New Perspectives on Internationalisation: Enhancing the Student Experience Understanding transnational mobility: Staff, Students, and Future Employees? Deborah Peel and Andrea Frank 12 June 2009

Overview 1.To critically consider what is meant by the internationalisation of the curriculum 2.To report a scoping study 3.To facilitate a debate about the implications of internationalisation for the transnational mobility of staff, students, and future employees

Internationalisation? To learn verb …….. To teach verb ……. To internationalise verb …….

The University of X The University of ? prides itself on being more than nine hundred years old. But who can identify with any certainty the moment in which a university comes into being? It is difficult to settle on a precise date. By way of definition, academic activity initially involved the scholar who, motivated by a love for knowledge, decided the parameters of a field of study and rigorously explored everything falling within them. As he conducted his research the scholar imparted the results to students who freely decided to follow him, outside of the jurisdiction of any official institution of the state or church. …Thomas Becket - - Leon Battista Alberti - Pico della Mirandola - Nicholas Copernicus - Erasmus - Albrecht Dürer – Carlo Goldoni …

Internationalisation Critical Literature - Snapshot one of the most significant drivers of change facing the modern university (Taylor, 2004) a core business of universities(de Jong & Teekens, 2003) a new paradigm for education for the 21st century (Gacel-vila, 2005) a catchword of the times (Yang, 2002)

Internationalisation curriculum development to prepare all graduates, regardless of country of origin, to be informed, responsible citizens able to work effectively in a global, multi-cultural context; development of initiatives to enhance the learning experience of international students; promote the Bologna process; support the development of institutional strategies. to help institutions, discipline groups and all staff to provide the best possible learning experience for their students

Scoping Study Objectives conceptualise the meaning/importance of an internationalised curriculum for the built environment disciplines; identify the potential problems and challenges in developing an internationalised curriculum; explore and share participants experiences and knowledge of current teaching practices in delivering what they understood as an internationalised curriculum; and map and seek to prioritise the particular needs of departments/schools to overcome potential barriers in progressing an internationalisation of curricula and which a research agenda could support.

Internationalisation of the Curriculum How do you understand the concept? What are your personal experiences? What are the main problems and challenges? Is this a common agenda? What are the implications for transnational mobility?

1.The meaning/importance of an internationalised curriculum in your sphere of activity

Contested Conceptualisations Approaches: –activities/programmes; –process; –competency (skills,knowledge, values); –ethos. Rationales: –academic; –political; –economic; –cultural and social. Competitive/ Co-operative Scales Macro Medio Micro In time and space

Internationalisation? Differentiated interpretations by: individuals, institutions, and disciplines Ambiguity about the need for curriculum internationalisation…

2. Current teaching practices/ your experience in delivering an internationalised curriculum in your institution (e.g., special support for international students/collaborative projects)

Practices and Experiences Curriculum – design of programmes and content Teaching and Learning Strategies and Delivery Cross-cultural learning Exchange programmes/study abroad Field work Distance-learning Changing Faculty and Student Profile (UG and PG) Teaching and Learning Styles and Preferences

3. Problems and mobility challenges in developing an internationalised curriculum Staff Students

Mobility Drivers - Staff Intrinsic Experiential Circumstantial Research-driven Extrinsic Economic/Global Competition Institutional Structural – Bologna

Mobility Issues - Students Differential needs which relate to the total student experience Active recruitment of international staff to support student communities Type, timing, nature and resourcing of student support Home or Away?

Mobility Challenges Relevance of an international product Implications for professional bodies and accreditation Language Location/Real Estate The University of Liverpool is to be the first in the UK to open a new University in China (Suzhou). It will be completely independent with its own degree-awarding powers.

4. Needs of departments/ schools to overcome potential barriers in progressing internationalisation of curricula

Needs (Wish List….?) Information and understanding Comparative insights Guidance and advice Greater clarity

Emerging questions Are there the necessary institutional resources and will-power to support the process? Is internationalisation sustainable over the longer term? Workloads – do staff have the necessary time and space to rethink and redesign practice? What staff incentives exist? What training is available? (Haigh, 2002)

Internationalisation of the curriculum? …the process of designing a curriculum that meets the needs of an international student body… …fair play… …universal suffrage… …for everyone?... (Haigh, 2002)

New Perspectives on Internationalisation: Enhancing the Student Experience Understanding transnational mobility: Staff, Students, and Future Employees? Deborah Peel and Andrea Frank 12 June 2009