EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY

Transcription

1 EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY Noted by Academic Board June 2009 Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 1

2 INTRODUCTION 1 This strategy describes the development of the University s international activities in the period to Its primary purpose is to support the objective contained in the University s overarching Strategy : to be an international University. 2 The current International Strategy was published in 2006 and has supported considerable recent success in the University s international work including increases in the overall numbers of international students recruited, and the nature and number of established international partnerships and agreements which bring students to the University. There has also been progress towards a more general notion of internationalisation including internationalising the curriculum and increasing the understanding of the challenges and advantages of cohorts containing a mix of nationalities. 3 These headline successes inform a more complex picture. The University s international recruitment is currently dominated by two markets, India and China, and students are concentrated into particular disciplines and programmes. There has been limited progress in some areas of activity, for example, student exchanges. Overseas delivery is dominated by programmes in Hong Kong and India. There is also further work to be undertaken in making fuller use of the total range of our transnational partnerships whether they derive from taught programmes, research and knowledge transfer, professional development or commercial activities. In its aim to become a truly international institution, the University will seek ways to maximise the mutual benefits derived from all such relationships. 4 This revised International Strategy will continue to support the recognised successes of the University, and aim to address those areas of our international work which are yet to be fully developed. STRATEGIC AIMS: AN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY The dimensions of an international University 5 The international context in which higher education operates has become more dynamic, more volatile, more global, and more competitive. This environment is now affected by the economic difficulties which form a context for the opening years of this version of the International Strategy, which is creating both new vulnerabilities and new opportunities. 6 In seeking to manage and exploit this context, the University must move beyond a simple approach to internationalisation which involves basic international recruitment and delivery overseas coupled with attempts to internationalise the curriculum. A more holistic approach is required if the transformation of the institution into a truly international University is to be achieved. In this context, the University will adopt the definition of internationalisation provided by Knight: internationalisation at the national/sector/institutional level is defined as the process of integrating an international, intercultural, Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 2

3 or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of postsecondary education. 1 7 Such a definition encourages a comprehensive and holistic approach to internationalisation through which the University can build on its currently strong international activities. It can also be the platform for further development of the partnership approach which has characterised our international work to date and will provide strong support for the aim in the University s overarching Strategy to be a preferred partner in all of our work. In global approaches to education, increasing emphasis is being placed on long-term and genuinely collaborative partnerships. These can operate on a number of levels: governmental, industrial, commercial, and institutional. They are dependent on a willing investment of time and resources, and a commitment to the development of genuine mutual partnership. The University s current position is already defined by this commitment and it will seek to make it entirely characteristic of its approach to sustainable international partnership. The key features of an international University 8 In aspiring to a holistic approach to internationalisation, the University recognises that it must undertake activities at home and overseas which advance economic development, social cohesion, constructive social mobility, and cultural understanding. There is a link between building a truly international university and building international communities in an interdependent world that reflect the fundamental values of community and freedom of expression and enquiry. 9 The key features of an international University would include: an international student population on home campuses and on those overseas, and the promotion of appropriate integration and the cross-fertilisation of ideas and experiences; an appropriate international mix of teaching, research and support staff; a curriculum which is international in content and a range of co-curricular options that reinforce awareness of different cultures; the promotion of an element of overseas study as an integral part of an academic programme; international teaching, research and administrative collaborations and exchanges; high quality support systems for international students; an embedding of internationalisation across key corporate strategies and practices such that the commitment to internationalisation becomes rooted in the organisational culture and is reflected inter alia in the Academic Strategy, Learning, Teaching & Assessment Strategy, Human Resource Strategy and approaches to staff development. 10 It is the purpose of this strategy to provide support for the development and enhancement of these key features. The University will look to the International College to be the key organisational unit in the promotion of this strategy and to work in partnership with Faculties and Professional Services to ensure that roles, 1 Jane Knight, Internationalization Remodelled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales Journal of Studies in International Education 2004; 8; 5. Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 3

