Internationalisation in Education

1. Internationalisation in Education Hans Peter Jensen University College UCC Copenhagen 12.3.2011

2. Platform Danish Council for Internationalisation of Educations Refers to the Minister of Education, the Minister of Science Technology and Innovation, and the Minister of Culture

3. Mission • To advice on activities giving young people an education with a global perspective. • To advice on activities ensuring that Danish students achieve intercultural competences • To advice on activities making Danish educational institutions attractive to foreign students and teachers. • To advice on activities making Danish educational institutions attractive cooperations partners. • To advice on activities leading to attraction and retrainment of highly qualified manpower to Denmark

4. Mission To make such contributions that international trends is brought into the development and formulation of Danish educational policies.

5. Members of the Council • Hans Peter Jensen (Chair), former President, Technical University of Denmark • Charlotte Mark, Managing Director, Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen • Dorte Salkov-Iversen, Department Head and Vice President, Copenhagen Business School • Hans Siggaard Jensen, Vice Dean for Education, Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus. • Henrik Sveidal, President, Rhythmic Music Conservatory.

6. Members of the Council • John Edelskov Andersen, Manager, International Office, University of Copenhagen. • Laust Joen Jakobsen, President, University College, UCC. • Lisa Holten Christensen, Head Master, Rugkobbelskolen, Aabenraa. • René van Laer, Director, Business Academy Copenhagen North. • Vibeke Thornvig Johnsen, Principal, College of Technology and Business, North Zealand.

7. Danish challenges in the global economy Danish Objectives Strong global competitiveness Strong social coherence (the welfare society) Danish challenges Lack of manpower (an aging society) Increasing global competition for students, researchers, skilled labor and Ressources in general

8. Challenges of Globalisation seen in a Danish Perspective I • Denmark needs to have World Class education • All children need to have a good start in school • All children should obtain solid factual knowledges and good personal kompetences

9. Challenges of Globalisation seen in Danish Perspective II • 95 % of all young persons in Denmark should obtain a general or vocational education (12 years) • 50 % of all young persons in Denmark should obtain a higher education (2, 3 or 5 years) • Everybody should be engaged in Life Long Learning

10. Goals I • All educational programs should have a global perspective • We shall develop new and attractive educational programs within natural sciences, technology and health • We shall put greater focus on those who have the greatest needs: persons without formal education and those who have difficulties in reading, writing and math

11. Goals II • Danish students in primary schools shall be among the best in the world in: Reading, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and English • English as a subject shall be strengthened in all educational programs and students shall be engaged in educational projects with an international perspective • Higher education institutions shall formulate specific goals for internationalisation of their eduational programs

12. Goals III • The Danish educational system shall accept diversity and have space for as many different backgrounds as poosible (Inspiring teachers, social networks, councelling) • Students shall proceed faster through the educational system in order for the resources to be used effectively (Motivation factors, change of concepts, evaluation of vocational experiences)

13. Questions to be answered • What does internationalisation means? • Why is the number of Danish students seeking experiences abroad levelling out despite good supporting possibilities? • How can we realise the ambition for internationalisation in our educational programs?

14. Internationalisation (short version) • The aim of internationalisation is to stimulate an active basic attitude on the parts of pupils, students, teachers, educators/trainers with respect to living together with others within the comtemporary global context. L. Swachten, ”It Takes Two to Tango”. Competences Internationalisation in Teachers Training, Utrecht 2004, p.9.

15. Internationalisation (long version) • The competency approach to internationalisation emphasizes internationalisation as an added value to professional aims and outcome of educational programmes. • M.J. Haig suggests this added competence to consist of the following (Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 2002/26 Issue 1, p. 49 -66):

16. International Competence • Open to ”Otherness”: A willingness to think globally and inclusively, able to consider issues from a variety of perspectives and worldviews. • International perspective: Awareness of the implications of local decisions and actions for international contexts and communities and of international developments, decisions and actions for local communities and contexts. • Self-aware: Awareness of own cultural traditions and its perspective in relation to other cultures and their perspectives.

17. International Competences • Aware of international and professional contexts: Appreciate the relation between his/her field of study locally and internationally. Appreciates and are able to apply international standards and practices within his/her discipline or professional area. • Respects ”Otherness”: Appreciates the importance of diversity in professional practice and citizenship. Accepts and values diversity in language and culture. • Understands ”Otherness”: the basic principles of different world-views. Able to see the world as other conceive it. Appreciates the complex and interacting factors that contributes to notions of culture and cultural relationships. Recognises intercultural issues as relevant to professional practice.

18. International student mobility 2008/09

19. Outgoing mobility as part of total student population in %.

20. Exchange students to and from Denmark

21. Erasmus-students to and from Denmark

22. Exchange students in various sectors, 2008/09

23. Students abroad on a full edcation program

24. Figur 1 (9 i MR): Danish university students on exchange abroad 2008/09.

25. Figur 2 (10 i MR): Danish professional bachelor students on exchange abroad, 2008/09.

26. Increasing Internationalisation.Primary Schools. • Change of objects clause to include qualifications in interacting with and in other cultures. • Include compulsary projects with an international dimension. • Publish directions on inclusion of international dimension. • Establish partnerships going beyond European boaders. • Strengthen teaching in languages • Strengthen use of IT as a tool for internationalisation • Establish a national knowledge center for internationalisation in primary schools and teachers´ colleges.

