The Value of Internationalisation

Internationalisation divides academics.  Many view the global perspective as opening up exciting new opportunities, but others consider it at best a distraction from their core activities. Concerns about the ethics of charging high fees to non-EU students, the impact on the environment of increased travel and geo-political considerations cause others to be sceptical or even oppose plans to increase global activity. These issues need to (and I believe can) be addressed, but my objective in this article is to share my passion for internationalisation by drawing on personal experiences and hopefully convince you that Global Galway should be an important part of NUI Galway’s agenda.

Universities for me are about giving students opportunities. Studying abroad is one of them. Students gain insights into their subjects when taught in a different system. This is obvious for my field of law which has a national base. But I was interested that my daughter (who studied maths) told me how different her friends who had gone on exchange to Hong Kong found the study of maths there. It makes us appreciate diversity and the need to be adaptable. When I worked in Hong Kong, the law firms were keen that our students studied abroad. Building up personal resilience was an important part of what they hoped students would gain from the experience.  For many Hong Kong students it would be the first time they had to cope without a maid! They also wanted staff who could fit into different cultures with ease.

The international approach can lead to some truly innovative programmes. When I was a young lecturer at Sheffield, I was offered a blank canvass to create an international law degree. I devised a degree in which all students went abroad for a semester, but also studied comparative law from the very first year. Many people would think comparative law should only be studied after having mastered your national law, but this programme sought to prevent students falling into the common trap of believing their national legal system was in some way superior. We attracted great students and one year even had higher entry grades than medicine! Students came to Sheffield because of the distinctive programme that stressed the global dimension of law.

At City University of Hong Kong we had a policy of developing double degrees so students could become dually qualified in Hong Kong and another legal system such as China or the USA. There are now a number of successful programmes between common law and civil law countries.  However, one should not underestimate the investment needed to bring these programmes to fruition. NUI Galway College of Business, Public Policy and Law has developed impressive options for students to study abroad in their third year. This is an effective means of allowing a high number of students to benefit from an overseas experience.

I would need another essay to explain the benefits of having international students on our campus. The benefits are hopefully obvious to those students and the societies they take the skills learned in Galway back to. What is less often appreciated is how they enrich our community and the classroom experience. I suspect we could do more to tap into the diverse perspectives they can bring to many topics.

For those who are utilitarian, internationalisation is an important dimension of many rankings.  I felt very proud when City U Hong Kong law school was ranked #1 for Internationalisation. That also helped raise our overall ranking score. However, we did well because we were committed to Internationalisation. The ranking was a nice result, but we were driven by a genuine desire to be international. There were some natural advantages in being situated in Asia’s Global City and next door to China, whose students and staff members were categorised as being International. But we were successful because we invested in our commitment to transnational education and research. We hosted many research events and staff were willing to offer classes in our partner universities.

Attractive partners have many suitors and soon see through those who are not genuine and either have no plans for how to co-operate or see all the benefits flowing in one direction. So I would encourage us all to embrace the Global Galway project and to do so with ambition and authenticity. Have good ideas and be confident in the attractiveness of NUI Galway as a partner.

One final plea is to try not to be obsessed with rankings. This may be hard when many of your potential partners will be and will judge you by your ranking and the company you keep. Some universities that have risen up the rankings would not have collaborated with themselves a few years previously! You need to find compatible partners, but I would look to the substance rather than simply follow fashion. Your best partner may be lower or higher ranked. The goal is to find one with the same values and commitment.