International Higher Education - what's next?

Higher Education represents a network of global relationships, knowledge transfer and human movement. This raises the question of how Higher Education Institutions can tackle a series of complex challenges and responsibilities to foster positive change.

This member benefit project positions Higher Education as global leaders and seeks to co-operate with members to understand from their perspective what the road to 2030 will look like in terms of international partnerships and education.

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Project aims

This member benefit project will explore the following questions:

How is current economy instability impacting students, staff and higher education institutions globally?
How, against a backdrop of increased focus on ethical education, do universities balance short-term needs for student number growth against long-term strategies to become more sustainable?
What is the role of higher education institutions in global situations such as climate change?

This member benefit project is open to all and would provide significant benefits to a range of membership groups. It will be of particular interest to:

Senior leaders tasked with producing and managing international education strategies.
Academics and professional colleagues involved in transnational education and building networks of influence.
Those involved in research and knowledge transfer work that has a transnational or global relevance.
Policy makers who are external to Higher Education Institutions but work in and around the sector.

This project will support members in developing forward-looking international education strategies, building partnerships and how to consider sustainability from a range of perspectives.''

Charles Knight, Assistant Director of Knowledge and Innovation, Advance HE

Project output: Introductory Blog

International Higher Education: What's next?

Higher Education already represents one of the world’s most successful systems for the global flow of knowledge, investment, and highly skilled people. The global pandemic and current economic instability coupled with questions surrounding sustainability present challenges for higher education institutions.

Working with members, we wish to consider what the core challenges Higher Education Institutions face in a range of areas, including:

International education and transnational education partners
Questions around sustainability and the tension of meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals while managing strategic targets for growth
The impact of the global economic downturn on the Higher Education sector
Perspectives on the opportunities and challenges facing Higher Education Institutions between now and 2030

Read the blog

Webinar 1: International Higher Education – What's Next? A leadership perspective

We convened an expert panel of leadership in TNE and International Higher Education to discuss some of the issues and trends that they predict will emerge. They discussed a range of issues including:

Has Covid-19 lead to any long-term changes?
What are the changes that we are seeing in student demands and needs?
How are new technologies such as AI and working practices such as hybrid and remote working impacting the international student experience?

Watch the recording below.

International Higher Education - a leadership perspective

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Speakers include:

Sarah Knight

Head of Learning and Teaching Transformation
,
Jisc

Sarah Knight is Head of Learning and Teaching Transformation within the higher education and research directorate at Jisc and is taking forward the outcomes of Jisc’s learning and teaching reimagined initiative by supporting universities with their digital transformation of learning, teaching and assessment.

Dr Ann Thanaraj

Assistant Academic Registrar Digital Transformation
,
Teesside University

Dr Ann Thanaraj is Assistant Director leading the digital transformation of learning and teaching portfolio at Teesside University, having led a university-wide strategic and change transformation project in Online Learning. Ann is also founder and host of Lawyering in a Digital Age, an international initiative which brings together a global interdisciplinary audience to shape the direction of legal education fit for a digital age.

Dr Tahir Rashid

Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor of International Partnerships
,
University of Salford

Dr Tahir Rashid is Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor of International Partnerships at the University of Salford, UK where he strategically leads on international partnerships, student recruitment and student exchange. He was instrumental in driving the University’s strategy to ensure international students have an excellent experience in social, cultural and academic activities and has also been involved in creating sustainable international partnerships in Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland and Rome.

Webinar 2: International Higher Education – What's Next? A Global South perspective

Conversations about international Higher Education and transnational education privilege those of the western domain and expertise. This webinar brought together a range of experts from institutes in the Global South to discuss their perspectives on trends, changes and where innovation will happen.

Speakers include:

Dr Reena Patel

Dean of the School of Law and Professor of Law at Sai University

Dr. Reena Patel earned her PhD, which focused on Hindu Law, gender equality and property rights in rural India, in 2000 and her LLM, which explored multinational companies and transnational enterprise; law and development; and gender, in 1994 from University of Warwick, UK. She was in the founding batch at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, and graduated in 1993 with Dual Degree Honours. In 2015 she spent a semester at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA.

Dr Akhila Ramnarayan

Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Literature, Sai University

After completing her PhD in English from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio in 2006, Dr Ramnarayan has explored her creative and scholarly interests in literature and performing arts of the global south, metacognition, learning in higher education and in the arts, writing studies, and postcolonial/transnational feminisms.

Dr Ashleigh Prosser

Lecturer in Professional Learning
,
Murdoch University

Dr Ashleigh Prosser, FHEA, has been working in higher education across various academic and professional service roles since 2013. As a result, she has a strong background in teaching, learning design, and leading change and transformation in the tertiary learning and teaching sector in Western Australia. Ashleigh is currently a Lecturer in Professional Learning at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where she supports, guides, and collaborates with staff to (re)consider their pedagogical practices to maximize the use of Murdoch's new collaborative, technology-enriched active learning spaces in Murdoch's new teaching building Boola Katitjin.

Severine Lee

Senior Learning Technology Adviser
,
University of Western Australia

Severine Lee is a Senior Learning Technology Adviser at the University of Western Australia. With over 15 years of experience in higher education in both the UK and Australia, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her role. Severine's passion for educational psychology and cyber psychology drives her work as she endeavours to promote equity and in curriculum and learning technology. In the pursuit of personal and professional growth, Severine returned to studying last year and enrolled in a fully online Psychology Degree at the University of South Australia.

Webinar 3: International Higher Education – What's Next? Building lasting sustainable partners

This practice-oriented session brought together a range of leaders to talk openly and frankly about the opportunities and the challenges that building international partnerships bring. The interactive panel will shared examples of:

Assessing and identifying possible partners
Getting the cultural fit right
Managing operational issues as they arise.

Speakers include:

Rob Ingram

Head of Employability
,
Falmouth University

Rob joined Falmouth University as Head of Employability in 2020 charged with developing a new 10-year employability plan and building a new employability service. In 2021, the new employability team gained a national award for Strategic Innovation and in 2023 for Careers & Employability Team of the Year. Rob has responsibility for a number of service areas at the University including Alumni, study-abroad programmes, employer engagement, work-based-learning, employability services and some student enterprise projects.

Karl Knox

Associate Dean Recruitment, International and Partnerships
,
University of Bedfordshire

Karl Knox has worked as the Associate Dean of Recruitment, International and Partnerships at the University of Bedfordshire since 2016. Prior to joining the University of Bedfordshire, Karl held academic, research and management roles at The University of Abertay, Nottingham Trent University and Leeds Metropolitan. He has also taught internationally at Southern Cross University in Australia, Dubai Polytechnic in UAE and Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.