Chapter 4: Results
4.10 Phase 2: Qualitative Analysis
4.10.3 Theme 3: Opportunities of Internationalization
155 oversee progress and implementation was missing from most institutions. As for strategies for internationalization, according to the interview participants, three major strategies were evident within the institutions: Fostering international research collaboration and establish global networks; building international credibility through accreditation of programs; and student and faculty exchanges.
The interview participants gave three broad responses on frequency of internationalization activities at their institutions, focusing mainly on student exchanges, study abroad opportunities at an international level, and recruitment of international students. [In5TM1] noted that "we have student exchanges—we have international students visiting our university and some of our students go over there during the summer”. Joint programs and international collaborations were the next most cited among the participants. [In1TM1] stated that the "universities are now partnering with variety of educational programs that allow students to participate into those jointly developed educational programs”. [In3FA1] listed the joint collaborations with external embassies as one of the most frequent activities—"our university has relations and partnerships with external institutions such as the Korean embassy”.
156 by hiring international faculty [and] also diversity so that you have different opinions that cultures on campus”. Furthermore, [In3TM1] said that "when you do conferences, you draw on expertise from other parts of the world that you don't have locally in the UAE, so each activity has its own benefits so to speak”. [In1TM3] had similar sentiments to share, stating that the opportunity lies in helping stakeholders in
"assimilating the benefits of other cultures" and that "sharing and meeting of minds is the bigger opportunity”.
Strengthened research through international collaboration
Strengthened research was another common theme found within the participants' responses. [In1TM1] cited the subsequent opportunities stemming from increased research:
[to] improve as a research-oriented university … and that would enable the students at this university to improve the impact of engaging in the international networks of the universities; that will allow both, mostly research where it's the main focus. but will also inevitably will affect the education, as I mentioned, which is the most important part.
The respondents were aware of the changes occurring in their institutions and the process of internationalization. This is so because they comprise the most significant part of that process, and they have a major say in decisions about whether the internationalization strategy is about academic quality or research. The positive contribution was also reflected in the interviewees' responses. [In1TM2] mentioned the changes that had occurred in the institution due to internationalization:
I think in the last 10 years . . . our institution is completely different because of its openness to international trends and international approaches . . . so the pace with which the changes are happening is great and I think the motivation here is
157 being accredited by international bodies . . . for example, in college business, which is accredited by the AACSB, [and] in order to maintain its accreditation, it has to be a global school. The same thing applies to the other colleges and the same thing applies even to how the University is administered.
[In1TM1] spoke of the improved positioning of the university in terms of ranking and overall education quality as the most important contribution of internationalization. "I think it has been a very productive effective component of improving the university's positioning and ranking, as well as enhancing the academic educational programs that the students will benefit from”. A similar sentiment was shared by [In5TM1], who stated that:
international reputation and recognition and visibility are part of our internationalization. Also, students are our ambassadors, when they go abroad, they spread an excellent message about the quality of education from our institution, adding to our visibility internationally. Those who come and visit us, they experience high-quality education, facilities and environments, and diversity of the culture...All these add to the visibility.
Overall, the contribution of internationalization can be attributed mainly to improving the brandings, visibility and ‘exposure’ of the university in the global arena and also how it allows for benchmarking against international standards, which only improves the quality of education.
Opportunities of internationalization under COVID-19
In contrast, most of the participants considered the pandemic as a ‘blessing’ in disguise. [In1TM2] summarized the benefits eloquently:
To me, COVID-19 provided a golden gift to the internationalization of higher education, because today we can attend international webinars more often, we can participate in virtual conferences more often. It's a lot cheaper and I think we can have more international students and international faculty work from
158 where they are, they don't need to be here physically, and you can benefit from the expertise [as] we cannot afford to have them fully hired by institutions. So, there is a positive impact on higher education when it comes to the consequences of COVID-19 on how education is conducted.
[In1TM1] also emphasized on how close as a community we have become during the pandemic and how the crisis has forced the higher education sector to be innovative:
It brought the means of enhanced communication, the ability to deliver both educational and research processes across the globe much tighter. Interestingly, by preventing us from communicating face to face, it brought us much closer and it give a social acceptance of the new means on communication . . . [this is a] new means of using this communication in education to base reality. It forced us to accept that, and that revolutionized the whole educational process of the internationalization and provided the need of acceptance of teaching processes across the globe in terms of programs and content to an acceptable reality.
[In5TM1] agreed and added: "This pandemic basically allowed us to explore a positive side. These joint degree programs. can be online. This was not thought of before”. Overall, COVID-19, although it has many challenges in its own right, the positive impact on how education is conducted cannot be ignored.