27. Increasing internationalisationLocal communities. • Work out strategies and action plans for the international dimension in primary schools. • Commit schools on the stategies and plans for internationalisation. • Provide supporting structures for schools during the internationalisation proces – economy, consultants, IT, etc.

28. Increasing InternationalisationTeachers´ Colleges • Financing should include earmarked resources directed towards international exchange programs. • Study plans should include possiblity to go abroad for a semester and the study program should be modulised. • An international dimension should be included in the curriculum. • Demands for work with internationalisation should be included in the institutional contract. • A ministerial inspirational guidance with examples on internationalisation could make a difference. • Study abroad should include the possibility of accredited interships at schools. • English should be tought from first semester at teachers´ colleges In order to atract foreigners to the Danish teachers´ education. • The ministry should organise an investigation on how to integrate foreign teachers in the Danish primary schools.

29. Increasing InternationalisationTeachers´Colleges • Students studying languages at teachers´ colleges should spend a study periode in a country where the language studied is the mother tongue!

30. Increasing InternationalisationTeachers´ Colleges • Internationalisering should be initiated and supported by the management. • A teachers´college should have an internationalsation strategy and an international secretariat. • Professors at teachers´colleges should continously work on upgrating their language capabilities. • Teachers´colleges should engage in international institutional cooperation. • The curriculum in teachers´colleges should include work on a project with an international dimension. • Teaching in pedagogy and didactics should provide knowledge on international aspects of the subject.

31. Increasing InternationalisationUpper secondary school • The schools should be commited on giving the teaching an international dimension and use a certain minimum of teaching hours (50) on internationalised projects. • The schools should develope an international strategy to be discussed and approved in the school board. • Languages should be given better focus than it is the case today. • In finansing a certain amount of ressources should be earmarked for international activities. • School should pay attention to the the possibilities of project finansing through EU-programs (Comenius a.o.) and creating partnerships through EU-portals and/or national agencies.

32. Increasing InternationalisationVocational Training • The shools should formulate an internationalisation strategy and action plan which is publicly accessible. • Internationalisation should be initiated and supported by the management of the school and made visible through an international secretariat. • The international dimension should become part of the daily activities in the classroom and outside it. • Networks with foreign vocational schools should be established. • Going abroad on study tours should be common for students and teachers and courses with international participation should be part of the curriculum. • Consideration on participation in international contests.

33. Increasing InternationailsationVocational Schools • All teachers should be oriented towards and be qualified to work with an international dimension in the entire curriculum. • Obtaining international competences and networks should become part of the teachers training and supplementary training. • Language education should be upgraded and modernised. • Educational elements and/or interships should be organised at foreign partners and companies. • Mobility programmes between the Nordic countries and in EU should receive attention for financing exchange. • Focus on the Euroskills and Worldskills programmes.

34. Increasing InternationalisationHigher Education FIVE ADVICES TO THE MINISTERS IN CHARGE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

35. Increasing InternationalisationHigher Education. 1.st advice • Challenges: a) Lack of coherence in the rules and regulations concerning internationalisation. b) National barriers for international cooperation. • Recommendation a) Form an interministerial taskforce to streamline rules and regulations. b) Simplify rules and regulations and ensure clear overview, flexibility and transperancy. c) Formulate a crossdisciplinary and interministerial strategy on internationalisation.

36. Increasing InternationalisationHigher Education, 2.nd advice • Challenge: It complicates the institutions´ cooperation with foreign partners that Danish institutions cannot ask for tuition from some foreign students. . Recommendations: a) We need to examine, how the Danish model for finansing can be corrected so as to provide Danish educational institution optimal conditions for strategic cooperation in higher education. b) To attract foreign students and manpower, we need to develop new strategies for tuitions in Danish higher education. c) We need to evaluate the present model for stipends in connection with studies abroad. Many prominent cooperation partner prefer tution paying students instead of exchange students.

37. Increasing InternationalisationHigher Education, 3.rd advice. • Challenge: a) Today it is not all students who get an education with an international dimension. . Recommendations: a) Within a not too far future all student in higher education should spend a period during their studies abroad. b) All studies should within a short period of time have obligatory international element in the curriculum. c) IT shall be an essential tool in internationalisation d) New educational programmes may only be accredited if the international dimension is described satisfactory.

38. Increasing InternationalisationHigher Education, 4.th advice • Challenge: It restricts the development of internationalisation at Danish higher education institutions that a balance principle between incoming and outgoing students is being executed in the institutional contracts. . Recommendation: a) The balance principle should be terminated and instead an ambition for growth in the number of Danish exchange students should be declared. b) New and abitious goal for the number of Danish exchange students should be set in the institutional contracts between universities and the goverment.

39. Increasing InternationalisationHigher Education, 5.th advice • Challenge: There is a growing need for attracting more and more competent international students into Danish higher education. . Recommendation: a) Institutions shall develop international learning environments b) Best practices in international higher education shall be defined and developed. c) Put focus on the potential of exchange students d) Put focus on internationalisation initiuative in the accreditation processes. e) Use international defined codes of conduct in the development of truly international educational environments.

40. Thank you for your attention Hans Peter Jensen e-mail: hanspeter@ehp.dk