International & External Engagement A briefing note, August 2010 Internationalisation of the University of Reading Steven Mithen, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International & External Engagement)
A briefing note, August 2010 Internationalisation of the University of Reading Steven Mithen, PVC (International & External Engagement) On 1 August 2010 I took up an appointment as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University with responsibility for International & External Engagement, a remit that has not previously existed. One of my new roles is to lead the University with regard to internationalisation. This had already become a key driver for current activity and planning by Senior Management, just as it has become so within numerous Schools and Directorates. Nevertheless, I thought it useful at this juncture to provide all staff with a brief background as to what internationalisation means at our University, the role of the new PVC, and an outline of some of the initiatives that will be undertaken during the next academic year and beyond. Contents Becoming a global university 4 The role of the PVC International 5 Steering groups, committees and boards 5 All students are international students 6 From the Arts to the Sciences: a university-wide internationalisation agenda 6 Five themes for internationalisation 7 Improving internal procedures and structures 9 Developing discipline, School and Centre-based strategies and plans 11 Developing region-based strategies and plans 11 A University of Reading campus overseas? 12 Creating a step change in international student recruitment 12 Opportunities for Schools and Centres 13 Support from the Directorates 13 Work to do 14 Future communications 14 Contact details 14
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 4 Becoming a global university The intention is now to build on this foundation to become what can be termed a global (rather than merely international) university. The University of Reading is already an international university. We have been receiving students from abroad for more than 100 years and currently have about 3000 students from outside of the UK studying at either the Whiteknights or Greenlands campus of the University. These constitute 17% of the student body, 1900 of whom come from outside of the EU. We have several teaching and research partnerships with institutions in other countries and are recognised as one of the top 200 Universities in the world. We have a highly active International Office and substantial provision of support for international activities within the Directorates. A significant proportion of our research and teaching addresses issues of global concern, ranging from understanding the impacts of climate change to the causes and consequences of international conflict. The intention is now to build on this foundation to become what can be termed a global (rather than merely international) university. This is one in which teaching, research and enterprise are conceived, planned and delivered with explicit relevance to global needs and issues: internationalisation at Reading is our response to a globalised world. Only by increasing the scale and impact of our international activities will we secure the reputation and autonomy required to be a leading 21st century university with excellence in teaching, research and enterprise. Why do we want to be a global university? Simply because that is the type of University that our staff, our students and our stakeholders ranging from the local community to the UK Government deserve.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 5 The role of the PVC International two essential ingredients for success are that Schools own and drive their own internationalisation agendas, and that Directorates provide the required operational support. The extent of international activity at the University has reached such a scale that a degree of coordination and leadership at Senior Management level has become necessary. This is also required to achieve the expansion of such activity so that we can attain globalised university status. While I provide the overall leadership for the University with regard to internationalisation, I work closely with those who also hold responsibilities for aspects of this theme, notably Professor Tony Downes, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, David Savage, Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Sirin Myles, Director of the International Office and Caroline Bysh, Director of Marketing and Recruitment. Needless to say, internationalisation must be coordinated with research, teaching and enterprise in general. Consequently I also work closely with Professor Christine Williams, PVC Research and Innovation, Professor Rob Robson, PVC Teaching & Learning, the Deans of all Faculties, Faculty Directors of Teaching & Learning and the Heads of Directorate. Moreover, two essential ingredients for success are that Schools own and drive their own internationalisation agendas, and that Directorates provide the required operational support. I am currently visiting all of our Schools and Centres to learn more about their existing international activities, future opportunities and constraints, and liaising with Heads of Directorate to ensure that the appropriate support is available. I am aware that several Schools have already created their own international committees and officers and encourage others to do so. I look forward to providing my support where required and involving Schools and their key personnel in the new internationalisation initiatives of the University. Steering groups, committees and boards Signing a memorandum of understanding with the University of Khartoum, December 2009 You may have already heard from Professor Christine Williams, PVC Research and Innovation, about how the University s boards and committees concerning research and enterprise have been modified in response to the closer integration of research and enterprise than has previously existed and the changing remits of the Pro-Vice-Chancellors. I will not be introducing a new formal board and committee structure for internationalisation until 2011 at the earliest. The existing Steering Group for International Affairs will continue. This will address strategic matters for the University, while a group to address operational matters will also be formed. I will also be running several focus group sessions during 2010/2011 involving academics from across the University to gain a pooling of ideas as to how the University can meet its global aspirations. Working groups for several of the initiatives described below will be created, if they do not already exist. Please note that much of the business concerning internationalisation passes through Faculty Boards, the University Board for Research and Innovation and the University Board for Teaching & Learning, simply as normal University business.