Keywords
Australia, internationalization, international strategies, university strategies
Abstract
In the quest for higher education internationalization approaches, there remains much debate about how to redefine “internationalization” in a post-pandemic context through which the limitations of student mobility have been exposed. This article contributes to current debates about future directions and definitions of internationalization by offering insightful analysis of recent approaches and conceptualizations across the Australian university sector. To do so, we conducted a desktop review of universities’ public-facing international strategies and analyzed the documents for patterns in practices and priorities. Our findings generate a timely picture of internationalization approaches and indicate the broadening conceptualization of internationalization within the sector, moving away from a focus primarily on student recruitment and toward a richer understanding of the ways in which diversity can thrive in a globalized university community. Yet, our research also highlights the clear commonalities of approaches across the Australian sector and emphasizes an opportunity for universities to develop more individualized approaches that better reflect their unique contexts and the diversities within their own community. Furthermore, despite an increased focus on the social aspects of internationalization, findings suggest that the economically driven practices of recruitment and reputation remain prominent within the sector.
Recommended Citation
Marangell, Samantha; Caia, Jiadi; and Dollinger, Mollie
(2026)
"Different but Still the Same? A Review of Recent Australian University Internalization Approaches,"
Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education: Vol. 18:
No.
1, Article 8.
DOI: 10.64899/2151-0407.1905
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/jcihe/vol18/iss1/8
References
Arkoudis, S., Baik, C., Marginson, S., & Cassidy, E. (2012). Internationalising the student experience in Australian tertiary education: Developing criteria and indicators. Melbourne: Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
Arkoudis, S., Yu, X., Baik, C., Borland, H., Chang, S., Lang, I., Lang, J., Pearce, A., & Watty, K. (2010). Finding common ground: Enhancing interaction between domestic and international students. Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
Arkoudis, S., Dollinger, M., Baik, C., & Patience, A. (2019). International students’ experience in Australian higher education: Can we do better? Higher Education, 77, 799-813. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0302-x
Australian Catholic University. (2020). ACU global strategy 2020-2023.
Baker, S., Kim, H., Marangell, S., Baik, C., Arkoudis, S., Croucher, G. & Laffernis, F. (2022). Engaging ‘diverse’ students: An audit of strategies to foster intercultural engagement in Australian public universities. Melbourne CSHE. https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/4143721/diversity-and-inclusion-audit-report-June-2022.pdf
Beelen, J., & Jones, E. (2015a). Defining ‘internationalisation at home’. University World News, 2015. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20151202144353164
Beelen, J., & Jones, E. (2015b). Redefining Internationalisation at Home. In A. Curaj, L. Matei, R. Pricopie, J. Salmi, & P. Scott (Eds.), The European higher education area (pp. 59–72). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20877-0_5
Brooks, J., McCluskey, S., Turley, E., & King, N. (2015). The utility of template analysis in qualitative psychology research. Qualitative research in psychology, 12(2), 202-222. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/14780887.2014.955224
Charles Darwin University. (2015). Challenging global conventions: Global strategy and advancement. Strategic plan – CDU global 2015-2025.
Charles Sturt University. (n.d.). Internationalisation strategy.
Choudaha, R. (2017). Are international students “cash cows”? International Higher Education, (90), 5-6.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education (7th ed.). Routledge.
de Wit, H. (2019). Internationalisation in higher education, a critical review. SFU Educational Review, 12(3), 9-17.
de Wit, H. (2024). 'Everything that quacks is internationalisation'-Critical reflections on the evolution of higher education internationalisation. Journal of Studies in International Education, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/102831532312216
de Wit, H., & Altbach, P. (2021). Internationalisation in higher education: Global trends and recommendations for its future. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5(1), 28-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898
de Wit, H., Deca, L., Hunter, F. (2015). Internationalisation of Higher Education—What Can Research Add to the Policy Debate? [Overview Paper]. In: Curaj, A., Matei, L., Pricopie, R., Salmi, J., Scott, P. (Eds.) The European Higher Education Area. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20877-0_1
de Wit, H., Hunter, F., Howard, L., & Egron-Polak, E. (2015). Internationalisation of higher education. European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies.
de Wit, H., & Jones, E. (2018). Inclusive internationalisation: Improving access and equity. International Higher Education, 94, 16-18. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2018.0.10561
Dollinger, M., Taylor, D., & Piskiewicz, L. (2023). Exploring the idea of a community embedded university in regional and rural Australia. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 33(1), 41-56.
