IAU 2015 International Conference: Internationalization of Higher Education

Internationalization of higher education is an important priority for many governments, for university leaders and other higher education stakeholders. It has been on the IAU agenda for many years and has led the Association to develop policy, research and related services in support of institutional efforts in internationalization. Though it is a frequent theme of national and international conferences, we hope that our programme will offer new insights into the internationalization of higher education and inspire new strategies, initiatives and projects.  

The expectations with regard to the benefits of internationalization are continuously expanding, as is the range of activities carried out in the name of internationalisation. At the same time, institutional, national and regional policies remain highly focused on only one aspect of the process – mobility. Such a singular focus can overshadow numerous other ways that internationalisation can improve the quality of the different dimensions of higher education, including curriculum, research, campus life, management, the third mission, etc. Indeed, no matter how much international student mobility flows may increase in the future, it is unlikely that they will ever include all learners in higher education. Thus it is likely that the impact with the greatest potential impact lies with the ‘other’ aspects/activities that promote internationalisation.