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 6 All students are international students Making use of language laboratory facilities provided by the Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) Internationalisation is about enhancing the educational experiences of all our students, whatever their nationality and fee-paying status, by providing a globalised education relevant to the 21st century. Internationalisation is sometimes caricatured as simply being about increasing the number of full-fee paying students from outside the EU. This is not the case: internationalisation is about enhancing the educational experiences of all our students, whatever their nationality and fee-paying status, by providing a globalised education relevant to the 21st century. Here I should note that RUSU have already provided an excellent lead in the internationalisation of the student experience at the University. They have established their own International Working Group and are seeking funds from external sources to support a project to facilitate the integration of home and students from abroad. I will be working in close consultation with RUSU and providing its officers with my full support for such initiatives. From the Arts to the Sciences: a university-wide internationalisation agenda All Faculties, Schools and Centres within the University have opportunities to develop existing activities and undertake new initiatives within the internationalisation agenda. One of my intentions as PVC is to ensure that good practice is shared and to further raise the profile of those activities that have already attained a global reputation. Such activities are found throughout the University, ranging from the Beckett Digital Manuscript Project, located in the School of Literature and Languages, that involves collaboration with the University of Antwerp and Harry Ransom Center, Austin, Texas, to the Graduate Institute of International Development & Applied Economics (GIIDAE), located in the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. GIIDAE attracts around 100 MA students each year to study at Reading, typically coming from 40 countries an outstanding example of globalised educational experience. Further examples of such excellent internationalised teaching and research activities could be cited, while we have numerous others that can achieve a global reputation and impact by drawing on the new support for internationalisation that I will be developing, Indeed, to attain the standing of a global university, we will need to have a substantial portfolio of internationalised activities across the whole breadth of the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 7 Five themes for internationalisation These were defined by the Steering Group for International Affairs in a report for Senior Management Board in March 2010 and will continue to provide a framework for the foreseeable future: 1. Increasing the presence of the University of Reading outside of the UK. The University already has offices in Hong Kong, Finland and South Africa from which Henley MBAs and Executive Education are delivered, as well as agents representing us in 42 countries worldwide. We need to make greater use of these facilities and personnel to create a more substantial international presence for the delivery of University of Reading degrees. That will be both through teaching collaborations and the development of a campus outside of the UK, as described below. 2. Increasing the number of international, full-fee paying students studying at the Whiteknights campus and the Greenlands campus of the University of Reading, from the current 1900 (FTE) to more than 2500. The University intends to achieve this by several initiatives, including the development of additional partnerships with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) outside of the UK, enhancing our admissions procedures, and significantly extending the scope of our overseas marketing and recruitment. These will supplement our existing recruitment methods, which includes Felix Scholarships and our own International Studentships for research students. Professor Gordon Marshall welcoming Felix Scholarships students to the University 3. Developing research and teaching partnerships with international HEIs. The University already has several successful teaching partnerships, such as between Law and Taylors University College (Malaysia), and between Food & Nutritional Sciences and Henan University (China). Several further opportunities are currently being explored. I am especially keen that we consolidate our partnerships around a small number of prestigious and ambitious international universities providing multi-discipline teaching and research collaborations.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 8 4. Enhancing student experience. This will be by various means including modifications to the curriculum, facilitating interaction between students of all nationalities, and providing additional opportunities for study and work placements abroad. With the development of more partnerships with HEIs abroad and the possible establishment of an overseas University of Reading campus, there will be greater diversity in the modes of teaching delivery and learning experiences for students. We already have several schemes to provide international opportunities for our students. For example the Institution-Wide Language Programme provides tuition in foreign languages (for staff as well as students), while the Faculty of Life Sciences has a travel award scheme (funded from legacies) for undergraduates to undertake extra-curricular activities abroad during the summer. I intend to expand such opportunities significantly. 