Page 25 - Revista del Observatorio de la Internacionalización de la Educación SuperiorVol 3. 2019

Notas Comité Editorial

asked about whether foreign students and acade- their staff and students? Recognising that the new
mics are working in for example research and de- normalcy will be significantly different at a syste-
velopment laboratories. This will place restrictions mic level, such intervention strategy needs to be
on where institutions recruit, and the national and primarily focused on reducing stress to ensure the
institutional conditions of such student and acade- development of an adequate change management
mic placements. Research output will increasingly strategy. Such a strategy needs to take cognisance
be defined as “national capital”, and consequent- of the following:
ly the conditions under which national funding is There will be a need to navigate and negotia-
allocated to an institutions, specifically where the- te people’s “new” attitude towards (and perception
re are foreign researchers or academics involved; of) the internationalisation of higher education. In
the guarding of national capital for its competitive this regard caution must be maintained so as not
advantage will be of paramount concern. to allow a crisis mentality to permeate the strategic
Educational institutions and specifically inter- direction of higher education internationalisation.
national offices need to be more vigilant in their Concomitant to this is an (re)opening of the debate
contextual scanning. This needs to speak to the about the role and function of an internationalisa-
decision-making processes in educational institu- tion office and the functionaries heading an insti-
tions. Rather than being highly bureaucratic and tution’s internationalisation drive. In the interest
slow in decision-making and policy formulation, of intellectual development, the captains of acade-
the future successful institution will be characteri- mia must strengthen the latter through the alloca-
sed by a more flexibility dynamic policy formula- tion of sufficient resources. In these processes we
tion process so as to respond to a rapidly changing will see a reconceptualisation of internationalisa-
environment. The latter will require better risk ma- tion, and the beginning of an understanding of the
nagement assessment policies that are linked to difference between global interconnectedness and
adequate financial resources to enable optimal globalisation. There is thus a need to go back to
contingency manoeuvrability. the drawing board regarding the conceptualisation
International offices will have to beef up their of the concept of global citizenship. The need for
structures and services as there will be an initial a (re)conceptualisation higher education interna-
resistance by students (and other academic staff) tionalisation calls for unprecedented creativity, to
to moving beyond their country’s borders. The im- avoid being kicked along the path of the past and
portance of clear recruitment material, and an ade- the trap of adopting a traditionalist style and stra-
quate student induction programme, and providing tegy. Considering the dynamic nature of current
safe accommodation, and ensuring food and heal- change and the lack of any benchmarking to base
th security are crucial. the direction of institutionalisation on the success
Where educational institutions have been clo- of change will be premised on the extent to which
sed those who have the resources and infrastructu- an institution makes provision for psychological
res have switched to various virtual permutations support to enable change that is coached in we-
to ensure the continuation of the academic pro- ll-formulated change management coping skills.
ject. With these investments in technology and an Institutional policy needs to be flexibly to allow
increase in training of staff and students the new for more focus in internationalisation on social and
normal is unlikely to see a return to the traditional economic developmental issues. This focus needs
system unitary face-to-face delivery and academic to be reflected in the institution’s approach to stu-
interaction. dent and academic exchanges and future partner-
However, looking ahead, how can an institu- ships. Rather than institutional ranking being a
tion use the current pandemic to empowerment

Revista Obies • Bogotá-Colombia • Vol. 3 de 2019
[ 24 ]