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Can experiential internationalisation be comprehensive without substantial cultural adjustments for all university stakeholders%3F

In September 2014, Coventry university [CU] received the European Association for International Education [EAIE]’s Award for Innovation in Internationalisation for its achievement in experiential internationalisation to date and its 2020 Strategy to offer all students differentiated, complementary opportunities to gain international experience and acquire Inter-Cultural Competences [ICC]. The catalogue of ICC-acquisition platforms developed to that effect includes international mobility schemes, more systematically internationalised curricula, and various forms of extra-curricular offers.
Examining concrete catalysts of internationalisation policy change, from agenda-setting to implementation, evaluation and acceptance, this paper critically retraces the journey that has led CU to raise international mobility outputs from 300 up to almost 4,000 in 6 years, outlining the key lessons learnt as we pave the way to generate mobility opportunities for 10,000 students and ICC for all by 2020. It proposes that such achievements and ambitions require much more than substantial, financial investments. Specifically, surmounting obstacles and rising to the 2020 challenges also require cultural adjustments in professional values, attitudes and practices for key university actors – faculty, managers and professional services – both at home and partner institutions abroad.
Stakeholders respond to rapidly-changing sectorial and institutional dynamics according to different patterns of resistance or compliance. This paper demonstrates that gaining acceptance from stakeholders to foster shifts in organisational and professional cultures primarily results from both capacity- and capability-building schemes at a variety of levels. Ultimately, comprehensive experiential internationalisation depends on the ability of HEIs to develop and nurture networks of university actors at home and abroad who share a vision and purpose and can work in cohesive ways. This paper offers one UK example and tentatively concludes on its exportability to other UK and non-UK HEI contexts.

Author(s):

Jean-Bernard Adrey    
Coventry University
United Kingdom