Seventh Quality in Higher Education International Seminar, Transforming Quality, Melbourne, Australia 30th-31st October, 2002.
Internationalisation and ICT in a service university
Anne Welle-Strand
Department of Leadership and Organisational Management
Norwegian School of Management BI
Outline
Internationalisation is today a central concern of higher education institutions, not least business schools. According to Windham (1996), the increasing importance of internationalisation in higher education, seen by both the institutions themselves and national governments, reflects how the environment for higher education has changed. There are three main dimensions: economy, policy and technology. An important feature has been the emergence and growth of a global information and knowledge-based economy and with it, the emergence of an international labour market for highly skilled professionals, especially within information technology. Windham (1996, p. 10) argues that ‘the fastest growing area of trade is in exchange of services’ and higher education is one of the largest exporters within the service sector.
In the international market of educational services, business schools make a large contribution, as business and administration programmes are the favoured programmes for international students. Internationalisation is far more than geographic mobility as seen in students abroad, such as programme franchising, development of subsidiary institutions abroad, and trans-national distance education.
To investigate internationalisation of higher education and particularly the role information and computer technology (ICT) plays, or can play, in internationalising higher education, the following study is being implemented. The focus is on the emergence of an international market for higher education. The study attempts to gauge the ways institutions are aware of and acts upon internationalisation as a competitive strategy. Secondly, it explores the extent to which ICT is seen as central for internationalisation, and potentially how ICT has been used for internationalisation. Hence, the two objectives of this study are:
a)investigate internationalisation strategies in higher education;
b)investigate the roles played by ICT in internationalisation of higher education.
In order to reach these objectives, the following research questions guide the investigation:
1)What are the rationales behind internationalisation of higher education in general and in higher business education in particular?
2)What are the dominant approaches to internationalisation in a private university?
3)To what extent is ICT seen as a means to internationalise higher education?
4)How is ICT employed to internationalise higher education?
The study is framed in an understanding of globalisation, internationalisation and ICT reflecting the current research. Internationalisation of higher education has become an important strategy in higher education development, emphasised by international organisations, national governments and higher education institutions. The concept internationalisation in higher education is related to three other concepts – globalisation, regionalisation and nationalisation. To some researchers, the international dimension is inherent in higher education, reflected for instance in the idea of a ‘university’ and that there exists one common academic model world-wide (Altbach 1992, p. 39). Higher education institutions today are also seen predominantly as national institutions, funded and regulated by national governments, and regarded as important for development of national economies partaking in the global economy.
According to Castells, a global economy is something distinct from an international or world economy, and is defined as ‘an economy with the capacity to work as a unit in real time on a planetary scale’ (Castells 1996, p. 92). This has been made possible due to the new information and communication technology. The structure of the economy embraces core activities such as production, circulation and consumption, and components, such as capital, labour and markets, which are organised on a global scale. However, the globalisation thesis ignores the influence of the nation states in shaping the structure and dynamics of the new economy. According to Castells (1996, p. 90), the global, informational economy remains even in periods of deregulation of national economies ‘a highly politicised economy’. As such, the process of globalisation of the economy simultaneously leads to deregulation and more nation state intervention.
How does the concept internationalisation in higher education relate to the concepts nationalisation and globalisation? For the sake of this brief presentation, internationalisation can be seen as strategies to expand higher education provision and ideas across national boundaries. According to Knight (1999) globalisation and internationalisation are dynamically related concepts, and that internationalisation of higher education can be seen as a proactive response to the catalyst globalisation (Knight 1999, p. 14). Internationalisation of higher education as such can be seen as a strategy taking account of both global and national challenges. According to Van der Wende (2000, p. 2), ‘where as political, cultural and academic rationales have been driving internationalisation over the last decades, now, increasingly, economic rationales play a role’.
Internationalisation in higher education often refers to exchange programmes and student mobility. According to van der Wende (1997, p. 22), internationalisation is often used to connote individual mobility, which is a narrow conceptualisation of internationalisation, disregarding internationalisation of institutions and systems. Moreover, international franchising of higher education and subsidiaries in other countries are not included in this narrow conceptualisation. An emerging and potentially potent internationalisation strategy is so-called ‘borderless education’ or trans-national distance education on the Internet. ‘The term ‘borderless higher education’ refers to a range of interlocking activities – including e-learning, other forms of transnational provision and new providers (for example, for-profit universities) — that cross a variety of ‘borders’, whether geographical, sectoral or conceptual’ (Ryan 2002, p. 1).
The Norwegian school of management, BI, is seen as a relevant case for the research questions and conceptual frame for various reasons. Firstly, BI is a private institution operating in a national and, to some extent, international market. Consequently, central dimensions of internationalization connected to international competition and co-operation could be investigated in a private, market-based institution. Secondly, a private business school could, in theory, be more advanced with regards to internationalization and use of ICT.
Data on BI’s strategies, practices and potentials of internationalization and ICT will be gathered using the following sources of data: policy documents on internationalization and use of ICT, secondary data and interviews with key actors in the organisation. The intent is mainly descriptive mode of analysis.
References
Altbach, P.G. (1992): “Patterns in Higher Education Development: Toward the Year 2000”. Arnove, R.F, Altbach, P.G. & Kelly, G. P (1992)(eds.) Emergent Issues in Education. Comparative Perspectives. Albany: State University of New York Press
Castells, M. (1996): The Rise of the Network Society. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers
Knight, J. (1999): “Internationalisation of Higher Education” IMHE (1999): Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education. Paris: OECD
Ryan , Y. (2002): Emeging indicators of success and failure in borderless higher education. Report, The Observatory on borderless higher education, London, UK
Van der Wende, M. (1997): "Missing links. The relationship between national policies for internationalisation and those for higher education in general". T. in Kalvermark & Wende, M. van der (1997): National policies for the internationalisation of higher education in Europe. Stockholm: Högskoleverket
Van der Wende, M. (2000): Internationalization policies: About new trends and contrasting paradigms.
Windham, D. M. (1996): “Overview and main conclusions of the seminar”. Internationalisation of Higher Education. Paris: OECD