About internationalisation
Why internationalise?
In seeking to prepare staff and students for life in the global community, Curtin's Internationalisation Plan involves the integration of an international and intercultural perspective into all activities, including research and development, teaching and learning, and management policies and systems. Curtin places a high value on internationalisation and recognises that international experience shapes values that benefit local, national and global communities. (Milton-Smith in Curtin Internationalisation Plan 2002-2005)
How does globalisation impact on higher education?
Globalisation, defined as 'the flow of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values, ideas … across borders' (Knight, 1994), is an impetus for internationalising education. According to Van Damme (2001), the impacts of globalisation on higher education are:
- Increased demands on universities as centres of knowledge development - leaders in research and development, and with responsibility for developments in society and culture.
- Increasing world-wide demand for higher education and internationally recognised qualifications.
- The erosion of national education identities as new cross-border regulatory and policy frameworks, higher education structures, degree systems and even curricula are developed.
- The growing 'borderless' higher education market and expansion of communication technologies, the changing role of the traditional academic university and the emergence of new for-profit private universities such as corporate 'universities', media companies and professional associations.
What does 'internationalising the curriculum' mean?
Curtin aims to develop an international perspective as an attribute in all of its graduates, thereby preparing them to perform, both professionally and socially, as global citizens. Internationalising the curriculum refers to a process influencing how the curriculum is designed and delivered, the organisation of learning experiences and the assessment of student learning outcomes in order to achieve this aim. An international curriculum encourages in students a critical understanding of how knowledge is constructed in their discipline, both from their own and others' cultural, economic and political contexts. International perspectives, experience and collaboration may result in transnational programs which encompass such initiatives as staff or student exchange, inter-disciplinary content or programs that bestow internationally-recognised qualifications.