Gao, Y. (2018). A set of indicators for measuring and comparing university internationalisation performance across national boundaries. Higher Education, 76(2), 317–336. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45116699
Griffith University (2018). Internationalisation strategy 2018-2020.
Hans, de W. (2024). ‘Everything That Quacks is Internationalisation’ - Critical Reflections on the Evolution of Higher Education Internationalisation. Journal of Studies in International Education, 28(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153231221655
Hudzik, J. K. (2011). Comprehensive internationalisation: From concept to action. NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
James Cook University. (2018). International engagement strategy 2025.
Jones, E., Leask, B., Brandenburg, U., & de Wit, H. (2021). Global Social Responsibility and the Internationalisation of Higher Education for Society. Journal of Studies in International Education, 25(4), 330–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153211031679
Knight, J. (2008). Higher education in turmoil: The changing world of internationalisation (Vol. 13). Brill.
Knight, J. (2012). Concepts, rationales, and interpretive frameworks in the internationalisation of higher education. In D. K. Deardorff, H. de Wit, J. D. Heyl., & T. Adams (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of international higher education (pp. 27-42). Sage
Krause, K. L., Coates, H., & James, R. (2005). Monitoring the internationalisation of higher education: Are there useful quantitative performance indicators? In Tight, M. (Ed.), International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, Vol. 3: International relations (pp. 233-253). Emerald. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3628(05)03010-8
La Trobe University (2018). 2018-2022 Globalisation plan: Enabling global excellence.
Leask, B. (2009). Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 205-221.
Leask, B. (2015). Internationalizing the curriculum. Routledge.
Lomer, S., Mittelmeier, J., & Courtney, S. (2023). Typologising internationalisation in UK university strategies: Reputation, mission and attitude. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(5), 1042-1056. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2193729
Marangell, S. (2023). Exploring students’ experiences of an internationalized university through a person-in-context lens. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 15(2). 134–165. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v15i2.4133
Marangell, S., & D’Orazzi, G. (2023). Students' changing conceptualizations of university internationalisation in Australia. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(5), 1230–1246. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2193725
Marginson, S. (2023). Hegemonic ideas are not always right: On the definition of ‘internationalisation’ of higher education. Working Paper no. 96, July 2023. Centre for Global Higher Education Studies, University of Oxford. www.researchcghe.org.
OECD. (2023). International migration outlook. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/international-migration-outlook-2023_b0f40584-en.html
Patel, F., & Lynch, H. (2013). Glocalization as an alternative to internationalisation in higher education: Embedding positive glocal learning perspectives. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 25(2), 223-230.
Rizvi, F. (2020). Reimagining recovery for a more robust internationalisation. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(7), 1313-1316. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1823325
Rizvi, F., & Walsh, L. (1998). Difference, globalisation and the internationalisation of curriculum. Australian Universities' Review, 41(2), 7-11.
RMIT University (2016). RMIT’s international plan: Global reach and outlook 2016-2020.
Robertson, R. (1995). Glocalization: Time-space and homogeneity-heterogeneity. Global modernities, 2(1), 25-44.
Rumbley, L. E. (2015). “Intelligent internationalisation”: A 21st century imperative. International Higher Education, (80), 16-17. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2015.80.6146
Sperduti, V. R. (2019). Internationalisation as Westernization in higher education. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 9(Spring), 9–12.
Stickdorn, M., Hormess, M. E., Lawrence, A., & Schneider, J. (2018). This is service design doing. O'Reilly Media, Inc.
The University of Adelaide. (n.d.). The University of Adelaide’s international plan.
The University of Melbourne. (2017). International strategy 2017-2020: Growing esteem internationally.
University of the Sunshine Coast. (n.d.). Internationalisation guidelines. (Correct as at 1 May 2022). usc.edu.au/policy
University of Tasmania. (2016). International strategy 2016-2020.
University of Wollongong (n.d.). Chapter 5: Internationalisation. In UoW performance portfolio (pp. 69-82).
Uzhegova, D., Croucher, G., Marangell, S., Arkoudis, S., Baik, C., Law, S. F., & Locke, W. (2021). Shifting the focus for international higher education in Australia (Discussion Paper). Melbourne CSHE. https://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/3906172/shifting-the-focus-for-international-he-in-Australia.pdf
Volet, S. (2001). Understanding learning and motivation in context: A multi-dimensional and multi-level cognitive-situative perspective. In S. Volet & S. Järvelä (Eds.), Motivation in learning contexts: Theoretical advances and methodological implications (pp. 57-82). Pergamon.
Western Sydney University. (2015). Global futures: Internationalising Western Sydney University 2015-2020.

