Issues in the Development of Universities - Strategies for Internationalisation

Universities have always tended to be internationally oriented institutions in terms of research, scholarly activities, and access to the world of knowledge by a wide variety of academics from different disciplines with different needs. However, the considerable expansion of international activities over the last decade is a phenomenon closely linked with financial reduction, the rise of academic entrepreneurialism, as well as, of course, a genuine philosophical commitment to cross cultural perspectives in the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. The principal purpose of this paper is to examine some of the strategic and policy implications of this development. The discussion is based on a conceptual framework of strategic analysis (Davies 1995), drawing on work by Keller (1983), from conclusions derived by the author from R and D and consultancy projects and experience of institutional life. The bulk of the evidence, however, is derived from two major action research projects directed by the author, the first co-sponsored by the Association of European Universities (CRE) and UNESCO (Davies 1997), and the second by CRE and the European Commission (Davies 1998). These projects based on some 40 European universities yield rich evidence of future agendas for the international effort of universities