5. Enhancing staff experience. This will be partly achieved by providing central support to the development of School-based international activities. Also, the intention is to provide additional opportunities for international teaching and research placements, as well as international work opportunities for non-academic staff.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 9 Improving Internal Procedures and Structures While much of the internationalisation process requires work with external bodies, such as HEIs outside of the UK, the British Council and International Development Agencies, there is also a set of tasks to be undertaken with regard our internal management and administration procedures. These include: 1. Improving the international student recruitment process: significant improvements have recently been made to the recruitment process within both Faculty and School offices, especially with regard to conversion rates making sure that as many of our applicants as possible become University of Reading students. Nevertheless, in order to remain competitive, we need to make further improvements and I am tackling this as a priority. 2. Streamlining and enhancing our decision making processes regarding international activities: The University has already developed several excellent teaching and research partnerships and learnt a great deal from doing so. We can now draw on this experience to make the formation of new partnerships in a quicker and more effective manner. Also, now that we have many new opportunities being offered to us, we need to ensure that the partners selected are of an appropriately high quality and that the partnerships will contribute towards the University s key goals and objectives. The strategic and operational committees I referred to above are helping to formulate the most effective procedures for establishing partnerships and other forms of international activity. 3. Moulding the curriculum to be appropriate for a global university: Professor Rob Robson, PVC Teaching & Learning, is leading a Working Group to address this task. Additional work is being undertaken by Dr Paddy Woodman, Faculty Director of Teaching & Learning for Arts and Humanities, involving the development of modules accessible for all Part 1 students about major global dilemmas. These are envisaged as multi-disciplinary project-based modules focussed on the big global dilemmas of the 21st century, falling within the environmental, social, political, economic and ethical domains. 4. Realising the potential for enhanced internationalisation that has arisen from the merger with Henley Management College: we have yet to make the most effective use of the expertise and knowledge about international matters of the former Henley Management College to the benefit of the whole University. I am working with the Dean and Faculty Director of Teaching & Learning (who also acts as the Chair of the International Steering Committee of the Henley Business School) to design and implement new structures to achieve this end.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 10 5. Developing communication strategies appropriate for the global arena: what, how and with whom do we wish to communicate? One element of this task involves developing more effective use of our alumni who are located within influential business, academic and governmental positions throughout the world. Another is to ensure that we are making the most effective use of IT and the new social networking media. We must also address how and what we communicate to the key stakeholders and opinion makers in the regions where we are keen to establish or enhance our presence. I am working closely with Caroline Bysh, the Director of Marketing and Recruitment, and staff in the Communications, Development and Alumni Offices, to address these issues. 6. Internationalisation of our staffing profile: we must ensure that our academic appointment procedures are appropriate for recruiting the best people globally to our University. Just as our students benefit by learning within a diverse mix of cultures and nationalities, so too do our academic staff benefit by having colleagues from around the world with regard to their teaching, research and overall work experience.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 11 Developing discipline, School and Centre-based strategies and plans e.g. Construction Law Agriculture Management Some Schools already have a significant portfolio of international activities, while others are just beginning to explore opportunities. The scale and nature of such opportunities for Schools are quite different and so I expect there to Education be a diverse pattern of activity throughout the University. It is essential that planning for internationalisation is fully integrated e.g. with planning for teaching, research and China enterprise. I am visiting Schools to discuss their opportunities and/or challenges for internationalisation and the development of Middle East their plans within a University-wide context. It is also important that our inter-disciplinary research centres, such as the Walker Africa Institute, the Centre for Food Security and the Centre for Integrative Neurosciences and Neurodynamics (CINNS) continue to develop their international profiles with ambitious plans for attracting researchers and funds from throughout the world. I am especially keen to develop International Summer Schools to help consolidate the global leadership position of some of our internationally high-profile activities within the University. We already have some outstanding examples, such as the TDi a week of internationally-focussed teaching in typeface design. Regional strategies / plans Developing region-based strategies and plans Cross-cutting discipline/school/centre based-plans are those being developed by myself and Sirin Myles (Director of the International Office) for specific regions of the world, building on the excellent work that the International Office has already undertaken in this regard. The University has extensive activity in regions such as China, the Middle East and Africa. This has been developed in a piecemeal fashion by separate Schools, and we now need to build on this foundation to devise regional strategies that will allow the University to maximise its contributions to world-wide education and research, and hence our own reputation as a global university. A series of region-specific workshops are being organised to share information about current activities and plan for how these can developed, extended and promoted. The initial workshop will concern China, followed by those for the Middle East and Africa. Such workshops will be followed by themed days (e.g. University of Reading in China Day) when our activities will be promoted to a wide range of stakeholders as a means to develop our overall reputation and find the means to consolidate and expand our activity.