Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to discuss, examine and compare how the internationalisation of higher education is realised within the national higher education policies of Finland and Pakistan. Since the late 20th century, internationalisation has become a worldwide phenomenon, a central theme and a widely discussed topic in higher education research and policy debates. Mostly research on internationalisation was focused on either case study institutions or national systems of developed countries. Yet, there is an apparent dearth of literature on comparisons between internationalisation of higher education policies of both the developed and developing countries.

This study, therefore, aims to fill this gap by comparing the higher education internationalisation policies of the two case countries. The study is needed to create new comparative knowledge on national policies in countries with differences in geographical location, higher education systems as well as levels of development notwithstanding national similarities in internationalisation discourse. Moreover, the paper will ascertain systems level differences and similarities in interpretation of internationalisation and its rationale. The case of Finland, as a developed country, represents how the internationalisation strategy is linked to the wide-ranging national higher education reforms that are closely connected to regional integration and strengthening of knowledge-based economy and innovation system. The case of Pakistan, as a developing country, shows how recent policy and structural reforms of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have integrated internationalisation into higher education.

The research methodology is based on theory driven comparative content analysis. The analysis is done at the system level from the perspective of national higher education policies. The researchers will analyze both national and international higher education policy documents. However, the central focus is on national internationalisation strategies and strategic goals (rationales) of case countries. The rationales for internationalisation are examined from four perspectives, namely: 1) political, 2) economical, 3) academic and 4) socio-cultural. Overall, the study presents the outcome that can help to understand the different logic and reason, but also global trends, in the internationalisation of higher education in the developed and developing countries. It is hoped that this research will be of benefit not only to the national policy makers but also to higher education scholars, researchers and institutional stakeholders.

Keywords:

comparative study, internationalisation, higher education, reforms, policy analysis.