Preparing future ready graduates: can we leverage internationalisation of curriculum?

There is widespread agreement from many sources, including the OECD, that critical thinking, global citizenship, communication and collaboration, inter-cultural competency, social and ethical responsibilities, flexibility, diversity of ideas, are some of the essential 21st century skills that students need to develop to be future ready. These skills are even more important given the ever-increasing nature of an interconnected and interdependent world. Internationalisation of the curriculum refers to, among other things, how international perspectives are embedded in the teaching, learning and assessments of a program of study. Internationalisation is not always explicitly stated in curriculum objectives, even though many higher education institutions may have aspects of it in their graduate outcomes documents. This generally involves a strategic approach to develop competencies focused on connecting differences between people, ideas, problems and solutions. Most higher education curriculum often do not lend itself towards this, however it is possible creatively and meaningfully embed many of these approaches within lessons giving students and more richer learning experience.Institutions need to wholistically recognise the value of internationalisation for future-ready graduates, both domestic and international, rather than just the associated short-term financial benefits. As such, efforts must be explicit and targeted in approach, when embedding internationalisation into the curriculum.