Higher Education Internalization and Mobility (HEIM): Inclusion, Equality and Innovation

Work Package 1

Higher Education Internalization and Mobility (HEIM): Inclusion, Equality and Innovation Project (

Guidelines for Reflexive Internationalisation in Higher Education

This report was prepared in autumn 2017 as part of the Work Package 1 “Internationalisation with Equity and Diversity” of the Higher Education Internationalization and Mobility (HEIM) project. HEIM was funded by Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions and focused on how principles of equity and inclusion can be applied to internationalization strategies and programs in higher education, as well as on developing research and innovation capacity in this field. The project was directed by the Centre for Higher Education and Equity Research (CHEER) at the University of Sussex (United Kingdom), in partnership with the University of Umea (Sweden), the University of Seville (Spain), and the Roma Education Fund (Hungary).

The policy briefing paper is based on interviews and documentary analysis conducted between September and November 2017 in Seville, during the secondment of Roma Education Fund representatives at the University of Seville.

The paper was written by Anasztazia Nagy and Beata Bislim Olahova from the Roma Education Fund, who each spent 2 months in Seville University. We would like to thank Dr. Mayte Padilla-Carmona and Dr. Jose Gonzalez Monteagudo for their kind support, discussions and hospitality during our stay in Seville. Furthermore, we would also like to thank the interviewees including administrative staff, students and teachers who agreed to dedicate their time.

Contents

Introduction and summary

Executive Summary

Introduction

Methodology

University Policy related to internationalization:

Internationalization from Implementation Units’ Point of View

Internationalization from Beneficiaries’ Point of View (teaching staff and students)

Main Mobility Drivers for Students

Barriers to Students’ Mobility

Main Drivers of Mobility in the Case of Teachers

Conclusions & Recommendations

Introduction and summary

The concept of internationalization in higher education is mainstreamed in most countries of the world. Of the world’s 4.5 million globally mobile students today, with expansion of European programmes for research and education in the last 30 years, such as the ERASMUS programme and also research programmes like the Marie Curie Fellowships, Europe attracts 45 % of the mobility market (Internationalization of Higher Education Studies, 2015, European parliament Study)[1]. According to European Commission’s statistics[2], "Spain has doubled its percentage of the market share of foreign tertiary students by country of destination, becoming the 9th country in the world. Spain is also the most popular destination for the Erasmus students and the country that sends out the most Erasmus students".

Spain has been committed to internationalizing its higher education for more than 20 years, lately the Spanish legislation developed and adopted a national Strategy to Internationalize the Spanish Universities 2015-2020[3]. The Strategy became a guiding document for decentralized internationalization adopted by the higher education institutions countrywide.

In this context, the University of Seville’s Vice-rectorate for Internationalization developed and introduced a comprehensive Strategic Plan for Internationalization in 2015 of University of Seville (Plan Estratégico de Internacionalización[4]) which underlines the main ambitions of the university in the upcoming years.

Executive Summary

The objective of the report was to examine how the Strategic Plan for Internationalization of the University of Seville has been translated into practice, and how appropriate the implementation of the various programs are towards various groups of individuals, taking into account race, gender, social class, economic standing, religion, sexual orientation, migrant background or ethnicity. However, no data are collected on social variables, this makes it hard to monitor and evaluate equity and diversity issues, therefore, data were not available for the research purposes and further analyses.

Lack of disaggregated data hindered the possibility of further analysis if members belonging to certain diverse groups, enjoyed equal access and opportunities to the services provided by the internationalization strategy. Though, some of the interviewed students provided meaningful insights into equity implications of the policy, these findings will be shared during the course of the report through the case studies. The report examines the current implementation of the policies and activities of the University towards internationalization of its higher education programs based on opinions of various stakeholders.

The main framework of the internationalization policy of the University of Seville (US) is embodied in the Internationalization Strategic Plan. The strategy was adopted in 2013 and since then it has been in place in all faculties of the University. The University publishes a yearly statistical book about the accomplishments of incoming and outgoing staff and students every year, covering geographical aspects as well as specializations. Based on the available data, the university enjoys high level of mobility of foreign students in various MA and PhD degrees.

For the purpose of the report, interviews were conducted with a variety of stakeholders at different levels; we conducted 17 interviews with University staff and PhD students involved in the mobility programs. The evaluation specifically examined stakeholders’ perceptions on internationalization, barriers to mobility, as well as personal successes.

