A Discussion on Transnationality and Globalness of HEI Internationalization

The internationalization of higher education institutions (HEIs) involve a set of activities aimed at providing an educational experience in an environment that integrates a global perspective. The internationalization of HEIs incorporates a diverse set of academic and extracurricular activities with emphasis on the development and innovation of curricula, academic/student/faculty exchange programs, technological assistance, intercultural training, international student recruitment, and joint research initiatives. Despite the several studies on the internationalization of HEIs, no single study addresses issues like local responsiveness and global integration. As such, the authors discuss how the internationalization of HEIs has evolved and how Bartlett and Ghoshal's strategies fit in the internationalization path of HEIs.

The Role of Foreign Languages in International Education

It is a fact that universities around the globe devote a considerable part of their budget to guaranteeing the quality of their international strategy. Most higher education institutions have set up international offices with the aims of increasing the number of exchange students, faculty exchange programs, calls for joint international research projects, access to communities abroad by the use of Information Technology, or the links for academic cooperation and cultural understanding.However, in some institutions this is no easy task. Universities face financial problems – student and faculty exchange is expensive, getting visas and migration issues is a hassle, moreover most universities in the world offer programs only in their native tongue and, sometimes in a foreign language, mainly English.This paper lays out recommendations on how to match the international mission with a language development strategy, as well as a proposal of a paradigm shift from the “traditional” view to a “global view” on international education from a Linguistic perspective.

Taking stock: wither the social sciences in Gulf universities†

This paper investigates the status of social science in the universities of the Gulf states. It tries to identify what is taught and to suggest why. It examines the positives, which include the construction of buildings, the effort to institute diversity in hiring faculty, and the institution of faculty exchange programmes. The negatives include state interference in curricula, the failure to establish courses in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of the social sciences, rote learning, and excessive deference to the needs of the market in structuring an academic programme, with a consequent stress on market economics, management and business administration at the expense of the social sciences.