The OECD’s Higher Education Programme (IMHE) launched a project in April 2011, entitled Managing
Internationalisation, to explore the interwoven relationships between the internationalisation strategies of governments and higher education institutions so as to help them face the range of challenges associated with internationalisation.
The project was based on existing research and built on the accumulated knowledge and experience of
volunteer members of the OECD Higher Education Programme. A series of online focus groups were held over 2011 and 2012 to share perspectives across institutions, governments and international organisations. The findings of these focus groups were examined at two international conferences held at Lund University in December 2011 and at the State University of New York in April 2012. In addition, the project took into account activities of other international associations, such as the European Association for International Education (EAIE), the Institute for International Education (IIE), the International Association of Universities (IAU), the Observatory of Borderless Education (OBE), and the World Bank.
The project identified factors, instruments, approaches and reference points that have an impact on, or are affected by, internationalisation. Internationalisation is clearly here to stay and this report concludes with some pointers for what governments can do to promote and support internationalisation and what higher education institutions can do to manage internationalisation more effectively.