4 accountabilities and responsibilities are agreed, re-specified where appropriate, and embraced within the working culture of the University. 11 The following sections describe the University s strategic aims and objectives during the period to INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT 12 In recent years, a core element of the University s International Strategy has been to increase on-campus international student numbers. We have increased those numbers faster than any other Scottish university and are now considered to be amongst the leaders in the field of international recruitment. However, the University is heavily reliant on India, China and the European Union. Non-EU students are heavily concentrated in particular academic disciplines and a large proportion of our overseas undergraduate entry is directly into Years 3 and 4 and thus students often remain with us for only one year. In this context, and recognising that the international HE market is not the same across all disciplines, it is important to diversify our recruitment activities, both geographically and academically, whilst attracting more undergraduates into Years 1 and 2. This will provide the University with a more stable overseas student body and make us less vulnerable to an increasingly volatile market place whilst allowing us to maintain steady growth. 13 One key aspect of this diversification strategy is the establishment of an on-campus pathway college with a private sector partner. This will allow us to benefit from an extensive worldwide network of agents and to attract international students into a wide variety of academic disciplines. Students without the requisite academic or language attainments will undertake our partner s foundation programmes and this will provide a significant and steady flow of articulating overseas students into Years 1 and 2 programmes across all three Faculties. However, in seeking to diversify, it is important that we also maintain and develop our existing presence in the key markets of India, China and the EU. 14 In China, our Beijing Office has been restructured to provide a more effective service and will concentrate on developing new University partners in a variety of disciplines with particular emphasis on the previously unexploited area of Southern China. Similarly, we will be expanding and providing a better service to our Chinese Agents network - again with an emphasis on development in the south of the country. These efforts will be supported by the newly established office in Hong Kong and from there an agent network will be established throughout South East Asia (Taiwan, Macau, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam). International College staff in Hong Kong will, in addition, support our Development Office and the Edinburgh Institute s Hong Kong activities. 15 India is now our most successful non-eu recruitment market. This has been achieved through a well-managed agent network coupled with a visit strategy. However, the market is rapidly maturing, our competitors are becoming more sophisticated, and the environment is more amenable to establishing an in-country presence. As a result, an office in Hyderabad has been established which will extend our agent network, provide a local service to our most successful market in Andra Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 4

5 Pradesh, and deliver a partnership strategy for both articulation and joint programme development. 16 The European Union will continue to be a major overseas market with Southern Ireland and France remaining as the most significant countries, although they are beginning to represent a declining percentage of our overall European student numbers. In the period of this strategy, we anticipate that student numbers from Poland will decline but those from Germany, Scandinavia and the new markets of Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic States will grow in the context of our policy of increased diversification. The policy of partnership development will be maintained and the University will promote itself as Bologna compatible and be perceived as a leader in portfolio international strategies that incorporate a range of international activities for students and staff. The implications of the Bologna Process and the economic downturn should increase European demand for Masters qualifications and erode the existing European philosophy of free education at postgraduate level. This, coupled with the University s change in title, provides a major opportunity and the International College will lead in developing a marketing strategy to exploit this opportunity. Further details on alignment with the Bologna Process are contained in the University s Academic Strategy. 17 It is also important to diversify our current target areas for international student recruitment. In addition to South East Asia, an analysis of recruitment trends indicates that Nigeria, Pakistan and parts of the Middle East (ie Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan) offer significant opportunities for recruitment growth. However, these markets also pose specific challenges with regard to political stability and the related visa sponsorship under the new Points Based Immigration system. The International College will work closely with local consulates and the British Council to actively develop representation to meet these challenges. In addition, penetration of the North American market remains an objective and the University will explore the marketing opportunities for Masters degrees and develop relationships with selected community/liberal arts colleges in the US and selected modern universities in Canada. PROGRAMMES DELIVERED OVERSEAS 18 This activity has become an important aspect of the University s international development and now accounts for 2000 students registered on programmes in Hong Kong, India and Europe. This figure is expected to grow steadily over the period of this International Strategy through a combination of the strengthening of existing partnerships and an expansion involving new partnerships. These activities will be set in the context of the objective expressed in the University s overall Strategy : to be a preferred partner. 19 The University s current success in programmes delivered overseas has been the result of the development of key institutional partnerships. As the global education environment becomes even more complex and competitive, such partnership activities are of increasing strategic importance. Setting aside the immediate financial contribution that is made to the development of the University, the cultural and academic benefit from genuine partnership activities are increasingly recognised. Mutually beneficial relationships can result in joint research and knowledge transfer Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 5

6 activities as well as improving the reputation of the University whilst the Development Office recognises the importance of overseas alumni as long-term future donors to the University. Our programmes can contribute to higher education capacity building in the country of our partner institutions, both in terms of staff development and student places. Finally, the development of overseas partnerships can be seen as an additional marketing strategy bringing regular flows of international students to Edinburgh. 20 Hence, the University will further deepen its existing institutional partnerships. In Hong Kong, the Business School and Life Sciences provision will grow incrementally, whilst new academic disciplines will be introduced in the areas of Communications, Public Relations & Advertising and Engineering. In India, the existing Hospitality programmes will be significantly expanded, Masters level provision in Business and Life Sciences introduced, and Engineering/Computing top-up programmes developed. In China, the University will continue to explore the possibility of gaining government approval for delivery of programmes with our existing partners. In Europe, the possibility for development of new programmes with existing partners will be explored. In addition, across the range of our partnerships, we will seek opportunities to develop health and health-related provision. The University will also continue to consider the establishment of an overseas campus - most likely in India - within the context of an appropriate financial and regulatory environment. 21 The University will seek to develop new overseas partnership opportunities for all Faculties in Southern China, Andra Pradesh (India), Singapore, Sri Lanka and Europe. The International College will help identify new partners, provide support for new development and continue to deliver an effective centralised administration service for overseas programmes. In this context, partner relationship maintenance will receive high priority with the objective of deepening and strengthening our overseas programme partner base. 22 In all of its overseas delivery activities, the University will draw upon the successful ingredients of the currently highly successful partnerships in Hong Kong and elsewhere including: a) the cultivation of strong partnerships with well-established public or private providers of higher education in their own country; b) good subsequent relationship management; c) bespoke delivery and materials; d) demand-led provision; e) good business planning; f) the most appropriate mode of delivery for the particular market (including face-to-face where this is sustainable and offers a particular advantage). INTERNATIONALISING THE UNIVERSITY 23 The University s Strategy is unambiguous in its aim to develop the institution into a truly international University. There is a presumption in that strategy that the currently successful international recruitment to the University and its provision of programmes overseas with selected partners will continue. However, it also sets a more ambitious and challenging objective: Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 6

