International Trends in Higher Education

Abstract

1 I nternationalisation is of growing significance worldwide, with economic, political and social changes driving an increasingly global knowledge economy. Internationalisation within universities continues to develop apace as institutions move from equating international strategy with international student recruitment to developing mature internationalisation agendas that incorporate recruitment, research collaborations, and capacity-building. While UK universities have always been engaged in international recruitment and research, we see this expanding as technological, political and demographic changes make university internationalisation a strategic goal for many governments. This International Trends report provides an annual overview of changes and broader developments in higher education around the world. We have selected the most significant changes affecting international student recruitment and study abroad, international research collaborations and international expansion in the form of branch campuses. The role of governments in shaping campus international strategies and engagement overseas is also discussed. In addition to providing an update on the themes discussed in depth in the 2014 Trends in the Globalisation of Higher Education report, this year we have included two case-studies on particularly topical issues: the role of technology in education worldwide, and the use of higher education as a tool to achieve economic success and development. Based on a survey of a range of statistical tools and reports provided by the OECD, UNESCO, the US Institute of International Education and publications produced by the UK Higher Education International Unit, the British Council, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, this report highlights developments in international higher education of likely interest to Oxford. While publications by the UK government and NGOs are widely disseminated, as is the University's News and Information Office's Daily News Alert, none provide a general overview of significant developments in the sector outside the UK. This report thus offers a summary of key trends in higher education to illustrate the global context of Oxford's international engagement.