IEASA-British Council Internationalisation Research Project – Report Launch
In 2021 IEASA partnered with the British Council to jointly commission the first-ever national research study on internationalisation of higher education in South Africa, and the report on this study, titled “Exploring Internationalisation of Higher Education at Public Universities in South Africa: Intentions, Practices, Opportunities and Constraints”, was recently launched as part of programme of the 2024 IEASA Conference.
During a plenary session on 22 August 2024, Prof Felix Maringe, the research team lead, shared insights into the report, which explored the internationalisation endeavours of the 19 South African universities that participated in the research project. Representatives of two key stakeholders – Dr Idah Makukule on behalf of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Dr Phetiwe Matutu on behalf of Universities South Africa (USAf) – offered their responses on the report before Dr Lavern Samuels, IEASA President, and George Barrett, British Council South Africa Country Director, shared their reflections on the research project as representatives of its commissioning parties. For more information on the plenary contributions, please see this article published in the UWN: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240821205829761.
Participants of the report launch plenary at the 2024 IEASA Conference
Photo credit: IEASA/Chris Allen
The research report is expected to play a significant role in assisting South African universities and other higher education stakeholders in implementing the DHET’s Policy Framework for Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa. As a baseline report, it provides a valuable resource that will inform the planning of future actions in support of internationalisation in South Africa, including future research.
Following the launch event, Dr Samia Chasi was invited to share findings from the report with members of USAf’s Research and Innovation Strategy Group (RISG) in an online meeting held on 12 September 2024.
A digital copy of the report is available for download from the publications section of the IEASA website at: https://ieasa.studysa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IEASA_British_Council_Report_Digi-Final.pdf[MOU1] .
