Developing Competences for Development Cooperation: Italian Students' Experiences of International Mobility in the Global South (original) (raw)
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Development Cooperation and Internationalization of Universities
Junco Journal of Universities and International Development Cooperation, 2014
This panel arises from the need to share experiences of integrating international development cooperation in the strategic process of internationalization of universities in all their functions: their teaching, learning and research policies and in the organization of services and administration. The internationalization process, which most universities are embarking on as no longer avoidable, provide them with the opportunity to acquire the tools and the attitudes essential to ward off an otherwise inevitable loss of relevance in contemporary societies. Internationalizing the university through both "cross-border" mobility of students and faculty, and changes to curricula, means integrating the international, intercultural and global dimensions in their central functions (research, training and services) in order to transform society. To gain a broad perspective, an uncommon sensitivity and a high capacity of inter-cultural and transnational communication is needed not only for teachers but also for the culture of the institution. The end product of such an approach should be the development of a "global perspective" that will lead to the emergence of professionals / citizens of the world. The "global citizen" is one who sees the world and its inhabitants as interdependent and works to promote both his own interests and those of the most disadvantaged populations, anywhere on the planet. Equipped with the appropriate tools, those who leave the university can contribute to the best achievements in their professional role within the community, at home as well as abroad. Cooperation with low-and middle-income countries provides a fundamental contribution to universities looking for a global perspective and gives new perspectives on issues related to local development and innovation. The exposure of teachers and students to development cooperation, both for reasons of ethical and of personal and professional growth, is very conducive to the acquisition of new skills and generates particular understanding to appreciate diversities and combat prejudices, to manage change and the dynamics that shape society. The ultimate impact of the beneficial dialogue between development cooperation and internationalization of the university is mutual: it is no longer knowledge transfer and "developing the other" but innovating through knowledge exchange and growing together. This panel intended to gather evidence from the field in the form of proposals or theoretical elaborations, with the view to facilitate the integration and mutual enrichment between the experience of international cooperation and the process of university internationalization in all the different actors of the exchange. Focussing on the important, global issue of sustainability, Alessandra Bonoli and Francesca Cappellaro's paper [1] discusses how current international programmes in this field aim at supporting "universities to commit themselves to principles of sustainability and give the impulse to start with implementing sustainability into every day processes." After reporting on the numerous and extremely variegated international experiences, the distinctive example of the University of Bologna is presented as a case in point with its geographically decentralised approach and complex organization; its diverse initiatives are described in their social and environmental sustainability impact. According to the authors, the University of Bologna's experience of implementing sustainable practices into the university structure can act as a model "to demonstrate the theory and practice of sustainability" and thus become a "living laboratory of sustainability" leading to real changes. In his paper [2], Angelo Stefanini argues that, in strengthening their approach to development cooperation, universities should be guided by a process of internationalization aimed at social transformation. From their privileged position and power status, higher education institutions are well equipped to address "the difficulties and contradictions related to poverty-alleviation policies and development paths" through the production, the reproduction and the application of knowledge in fields related to human development, such as environmental sustainability, peace, health, gender equality and quality of life, within a common framework of human rights and social justice. "In short," the author contends, "universities should emphasize the identity and importance of IDC [international development cooperation] activities through their recognition as a statutory objective of university work, their inclusion in strategic plans, the creation of institutional bodies to promote and manage them, and the existence of tools and dedicated funds for their implementation." This goal can be promoted by a process of internationalization leading to the development of a "global perspective" within the university organisational culture, which means for staff and students becoming aware of the ties that exist between their lives and that of others in the global context, and "developing the skills, attitudes and values that enable [them] to work together with other people from different countries and cultures in search of a more just and sustainable world." The experience of the Centre for International Health of the University of Bologna is described as a telling example of an educational action-research in deconstructing current development cooperation's mainstream narrative with the view tore-construct it with different type of knowledge. As the author concludes,
Globalisation, Societies and Education
The international mobility of institutions, staff, students and knowledge resources such as books and study materials have usually been studied separately. This paper, for the first time, brings these different forms of knowledge mobilities together. Through a historical analysis of South African HE alongside results from a quantitative survey of academic staff in three international branch campuses in South Africa, the paper suggests three things. First, it points to the importance of regional education hubs in the global South and their role in South-South staff and student mobilities. Second, it points to the importance of reading these mobilities as outcomes of historically attuned policy making-educational, migratory and political. Finally, the paper points to the theoretical possibilities that arise by bringing institutional, staff, student and knowledge resource mobilities in place and suggests new avenues for further research.
This panel arises from the need to share experiences of integrating international development cooperation in the strategic process of internationalization of universities in all their functions: their teaching, learning and research policies and in the organization of services and administration. The internationalization process, which most universities are embarking on as no longer avoidable, provide them with the opportunity to acquire the tools and the attitudes essential to ward off an otherwise inevitable loss of relevance in contemporary societies. Internationalizing the university through both "cross-border" mobility of students and faculty, and changes to curricula, means integrating the international, intercultural and global dimensions in their central functions (research, training and services) in order to transform society. To gain a broad perspective, an uncommon sensitivity and a high capacity of inter-cultural and transnational communication is needed not only for teachers but also for the culture of the institution. The end product of such an approach should be the development of a "global perspective" that will lead to the emergence of professionals / citizens of the world. The "global citizen" is one who sees the world and its inhabitants as interdependent and works to promote both his own interests and those of the most disadvantaged populations, anywhere on the planet. Equipped with the appropriate tools, those who leave the university can contribute to the best achievements in their professional role within the community, at home as well as abroad.
