Internationalization strategy of higher education institutions: reviews and illustrative examples
Mammadov, Kanan (2019)
Mammadov, Kanan
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019052913109
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019052913109
Tiivistelmä
Internationalization strategy in higher education institutions (HEI) is a complex process that requires frequent updates and continuous commitment. Considering that Finland recently introduced tuition fees for non-EU students who will study at university level, there is a need to go through internationalization strategy aspects in Finnish context. Taking the initiative from there this study aimed to explore earlier research in HEI internationalization strategies and critically discuss them together with the empirical material to make suggestions for Arcada University of Applied Sciences (Arcada) which could be considered in its future strategy update. The empirical material consists of a qualitative semi-structured interview with Arcada official and currently used practices in the internationalization strategy of six British and German HEIs. The chosen method is comparative benchmarking method to be able to study the topic thoroughly and make relevant suggestions. The main limitations of this study are time limit in the interview and the need for an in-depth study. Despite these limitations this thesis has made several important conclusions which could be considered by Arcada in the future. The main aspects of HEI internationalization strategy was found as reputation & promoting the profile, embracing cultural diversity, partnership development, international student recruitment, staff engagement & management, educational excellence, student and alumni relationship and quality & success management. Further suggestions in each of these aspects are made specifically for Arcada which could be considered in the future.