Internationalization Meets Digitalization: Entrepreneurial Responses in Higher Education to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and altered nearly every facet of higher education, with the programmatic aspects of international education being one of the components most adversely affected. With mobility being strictly limited due to health and safety concerns, academics and program administrators needed to think on their feet and act quickly in order to salvage international student programming and its benefits. This chapter presents a case study of an intricate, trilateral, short-term study abroad program where the academic leaders and program administration collectively adopted an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset in order to move the program into an online, digital environment as a response to the conditions of the pandemic. In doing so, the key actors in this case study provide a successful example of a collaborative online international learning (COIL) program to maximize student and other stakeholder outcomes in a turbulent situation. Further, this case study evidences the benefits of international higher education partnerships that are built on a foundation of trust and a commitment to innovation and resilience.