Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions in Mozambique
Exploring the Rationales, Strategies and Challenges
University curriculums have undergone major reform with international content, branch campuses have been established, cross-border collaborations have been formed and programmes for international students have been launched.
Research questions
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How have Mozambican universities undertaken internationalisation in terms of understanding, rationales, strategies, and challenges?
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How are global ideas of internationalisation interpreted and translated into local practices?
Globalizing the university and homogenizing its processes
Among the findings of the study concerning understandings of internationalisation, placing the university in a global context and homogenizing university processes and procedures were significant elements. Internationalization was seen as the process of integrating international, intercultural knowledge and practices.
The study reveals that universities have embarked on internationalisation by developing partnerships with international entities; promoting the inward and outward mobility of students, faculty, and administration; and strengthening collaboration with international scholars. Furthermore, the study revealed some difficulties universities faced during internationalisation, specifically language barriers, brain drain, loss of autonomy, and cultural alienation.
Visibility, status, and global recognition are clearly shaping the practices
Scholars argue, however, that internationalisation should not be purely focused on recognition. While these values can be seen as a necessary evil to prevent the occurrence of parochialism in scholarship and research, their general adoption may also be viewed as a new incarnation of university colonialism. Observations in the findings suggest that global ideas of internationalisation can be deliberately decolonised. Essentially, global ideas can be translated, edited, and transformed into local practices that strengthen the autonomy of the local institutions and contribute to the sustainability of the local context.
To provide a more comprehensive understanding of how IoHE is being implemented and translated, more empirical research across other formerly colonised African countries would be welcome.
Read the whole article on ResearchGate and download here: Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions in Mozambique: Exploring the Rationales, Strategies and Challenges
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