Development of Higher education istitutions Internationalization Policies 

Unipi Team Leader: Francesco Marcelloni, Vice Rector for international cooperation and relations

Worldwide, HEIs launch international initiatives, announcing their ambition to become "global educational institutions". A look at what is actually happening shows that often these initiatives have marginal impact. Often they fail to deliver what they promise. In recent years, several universities in Latin America have undertaken ambitious internationalisation programmes which have delivered less than satisfactory results. It is clear that there is a significant gap between internationalisation efforts and concrete outcomes.The starting point of our project is a holistic idea of internationalisation. The standard and widely accepted definition, as " the process of integrating an international dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of the institution", does not capture in our view the essence of a process whose ultimate goal is to integrate the institution into the emerging global knowledge production and transfer (research and learning/teaching) network, while enhancing its relevance for its own students and territory. Our definition emphasizes the HEIs' need to become an integral part of the world's knowledge and learning/teaching system, not only to benefit from it but also to contribute to its development. This rationale calls for change in existing structures, operating modes and mind-set in order to allow the institution as a whole (staff, students, and future employers) to contribute to the emerging global knowledge and learning network. The project foresees joint elaboration of strategies and roadmaps for each partner, using cutting edge techniques and tools, including those created in the Tuning Latin America and ECHE principles. The result foreseen will be the increased ability of the Latin American partners to start and manage their internationalisation process effectively, enhancing mobility and quality, and thanks to carefully planned dissemination and twinning, improve the performance of other HEIs in the region and in the EU.

Coordinator:  UNIVERSITÀ DI PISA  (Italy) 

Other participants

UNIVERSIDAD DE LA IGLESIA DE DEUSTO ENTIDAD RELIGIOSA (Spain)
UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE ASUNCION (Paraguay)
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LANUS (Argentina)
FUNDACION UNIVERSITARIA EMPRESARIALDE LA CAMARA DE COMERCIO DE BOGOTA- UNIEMPRESARIAL (Colombia)
FUNDACION EUROSUR PARA LA COOPERACION ENTRE AMERICA LATINA Y LA UNIONEUROPEA (Argentina)
UNIVERSIDAD DEL CONO SUR DE LAS AMERICAS (Paraguay)
UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTANDER (Colombia)
UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGOGICA NACIONAL (Colombia)
UNIVERSIDAD IBEROAMERICANA (Paraguay)
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE QUILMES (Argentina)
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI SASSARI (Italy)
UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO (Portugal)
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CUYO(Argentina)

Start date: 15-10-2017

End date: 14-10-2021

EU Grant: 983.253 €

Project website: https://www.projectdhip.com/