7 we will develop from being a university which is successful and highly regarded internationally to become a truly international university integrating an international and intercultural dimension into our mission and across all of our policies and strategies. 24 Such an objective requires the University to move from a simple definition of international (largely involving international student recruitment or the provision of programmes overseas) towards a truly integrated approach where internationalisation as a concept affects every element of our work. The University will look to the International College in partnership with the Faculties and Professional Services to lead in addressing the key features of an international University outlined earlier in this strategy: a) an international student population: a defining feature of the University is its ability to develop employable graduates. In an increasingly global society, it is clear that major employers will prefer graduates with an international awareness who can communicate across cultures. In reality the majority of students will not be able to undertake a significant period of study abroad, and therefore aspects of an international education must be embedded in the home institution. The University has one of the most geographically diverse student bodies in Scotland and will exploit that position to ensure that all students are equipped with the understanding of how other cultures and countries work. Overseas students bring a constantly renewing range of new and challenging perspectives and cross-cultural student groups can create a dynamic learning environment. However, for this environment to be fully developed, the mix of students - both geographical and by academic discipline - must be more diverse than at present. Faculties and the International College will work towards such diversity through the objectives described in the International Student Recruitment section of this strategy; b) an appropriate international mix of teaching and research staff: for the University to make the best use of a multi-cultural student body, academic staff must have an appropriate multi-cultural awareness. Realising the benefits of the presence of international students will require sufficient staff knowledge and understanding so that international students contributions are guided and interpreted to the student body as a whole. This can be assisted by actively recruiting international staff or those who have first hand experience of an education overseas, and by encouraging travel and engagement in joint ventures overseas. The Faculties and the International College will work closely with Human Resources to encourage and monitor the increasing internationalisation of our teaching and research staff base; c) a curriculum which is international in content: as part of the 2008/2009 Strategic Review, a task group looked in detail at the issue of Internationalising the University. Its recommendations included those directed at the further internationalisation of our curriculum and the need for the University to facilitate the development of attributes commensurate with a global international perspective. The review included the key components of an international curriculum and the University will look to the International College and Academic Development working closely with colleagues in Faculties to develop and then embed those components; Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 7

8 d) the promotion of an element of overseas study as an integral part of an academic programme: periods of study abroad have been an available feature of the University s programmes for some time. In developing a truly international University, however, it is not sufficient to rely on the simple fact of overseas study as a desirable part of a student s experience: it is doubtful whether an unstructured period abroad delivers all of the appropriate transferable skills which employers may expect. For overseas study to be effective, the curriculum must be designed around it and staff must be able to ensure that the experience is focused and integrated. Where appropriate, the University will encourage Faculties to incorporate the opportunity for overseas study as part of all academic programmes; e) international teaching and research collaborations and exchanges: such collaborations are often developed through the work of enthusiastic individuals and these initiatives should be encouraged. However, the University will also ensure that it creates a supportive environment for them to grow and develop. This will include further promotion of Erasmus teacher and administrator grants; f) high quality support systems for international students: international students have, in many cases, needs which have to be addressed by knowledgeable and well trained staff. However, as we become an increasingly international University, it should be an objective to enhance the quality of the student experience by providing specific and general needs of international students led by the International College and Student Affairs working with the Faculties and Students Association. g) an embedding of internationalisation across key corporate strategies and practices: if we are to fulfil our overall objective to become a truly international University, a holistic approach which involves all staff processes and practices is required. Professional and administrative staff must be given opportunities to learn about other cultures and reflect on existing systems and processes from the perspective of the international student. In this context, the University will expect the International College to act as a key resource and increasingly take on an advisory role to help embed internationalisation across key corporate strategies and practices. As University policy and strategy documents are revised in the light of the University s Strategy , the implications of the objective to be a truly international University will be purposively and systematically addressed. Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 8

9 CONCLUSION 25 Edinburgh Napier University is already strongly international. In the plan period, we wish to develop further the significant opportunities which are offered by internationalisation with all staff contributing to the internationalisation agenda and the primary strategic aim of adopting a more holistic vision to become a truly international University. 26 Infusing this vision into all of our activities, the University will draw together its considerable strengths in internationalisation, graduate employability, and widening access in order to enhance our reputation as a university which delivers Scotland s ambitions, particularly those for a wealthier, fairer, stronger, smarter more successful nation. 27 Through providing a truly international experience, the University will extend available choices to all our students including the opportunity to participate in the economy and society as informed and confident global citizens and create graduates with the developed skills sought by employers around the world. Dean International College Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh Napier University International Strategy Page 9