Forum guidelines

AI in our midst 

Deadline to submit: 24 November 2025

As artificial intelligence begins to reshape higher education around the world, institutions face both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges in relation to internationalisation. This issue aims to explore how AI is redefining internationalisation activities across a multitude of dimensions. What are the practical realities of implementing these powerful new tools and what are the implications for maintaining ethical standards and ensuring inclusive practices in international education? What does the international higher education sector stand to gain or lose in this 'brave new world’ of AI? 

Key questions that could be addressed by submissions include: 

• AI in student recruitment: How are chatbots and predictive analytics transforming international student engagement, marketing and recruitment? And how is AI changing the role and work of IROs?  
• Biases in admissions: Does algorithmic decision-making in international student admissions and mobility programmes risk reinforcing existing inequalities? How can AI and human intelligence collaborate effectively in this area? 
• Curriculum revolution: How is AI shaping curricula and the internationalisation of study programmes? When AI recommends curriculum content, whose knowledge systems are privileged and how can educators ensure diverse perspectives are represented? Should prompt engineering and AI literacy be taught as core intercultural skills to both teachers and students? 
• International research: How can institutions safeguard research integrity and international research partnerships in the face of differing global regulations for AI tools? 
• Assessment, accreditation and quality assurance: How should international programmes redesign testing and assessment to balance AI's potential with academic integrity, while meeting accreditation standards for cross-border validity?  What innovative validation methods work across borders? How should quality assurance frameworks adapt? 
• AI and languages: How is AI reshaping foreign language acquisition and multilingual communication? Does it enhance or hinder intercultural competence? 
• Practical implementation: What frameworks help institutions adopt AI solutions responsibly in internationalisation strategies? What training do international office professionals need to ethically use AI tools in student services? 

Articles of 800-1200 words, featuring case studies, professionally relevant analyses based on original research, or critical perspectives should be submitted by 24 November 2025. Multimedia supplements (infographics, short explainer videos, or images) may also be submitted for consideration. 

Responsible internationalisation

Deadline to submit: 02 March 2026

The term 'responsible internationalisation’ has taken on a variety of meanings in recent years, with significant work being undertaken in many quarters to develop a common understanding of this complex notion. Some link the concept to matters of national security and protection of intellectual property from 'foreign interference’. Others assert that responsibility in our sector has more to do with questions of ethical behavior in the treatment of partners and mobility participants and the mitigation of negative consequences from programmes, policies or actions. Still others consider economic competitiveness to be a key ingredient for responsible internationalisation.  

These various and often interconnected definitions are shaped by intense new challenges in an increasingly fractured landscape. Countries are implementing re-bordering policies and nationalism. In addition to this, polarisation within societies are rising and geopolitical tensions are intensifying. Against this backdrop, this issue examines the multiple perspectives – at national, regional, sectoral or institutional levels – on what ‘responsible internationalisation’ means to the international higher education sector today. More specifically, how it is being enacted or managed in practice in a context of volatility and change. In doing so, we particularly encourage contributions that invite geographically diverse perspectives, including those from outside the EU, recognising that responsible internationalisation may carry different meanings and practices across global contexts. 

We invite contributions addressing questions such as: 

• Fundamental insights: What makes internationalisation 'responsible'? Is it necessary for the concept of responsible internationalisation to focus on one key set of issues or concerns in order to be coherent? What is gained or lost by a multifaceted understanding of responsibility in our sector?  
• Professional ethics: What are the responsibilities of international education professionals within and beyond higher education institutions? What are the codes of conduct being adopted in different countries? How should they be held responsible for unethical practices?     
• Student and staff mobility: What does ‘responsible’ student and staff mobility look like today – for students, for higher education institutions, for governments or societies? 
• Securitisation vs. openness: What are the emerging best practices for balancing security concerns with inclusive internationalisation strategies? 
• Academic collaboration: What institutional and national-level safeguards can protect academic collaboration and international research projects from interference, while enabling partnerships that transcend geopolitical divides? How can policies framing partnerships both ensure autonomy and foster collaboration? 
• Academic freedom: Whose academic freedoms and institutional autonomy are most at risk in the current climate? How do different cultural and political contexts shape understandings of what academic freedom should entail? 
• Engaging stakeholders: How can higher education institutions, policymakers and the general public effectively communicate their viewpoints about responsible internationalisation to one another? How can trust be built between stakeholders to ensure meaningful policy and practice?  

Articles of 800-1200 words, featuring case studies, professionally relevant analyses based on original research or critical perspectives should be submitted by 02 March 2026. Multimedia supplements (infographics, short explainer videos or images) may also be submitted for consideration.