, but you also see Turkish universities because they are interested in this rising power to the east of us, and there are more collaboration opportunities there,” she said.
In terms of research and development output, China’s universities are quickly catching up with its competitors, according to deputy vice president (global business development) at King’s College London, Tayyeb Shah.
“Elite Chinese universities are now capable of delivering world-class research and teaching much like universities in the west,” he said.
“Chinese universities are receiving far greater funding than any of the western universities in terms R&D spend and recruiting academic talent,” Shah added.
With almost 3,000 universities and the second largest recipient of international students after the US, the country’s total R&D expenditure will soon overtake the US, resulting in improved quality of Chinese research, Shah predicted.
While China remains an important source market and its universities become increasingly notable research partners, Beelen highlighted that internationalisation must reach all university members.
Future priorities should focus on involving academics, he argued.
While only 10% of universities in Europe actually focus on internationalisation training in professional development for academics, universities should be seeking to involve professors and lecturers more.
Virtual exchange is a way to reach students who may not be mobile, according to Waidehi Gokhale, CEO of Soliya, a Virtual Erasmus provider.
“Traditionally when we talk about campus internationalisation, that entails students leaving the campus to go elsewhere and students being brought onto campuses,” Gokhale said.
Unlike MOOCs, online learning, and social media, “the idea in virtual exchange is that the pedagogical flow is multidimensional and multidirectional”, Gokhale explained.
The Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange program, launched in 2018 as a pilot project and sought to reach 25,000 people aged 18-30 between 2018-2020, across 43 countries, is one example of that.
Aimed towards southern Mediterranean partners, around 8,200 people engaged in the project in 2018, with Tunisia leading the number of participants with 1,125.
“In the long run we are hoping this will be a much more global initiative”, Stephanie Siklossy project manager at Search for Common Ground, one of the organisations involved in the project, highlighted.
Table of Contents
The HED magazine for applicants available in Arabic and Chinese
The fifth issue of the quarterly HED magazine has been published
Подведены итоги конкурса «HED-Scholarship»
International students in Russia can start studying without restrictions
The QS expert highly appreciates Valery Falkov's achievements as Rector of Tyumen State University
North-Eastern Federal University promotes Russian language and culture in China
Scholarships to study in Russia in 2020-2021
KazNU expands partnership with leading universities of Saudi Arabia
Uzbekistan and Japan will move to a new level of scientific cooperation
EU allocates 8 million euros to support education in Kyrgyzstan
RUDN University has created an integrated space for digital cooperation
Russia and China have mapped out joint plans in the field of science and higher education
China promotes international education in space science and technology
TPU International Week 2019 held in Tomsk
Webinar schedule: Internationalization of higher education
Study shows which universities lead the way in promotion of summer schools
The National Aggregate Ranking of Russian Universities
The Accreditation in Education Journal and the Public Fund Edinstvo have become partners
Belarus and Nigeria are cooperating in the field of education
Russian and Chinese universities have agreed to establish the International Transport Academy
Summer schools attract international applicants to Russian universities
Russian and German experts discussed the issues of university and academic science
The 15th FICCI Higher Education Summit in India
Russia to create 50 Pre-University Training Centers abroad by 2024
More than 30 Russian Universities in the THE ranking
Russia will simplify work rights for international students
The First Russia-UK University Rectors Forum
Webinar 'How understanding neuroscience can help you transform your team and your organization'
RUDN and Rosatom will train staff for African projects
Is Africa the future for recruiting international students?
Danish Government Scholarships under the Cultural Agreements
Over 7,000 foreign students will study IT at Russian universities
European Universities Initiative – Chances and challenges
Belgian students demand free higher education
Uganda and Russia signed a Memorandum of cooperation in higher education
The 10th ENQA General Assembly took place in Yerevan
Call for participation – Webinars under the aegis of APQN devoted to Quality Assurance
Regional universities move up in QS University Rankings: Emerging Europe & Central Asia
New Model of State Control (Supervision) in Education
HED Webinar under the aegis of APQN took place on October 10, 2019
Joint Master's programs to be launched by RANEPA and University of London