The summary of the main findings suggests:

1. The University of Seville is strongly committed to internationalization and has a Strategic Plan for future years;
2. The aspirations among students and staff for international mobility are high;
3. The demands for international mobility outstripped supply;
4. Communication about opportunities for mobility are uneven within the University;
5. While some statistical data are kept by the Internationalization Centre e.g. on students’ examination results, no data are collected on social variables including ethnicity or disability. This makes is hard to monitor and evaluate equity and diversity issues;
6. Students and staff reported that no preparation for mobility is provided by the University in advance of international visits e.g. language;
7. Students and staff reported that there were limited mechanisms for evaluating their international experiences/ reports post mobility;
8. No structures appeared to be in place to support disabled students e.g. additional support for care/ access;
9. Students and staff reported that they had to make some financial investment themselves to supplement the mobility grants provided.

The recommendations for improvements in the University are to be addressed in the following areas:

1. Improve Communication and Information about mobility programs and the targets of the strategy;
2. Set up a System for Evaluating Academic Agreements;
3. Define Roles and Responsibilities of various Institutional Bodies responsible for the Strategy;
4. Install Special Targeted Calls for Outgoing and Incoming Students and Outgoing and incoming teachers;
5. Establish transparent financial support for mobility programs for disadvantaged groups;
6. Collect data sensible to diversity and encourage participation of disadvantaged groups in mobility programs.

Introduction

The main objective of the paper is to examine the University of Seville’s internationalization strategy in the context of European policy on staff mobility and policies aimed at devising a highly flexible and competitive labour market. To evaluate the implementation of International Strategy of University of Seville, which set the main framework of internationalization of the University used a case study design to examine implementation efforts. We gathered insight into the intentions and policy vocabulary of the University of Seville internationalization documentation with a view to comparing these aspirations against the actual experiences of academic staff, teachers and implementation stakeholders.

Methodology

The methodology combined desk-based research with 17 semi-structured interviews face-to face with admission office staff, with administrative staff of the internationalization department (online), policy makers in charge of the Internationalization Strategy of the university, practitioners, international and local students and lecturers. The team identified positive and challenging case studies of participants from international programmes.

We conducted 17 interviews with staff and students involved in internationalization processes, practices and procedures in the University of Seville from September-November 2017.

The evaluation specifically examined stakeholder perceptions, barriers to implementation, and successes. Interviews were conducted with a variety of stakeholders at different levels. In total 17 persons were interviewed, out of them 8 persons are part of the University’s staff teachers, staff, vice-deans as well as 9 students. (Table 1.)

Table 1. Interviews conducted:

Number of total interviews
Vice dean of faculty / 3
International Graduate School (director) / 1
Director General de Relaciones de Gobierno / 1
International Centre / 1
Teachers / 2
Students / 9
Incoming students / 3
Outgoing students / 3
Students wo wants to have mobility / 4
Minority student / 1
Special need student / 1
Total number of interviews / 17

One of the main limitations of the evaluation is that that the evaluation team managed to conduct interviews only with one staff member of the Internationalization Department, which is an important stakeholder in the implementation of the Strategy due to unavailability of the staff members during the secondment period.

University Policy on Internationalization:

The main framework of the internationalization policy of the University of Seville (US) is embodied in the Internationalization Strategic Plan. According to the Plan, the main drivers for the international strategy are competitiveness and global challenges, which each university is facing in this century:

(1) the demand for qualified, entrepreneurial and innovative personnel who are able to develop work in a global environment;

(2) attracting talent in both teachers and students who are able to build a knowledge based society.

In addition, the US has to comply with the nationwide trends and requirements of the government related to internationalization of the Spanish Universities, therefore “Seville’s future plans need to be also on line with the requirements of the government” (Internationalization Strategic Plan 2015).

The Internationalization Strategy defines five priorities:

a) Improve the quality of training in international terms;

b) Improve the quality of international research;

c) Train students for a globalized world;

d) Increase reputation and international visibility;

e) Provide a service to society and the community in general.

The university follows a so-called ‘offensive model’ of internationalization according to its Strategy, which aims to develop an overall strategy of the institution towards its

internationalization. Internationalization is perceived as a key factor in competition and competitiveness, and is integrated into all management aspects of the institution.

The University of Seville is structured in a matrix form, made up of eight main lines of action: Three vertical in nature and five cross-type. The vertical lines refer to the three main functions performed by the university at present, (a) training/ teaching, (b) research and (c) knowledge transfer within the R & D. Meanwhile, these three key areas require a set of continued support measures making up the transverse lines. These five lines refer to (1) the creation of a Management Information System for internationalization, (2) the enhancement of international mobility, (3) management of international agreements and strategic alliances, (4) improving international visibility and reputation of the University of Seville and (5) improving language ability of all the university community. (Internationalisation Strategic Plan, 2015: 20). Internationalization is interpreted as the best tool to answer the global demands, therefore it is a priority area for the University.

According to data of the university, there is a high international mobility of students, both incoming and outgoing. Thus, in the 2012-2013 academic year, 1,693 foreign students visited the university thanks to the Erasmus program, and 1,605 of the students took part of their studies in some European country. Alongside them, there were 1,290 international students occupied in degree programs, enrolled to first and second cycle studies, 583 in official master's degrees and 615 in the different doctoral programs[5].

