The EAIE launches major study on internationalisation in Europe

The second edition of the EAIE Barometer surveys 2317 practitioners working on internationalisation at 1292 higher education institutions (HEIs) in 45 countries throughout Europe. This week the EAIE will launch the final report, delivering not only the largest and most geographically diverse dataset on the internationalisation of higher education in Europe, but also the only such study measuring practitioners’ views of internationalisation in their institutions.

The survey, guided by an advisory group of internationalisation experts from across Europe, included a range of questions examining the form and function of internationalisation in HEIs in the European Higher Education Area. It focused on institutional goals, strategic priority activities, internal and external challenges, the impact of national and European policy and the future of internationalisation in Europe.

In addition to summarising the whole sample results, the report compares findings by country and geographic region, type of HEI and individual staff roles, as well as comparisons over time. Alongside the insightful analyses offered in each section, a series of 20 data-rich charts and tables invites practitioners to dive into the data and benchmark their own activities.

Some of the key results of the survey include:

• A clear picture of which internationalisation goals practitioners believe are motivating HEIs across the board and by region and country;
• An exploration of the surprising gaps between institutions’ self-reported internationalisation priorities and the actual activities undertaken;
• The unexpected position of the institutional ‘third mission’ among HEIs’ internationalisation priorities;
• An enlightening look at the various institutional structures of internationalisation, from centralised offices to coordinated efforts across faculties and administrative offices;
• An unanticipated discrepancy between the often-reported desire to improve quality of education through internationalisation and the often-overlooked formal assessment of quality assurance;
• A series of questions that serve as a call to action to the international higher education sector to ensure the advancement of quality internationalisation in Europe.

The EAIE Barometer: Internationalisation in Europe (second edition) will be presented by authors Anna-Malin Sandström and Ross Hudson during a session at the 30th Annual EAIE Conference in Geneva on Thursday 13 September 2018. The report is freely available in e-book format via the EAIE website, and will be followed by two complementary in-depth reports on other aspects of the survey data – one examining factors for success in internationalisation and another detailing the challenges and opportunities of funding – in early 2019.