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This chapter examines the internationalisation of public higher education in Brazil using the theoretical triptych of internationalisation as developed by leading scholars in the field: internationalisation at home (IaH), internationalisation abroad (IA), and internationalisation at a distance (IaD). This framework – while rooted in knowledge, systems, and scholarship from researchers and institutions in the Global North – is a constructive tool for categorising and understanding internationalisation at Brazil’s higher education institutions (HEIs) when coupled with an exploration of the history, context, policy, and dynamics of internationalisation efforts. The chapter then summarises and underscores recent and important scholarship by Brazilian researchers and others in the Global South that describes the history of the nation’s internationalisation efforts. It also critiques the powerful influence that Global North-centred objectives and priorities for internationalisation have on the process at Brazilian HEIs. Following a discussion of the theoretical framework and relevant literature, the chapter provides a case study of internationalisation efforts and initiatives of an elite public university, the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). Content analysis of UFMG’s website and publicly available reports and data demonstrates a high level of institutional internationalisation that has unfolded in recent years, stimulated by federal funding and guided by a strategic framework developed within the Ministry of Education. An analysis of UFMG’s mission, partnerships and programmes finds that the institution serves as an example of internationalisation in Brazil’s public higher education context, as its programmes and initiatives exemplify the overarching objectives of internationalisation in Brazilian higher education.

Two of the most important trends in higher education have been the emergence of online learning and efforts to internationalise the curriculum and student body. While most universities embraced both these trends, insufficient attention has been paid to how the two approaches might be mutually supportive. Online education offers the opportunity to bring together students living in different countries in common courses and programmes, but cross-border enrolments remain low and new models and approaches are needed to build educational offerings that bring students and faculty from different countries together in sustained educational engagement online. This paper highlights a case study of an innovative blended double degree business masters’ program between Royal Roads University (RRU) in Canada and the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) in Austria that allows mid-career, blended learning students to build international competencies and networks while continuing to work full-time. Through this double degree program, students can complete a Master of Global Management (MGM) at RRU and an MBA at MCI in approximately 24 months. Mid-career students have traditionally had limited opportunities to participate in an international education due to work and family constraints, but the pairing of two blended programmes creates an opportunity for these students to engage in a rich cross-cultural learning community. The paper highlights the challenges of integrating online learning into internationalisation strategies and explains how double degree programmes such as the RRU-MCI collaboration provide advantages that help overcome the challenges associated with online programmes that enrol students from different countries.

The very essence of internationalisation, which depends heavily on academic mobility and cross-border interactions, has been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been associated with a significant decline in student and staff mobility in South Africa and around the world. Nonetheless, it has also catalysed innovation and inspired new approaches to teaching and learning that have the potential to transform the future of higher education. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions are grappling with a fundamental question that goes beyond the practicalities of internationalisation: How can we re-envision the concept of internationalisation to meet the challenges of the new normal? This question calls for a deeper reflection on the nature of internationalisation itself. How can we ensure that cross-border interactions and exchanges continue to foster a sense of global community and intercultural understanding, even in a world that is physically distanced? This chapter seeks to explore the profound implications of the pandemic on the internationalisation of higher education (IHE) in South Africa. It aims to critically examine the present challenges to internationalisation and the strategies that have been developed to address them in the context of the post-pandemic world. The chapter employs a critical reflection approach through the use of qualitative research, systematic literature review, and document analysis. By utilising these methodologies, it seeks to delve deeper into the implications of the pandemic on the IHE in South Africa.

The chapter presents findings from five qualitative reports from educators within the compulsory education sector who have partnered with a United Nations-recognized, nongovernmental organization (NGO), Global Education Motivators (GEM), in order to either introduce or expand curricular support for their students or to engage in professional dialogue with fellow educators facilitated through international videoconferencing programs. Through a long-standing collaboration between these educators, GEM has jointly developed programming which educates students on the United Nations and global issues including sustainability, human rights, child labor, poverty, and peace and conflict studies. Using an email-based survey questionnaire, the reported cases aim to explore the educators’ motivations to introduce and expand their students’ global engagement through the media of videoconferencing. The chapter highlights the potential outcomes of international videoconferencing for educators as a classroom tool or a professional development resource, as well as detailing a case study of an NGO–college partnership in which the NGO provides expertise, student internships, and noncredit professional development opportunities to its campus community and beyond.

