Internationalization of higher education: Institutions and knowledge diplomacy

Abstract

The public debate, policy agents and stakeholders, and academic research brought to the center of the debate the issue of internationalization of higher education. Along with questions about what (and how) should be taught, the definition and measure of teaching and learning quality, the equity and diversification of Higher Education Institutions, a discussion emerges as to the meanings of internationalization trends and models in higher education. What does internationalization mean? Are there any measures or methodological parameters to assess it? What institutional models become dominant in the internationalization processes? Did internationalization increase the importance of science for the autonomy of academic institutions? Does knowledge diplomacy effectively contribute to institutional strengthening? Are there global and local policies and strategies for internationalization? How do they work? How do they connect to the democratization of higher education? Which are the main agents in the internationalization processes-are they professors, researchers, staff, students, or other stakeholders? These questions form an entire research program. Some of them are already discussed in the dossier articles. Others are only outlined, indicating new directions for studies in this area.