Abstract:

The rapid advances in information and communication technology development over the past several decades, for example the Internet, Cloud Computing and Social Technologies (e.g. Web conferencing), has escalated globalization to unprecedented new heights. Globalization reflects interdependence between countries, characterized by collaborations and partnerships in the economic, cultural, socio-political and knowledge domains. Generally, globalization introduces an international dimension to the everyday life of every citizen on the planet with access to a range of information and communication technologies. The globalization of societies, economies and labour markets demand attention to human knowledge and skills development so as to access the new opportunities that are presented as well as to address emerging new challenges, which necessitates an appropriate response, as custodians of new knowledge production applications, from higher education institutions across the world.

Internationalization is indispensable for a higher education institution that wishes to be globally relevant in terms of its curriculum, teaching and learning, research and innovation and community engagement. Over the past four decades the landscape of internationalization of higher education has under gone significant changes. Prior to the 1980s the movement of scholars was essentially uni-directional, from the developing nations (the South) to the developed industrialized countries (the North), made up of students from the developing countries pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies at institutions in the developed countries, or academics from the former countries seeking employment or postdoctoral fellowships in the developed countries. This movement is referred to as a “South to North” phenomenon. A significant number of these scholars did not return to their home countries but took up positions in their host countries, resulting in an effective brain drain from the developing nations. As an illustration, it is well known that the importation of international students from Asia to Australia and New Zealand has been structured as a deliberate big business. In these countries the enrollment of international students as a percentage of total enrollment in higher education is one of the highest in the world, and the fractional income generated therefrom is high.

For a higher education institution to capitalize on the new opportunities that are emerging in the evolving global environment demands a strategic approach to internationalization. This paper discusses a strategic framework for institutions in the South to successfully promote and embed bilateral/multilateral collaborative partnerships between themselves and universities in the North.

Keywords:

Internationalization, higher education, strategic approach.