Access to information and available programs of the University for international mobility programs for students was less known than expected; majority of the PhD students were not aware of basic information where to seek support for mobility programs in terms of information and funding despite of the information available at the Universities webpage[6]. Out of 9 interviewed PhD students, none, was aware about the existence of the University’s strategy for internalization.

Current status of the University of Seville in international and national rankings

has improved its position. Despite this, given the size of the institution, there are more striking differences in the region between areas and productivity (both scientific, as a teacher and transfer knowledge) of workforce. The medium-term objective is to achieve similar positions to those other Spanish universities of similar characteristics and size, as is the case of the University of Granada, Valencia or Zaragoza.

Clearly the positive side of the strategic plan is that it identified clear milestones and actions and has set up an secretariat for implementation, the internalization centre which consist of specialized departments.

The University of Seville is strongly committed to internationalization and implementation of the Strategic Plan, a Centre and diverse staff employed to promote and support it. The commitment is based on aspirations to become globally competitive and to prepare students and staff for globalised higher education systems and employment opportunities.

The Vice-President for Internationalization is responsible for developing the strategic lines of action and the Internationalization Centre supports the whole university in terms of internationalization. Related to additional structures and cooperation one of the interviewee described it as the following:

All the centers have a part of their organization chart, of their management, under a figure that is the Vice-Dean of Internationalization. That person is in direct relationship with the International Centre and with the Vice-Rector for Internationalization. From my point of view, it is well structured because there is a relationship between the centres and what the University coordinates in the central agencies. From my point of view, the role and administration of each vice-dean of international relations is not good, why do I say this? Because it is strongly highlighedt what is a centre from the point of view of academic organization and, even, research group, why? Because it's tradition. When internationalization was generated, even when the first Vice-Rectorate for International Relations was created, some centres and others did not, were specific administrative international relations. In this way, the actions of international relations are not as visible as other more traditional ones, by administrative adjustment. This is a question of the PAD. We can say that we do not have a PAD specially trained in languages. From my point of view, the defect we have and what we are working on is that there is a greater investment in international relations or internationalization than in the centres themselves. (Director General de Relaciones de Gobierno).

Internationalization from Implementation Units’ Point of View

As part of the evaluation process, 3 vice-deans and the Director of the Graduate International School were interviewed. They are in charge of supporting the implementation of the Internationalization Strategy at their faculties in coordination with the Internationalization Department (Centre for Internationalization). They aim to be in direct relationship with the International Centre and with the Vice-Rector for Internationalization.

They are specifically taking care of establishing academic agreements with other universities, which are the bases of mobility. Furthermore, they are following and keeping contact with the partner universities regarding the academic progress of the students, however most of them also take responsibility for organizing accommodation, keeping contact with the university, other administrative and coordination duties since they are the first contact for the students. They collect the available number of places for mobility programmes and also the number of outgoing, incoming students. They collect the academic results of the students, but they do not gather any special information on variables such as the social background, ethnicity about the students with exception to gender desegregated data.

In terms of roles and responsibilities, it was pointed out that there is no clear division between the role of Faculty and International Department, so the coordination is mainly based on practice.

All of the vice -deans defined their position as being very autonomous in terms of internationalization without adequate support and requirements from the Internationalization Department.

The International Centre is dependent on the Vice-Rectorate for Internationalization, it boosts the international promotion of the US, and the US relationships with international institutions and networks. It provides support for the US International Projects and internationalization services for both in-house and international students, staff and guests at the University of Seville. It is the contact point for international students and staff, as well as for US students and staff interested in studying, doing research, or teaching abroad.

The International Centre is home of the following offices: the International Promotion Office, the International Mobility Office (incoming and out-coming), the Welcome Office, the Office of Study Abroad and Multilingualism, and the Office of International Projects.

The HEIM team has managed to conduct an interview with the International Mobility Office, responsible for the students’ exchange. The interviewee described the main challenge of the work is the high demand of students as well as teachers for mobility grants, and the lack of available funds. Demand exceeds supply. The number of applicants is three times higher than the available places for grants. She described how they are responsible for study agreements, issuing the calls and the processing the selection of students. However, in this work they are facing lack of human resources. Data collected about the students are issues in the yearly statistical book. Available funding and calls are published on the website of the university, and they also share it via the regular university newsletters. It was also mentioned that the US every year increase a little bit the available funding for the exchange programs and especially plan to do it regarding to PhD students.

So, the main finding was that interest for internationalization is high from staff and students, but resources and opportunities are limited. A further finding was that while some data are collected on students e.g. their academic results, no data are collected on social variables such as ethnicity.