Finding a sustainable future for student mobility
In 1995, Jane Knight and Hans de Wit wrote: “The danger of isolationism, racism and monoculturalism is a threatening cloud hanging above the present interest in internationalisation of higher education.”
Despite the threat, internationalisation matured in its processes and expanded in scope. Specifically, the number of globally mobile students grew from 2.1 million in 2000 to 5.1 million in 2017 – an increase of 143% – according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
While internationalisation of higher education is not just about global mobility, this remains its most visible and dominant form. More than two decades later, internationalisation of higher education is again threatened by nationalism and other factors …