In the last decade, the speed and intensity with which regional level connections are expanding in all areas of the world has been remarkable. Higher education in Africa is no exception. This chapter focuses on African policies and programme initiatives to further higher education regionalization. Regionalization is defined as the process of ‘building closer collaboration and alignment among higher education actors and systems in a designated area or framework, commonly called a region’. An analytical framework, consisting of functional, organizational and political approaches, is applied to the evolution of higher education regionalization at the continental level in Africa through a close examination of the progress related to the implementation of the “African Union Strategy for the Harmonization of Higher Education Programmes.” Special emphasis is given to the harmonization of degree structures and the recognition of qualifications through sub-regional qualification frameworks. Key issues and challenges such as rationales, governance, benefits and risks, unintended consequences, language, engagement for all and innovation are raised at the end of the chapter to stimulate further reflection and exploration of the complex process of higher education regionalization.

The Syrian refugee crisis is too big and complex for any single country to mount an adequate response. Mitigating the human tragedy, deciphering its root causes, and developing sustainable solutions require effective international collaboration. To teach collaboration of this kind to university students, researchers in the US, UK, and Lebanon used accessible communication technology in development of a Virtual Exchange in Global Health, connecting students in medical and allied health fields. Through a problem-based learning curriculum, students from Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales and the Modern University for Business and Science in Beirut worked collaboratively to conduct desktop research on the crisis and develop a protocol to interview camp residents about the public health issues affecting them. Students in Beirut then conducted interviews and gathered 360-degree video footage of conditions in the camp, which students in the UK studied using low-cost Virtual Reality (VR) viewers. Student feedback provided preliminary indications that the problem-based learning methodology, including the immersive VR experience, contributed to the participating students’ intrinsic motivation to study the problem. The students collaborated in dividing and distributing tasks as well as in engaging with each other in a Joint Problem Space, and began to build relationships outside class, relationships that will serve them well as practicing professionals in the field of global health. These outcomes create warrant for further development of the program and suggest possibilities for deployment of this high impact model for teaching in other fields where complex problems require international collaboration.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.b calls to “substantially expand globally the number of scholarships” for enrollment in overseas higher education between 2015 and 2020. To advance knowledge on international scholarships and sustainability, this chapter examines notions of sustainability in literature related to international scholarships for students in the Global South. Based on an exploratory review of literature, ways that sponsored international student mobility – programs, students, graduates, and networks – maintain and sustain systems and outcomes are explored. Findings are presented through four frames: (a) programmatic sustainability, (b) organizational development, (c) national sustainable development, and (d) international and global actions. Challenges to sustainability, such as poor coordination between degrees earned and local market conditions, are also discussed. In addition, the findings point to several prominent ways that scholarships could contribute to sustainability that are mostly absent from the literature: transformative education for sustainable development, and international education for environmental sustainability. The chapter closes with a vision of alumni networks – both within and among programs – to work together to transform societies and tackle the most pernicious international challenges of our time.

Institutions of higher education are increasingly facing a myriad of challenges emanating from a fast changing higher educational landscape. One strategy colleges and universities adopt as they pursue their missions in a progressively competitive global environment is to form strategic partnerships with other colleges and universities locally and globally. This chapter examines a partnership, anchored in faculty exchange, between an American metropolitan community college, and a public university in the Republic of Kenya, East Africa. The issues discussed include the rationale for the formation of a partnership between a two-year institution and a doctoral-granting institution in spite of their differing missions, the partnership formalization process, types of activities undertaken in each country, program outcomes, and program management and challenges. The chapter concludes with some recommendations that would be useful to anyone considering starting a cross-border faculty exchange program, especially at an institution where infrastructure for internationalization activities is limited.

Intercultural awareness and skills are important competencies for hospitality and tourism management program graduates due to the internationalization of the tourism industry. Graduates will work with coworkers and serve customers from diverse cultural backgrounds. With the exponential growth of China’s tourism industry, an examination of intercultural awareness and skills education in China’s hospitality and tourism higher education is needed. This study employed a qualitative approach by interviewing 11 educators in Chinese mainland universities on their views of the current status of intercultural awareness education, their role in this learning process, and how their program offerings enhance students’ learning of cultural diversity. Implications for administrators and faculty members are discussed.