Higher Education, Internationalisation and Global Development
European engagement with development cooperation in the Global South has many modalities and there is only agreement that we do not have the answers yet. Here we present an Irish case study of inter-university collaboration with a number of Southern partners to build research capacity through partnership. We provide first a critical introduction to the internationalisation debates which frames our presentation of the
Academic mobility: a non-Machiavellian means to global citizenship
2013
Although Mobility is a trendy and an important keyword in education matters, it has been a knowledge tool since the beginning of times, namely the Classical Antiquity, when students were moving from place to place following the masters. Over the time, different types of academic mobility can be found and this tool has been taken both by the education and business sector as almost a compulsory process since the world has gone global. Mobility is, of course, not an end but a means. And as far as academic mobility is concerned it is above all a means to get knowledge, being it theoretical or practical. But why does it still make sense to move from one place to another to get knowledge if never as before we have heaps of information and experiences available around us, either through personal contacts, in books, journals, newspapers or online? With this paper we intend to discuss the purpose of international mobility in the global world of the 21st century as a means to the development of world citizens able to live, work and learn in different and unfamiliar contexts. Based on our own experience as International Coordinator in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) over the last 8 years, on the latest research on academic mobility and still on studies on employability we will show how and why academic mobility can develop skills either in students or in other academic staff that are hardly possible to build in a classroom, or in a non-mobile academic or professional experience and that are highly valued by employers and society in general.
International Higher Education : Local Initiatives Enabling Global Citizens
2016
Education at University of Borås is internationally connected to varying degree and form. This report looks at a selection of initiatives in order to explore the past, present and future role of UB internationalization. As a basis for the review, 7 students are interviewed on their international experience in their education-exchange studies and minor field studies (MFS) respectively. The participants stress the role of personal development and career enablement, and perceive their international experience as a distinct, unique element of their education. Possibilities and problems are then identified and related to the current literature on international education, learning and pedagogics. The study lands in a critical discussion on the future development of UB education. Key points of development: To meet the Bologna 20 percent commitment, more efforts need to be made on promoting and enabling internationalization to students, faculty and administrators. Curricular hurdles need to be removed as not to hamper students' programme progression for going abroad. Teachers' competency building efforts such as the Teaching and learning in higher education course could benefit from further elements of internationalization.
Internationalization of higher education through academic mobility
West – East
The article deals with Erasmus+ Key Action 1 International Credit Mobility, one of the most popular programmes under European Commission. The article considers the opportunities that it provides for the students and staff from European Universities and those beyond Europe: to study, teach or train in a new academic and geographic environment. It analyses the partnership of University of Bedfordshire (UK) and National Research Mordovia State University (Russia). From the position of programme requirements, it highlights its unique character to expand international cooperation, open up new regions and Universities for staff and students, develop and strengthen partnerships and engage with new fields of international research. The article discusses the relevance of the mobility to the internationalisation strategy of each University. It also talks about the quality of the cooperation arrangements which details previous experience of similar projects with the higher education institutions, and explains how the Partner Universities are planning to share responsibilities, roles and tasks during the life time of the project. Quality of project design and implementation is also highly important. It presents the different phases of the mobility project and summarizes the partner organisations plans in terms of selection of participants, the support provided to them and the recognition of their mobility period. Impact and dissemination of the programme considers the desired impact of the mobility project on the partner organisations at local, regional and national levels.
Global Mobility and Higher Learning
2018
This book examines learning-mobility tensions and ties caused by convergences and divergences of social, organizational and cognitive forces in global higher education. As some of these forces generate status anxiety, and others enhanced self-worth, this volume asks the questions: How can students navigate treacherous education markets to reduce the former and increase the latter? Which specific forces and confluences enhance the quality of self-discovery? Does the search for identity and meaning produce better results when conducted internationally? Which transformative drivers of global mobility enhance social mobility? What allows some students to gain the capacity for impactful higher learning at a time when others lose it? Why are strategically minded students increasingly concerned about equality and the quality of contribution to the common good of education, rather than about their own status? What makes some places of learning stand out when students recount their journeys of self-discovery and roads to self-worth? This book includes a broad range of stories and first-hand perspectives that are often overlooked in the process of internationalization of higher education. The narratives offer important insights to consider, given the ever-increasing disquiets of competitiveness-oriented global higher education.
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the Global South, 2021
In this review of The Bloomsbury Handbook of the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Global South, Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela discusses why this book might come to be considered a first port-of-call for recognising that internationalisation of higher education is a narrative firmly rooted in western ideologies and which serves as a totalising imaginary. The book, Guzmán-Valenzuela argues, helps to understand the many faces and dimensions of internationalisation in higher education and invites us to think further about what is appropriate to each country given its historical, cultural, political, educational and epistemic background. For Guzmán-Valenzuela, this is a crucial task.