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HIGHER EDUCATION—INTERNATIONAL BY NATURE

At universities and among their researchers, the general opinion identified a truly

international characteristic, and thus there is no need to stimulate and guide

internationalization. Thereby, references are made to the Renaissance, the time of

the philosopher Erasmus (ca. 1467–1536), whom the European exchange program

is named after. This historic reference ignores the fact that universities, mostly

originated in the 18th and 19th century, had a clear national orientation and

function. Internationalization does not arrive naturally in general universities and

universities of applied sciences, but needs to be introduced. That is why the rather

widely accepted definition of internationalization by Jane Knight refers to an

integration process.

INTERNATIONALIZATION AS A PRECISE GOAL

Most of the mentioned misconceptions conceive an activity or instrument as

synonymous with internationalization. The last, also fairly prevailing,

misconception regards internationalization as a main goal, and therefore it is in

line with the misconceptions mentioned earlier. Internationalization is a process to

introduce intercultural, international, and global dimensions in higher education;

to improve the goals, functions, and delivery of higher education; and thus to

upgrade the quality of education and research. If internationalization is regarded

as a specific goal, then it remains ad hoc and marginal.

To comprehend the challenges and opportunities for the

internationalization of higher education it is compelling to recognize that these

misconceptions are still fairly common.

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