Mobility as a tool for internationalization

In the last few decades, internationalization has had a major influence on the development of higher education around the world. A central element in this development is the international mobility of students and staff, which has put topics such as the creation of mobility windows in curricula and cooperation through joint and double degree programmes on the agenda of higher education institutions worldwide and highlighted the importance of ‘internationalization at home’.

Introduction

The mobility of students and staff, also referred to as ‘learning mobility’, plays an essential role in international networking among higher education institutions. The European Commission highlights the importance of international learning mobility in an institutional context by saying that “[t]he benefits for the organisations include an increased capacity to operate at an international level, improved management skills, access to more funding opportunities and projects, increased ability to prepare, manage, and follow-up projects, a more attractive portfolio of opportunities for students and staff at participating organisations, the opportunity to develop innovative projects with partners from around the world”. However, mobility and the exchange of knowledge and expertise not only facilitate the development and modernization of structures and approaches in education: they also promote mutual understanding and open-mindedness by encouraging institutions and individuals to adopt new ways of looking at things.

In April 2017, South Africa’s Department of Higher Education and Training published its Draft Policy Framework for the Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa, reporting that “[a]cross the world and in South Africa the international dimension of higher education has evolved into a central feature of the higher education sector”. The Draft Policy Framework was developed “to guide and regulate” the internationalization activities of South African higher education institutions and other stakeholders in the sector. It acknowledges that the internationalization of higher education has many dimensions, including the “cross-border movement of students and staff”, international research cooperation and, related to this, the mutual recognition of qualifications across national borders and education systems (Draft Policy Framework 2017, 3). One chapter specifically addresses international student and staff mobility and research collaboration, which highlights the current importance of these issues for the development of higher education in South Africa.

Cooperation in the IMPALA working group on the topic of mobility aimed to equip the participants with essential know-how and skills for the efficient management of international student and staff mobility. The chosen approach placed mobility into the wider context of institutional development, highlighting the importance of mobility as a central element in institutional strategies targeting internationalization in higher education.

Testimonial by Annah Chuene, University of Limpopo:

“Everything I learned from the IMPALA project training week and workshops took me from being an amateur to actually understanding mobility and how crucial it is to the coordination of International Affairs activities. It’s a new level for us in terms of these practices and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn first-hand from the knowledgeable group of South African and European trainers.”

References

• European Commission Erasmus+ Website
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/opportunities/learning-mobility-individuals_en (accessed 31.07.2018)
• Draft Policy Framework for the Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa
Department of Higher Education and Training of the Republic of South Africa, April 2017
http://www.dhet.gov.za/Policy%20and%20Development%20Support/Draft%20Policy%20framework%20for%20the%20internalisation%20of%20Higher%20Education%20in%20Suth%20Africa.pdf (accessed 24.04.2018)