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 12 A University of Reading campus overseas? The University is exploring the possibility of establishing a campus outside of the UK. One of the key reasons for doing so is that the international student market is being transformed by the growth of universities in China, the Middle East, India, and indeed in all regions of the world from where students have traditionally come to the UK to study. These universities are often multi-varsity complexes, where several universities from, say, the UK, US and Australia, establish facilities and deliver their own degrees. They do so because while their qualifications are still highly valued, there is a trend towards students wishing to study in their home countries. This is partly because of the cost of international travel and study. It is also because of the significant rise in the quality and quantity of universities in their home countries, such as in China and India, many of which are attracting leading academics from around the world and undergoing substantial expansion. As such, UK universities increasingly need to take their degrees to the international student market rather than expecting students to come to the UK for their degrees. We are looking at several possibilities for an overseas campus, believing that SE Asia is likely to provide especially promising opportunities. I envisage such as overseas campus becoming a hub for internationalising our research and enterprise activities in addition to the delivery of our degrees. Creating a step change in international student recruitment The University has achieved annual increases in its numbers of international full-fee paying students throughout the last decade. This has been through the excellent work of the International Office, Schools, and the provision of the International Foundation and other forms of preparatory programmes. The challenge we now face is not only to maintain this trend, but to create a step change in the overall numbers we are recruiting to achieve the aspiration of becoming a global university. There is, however, ever more intensive competition between universities to recruit international students to their degree programmes within the UK, partly because of the growth of Universities in international students home countries, as I have described above. The challenge for Reading is exacerbated by the appearance of private sector organisations that have developed partnerships with other UK universities, providing them with a scale of marketing and recruitment activity that any single university is unable to attain. In some cases, such organisations also provide capital investment for new teaching and accommodation facilities. As such, it is appropriate that we are now exploring the feasibility of entering into such a Recruitment Partnership with a private sector organisation as a means of contributing to the step change in international recruitment that we require.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 13 Opportunities for Schools and Centres Internationalisation provides opportunities for Schools and Centres to grow their student numbers, their staff numbers, the diversity of their teaching, scope of their research, their reputation and profile. This diagram illustrates how if a Recruitment Partnership with a private sector organisation is developed, along with an overseas campus and a suite of teaching and research partnerships, the opportunities for international student recruitment and enhanced staff and student experience will be transformed. Overseas delivery of degrees Overseas campus Recruitment Partnership In-sessional English IWLP Recruitment from Foundation pathways Recruitment from pre-masters programmes A School Staff & student exchanges Recruitment Staff & student exchanges Research collaborations & income International Teaching and Research partnership e.g. in China e.g. in Middle East e.g. in Africa Internationalised curriculum & coummunications International summer school Direct student recruitment Support from the Directorates As the range and number of international activities are expanded, there will be a significant impact on the work required by Directorates: from increased numbers of international students being physically on campus to increased demands for IT services both here and abroad; from the need for additional support for academic study and visa applications, to supporting the more subtle aspects of student integration and staff awareness of international issues. As such, it is quite evident that internationalisation has consequences for all staff and structures within the University. One of my key roles is to ensure that the appropriate support from Directorates is in place to support the internationalisation plans of Schools and Centres.
Internationalisation of the University of Reading 14 Work to do As is clear from this briefing note, the internationalisation agenda involves tasks ranging from long-term projects to those that can be rapidly completed. They all seek to improve Reading s international profile with regard to teaching, research and enterprise. The University has the potential to become one of the most globalised and internationally powerful universities in the UK, with its teaching and research being undertaken within an environment of significantly greater cultural diversity than we have at present. This is a development that requires contributions from all Schools and Directorates: internationalisation requires a team effort to everyone s mutual advantage and there is a great deal of work to do. Future communications I intend to keep all staff regularly updated about the progress on the University s internationalisation agenda the formation of partnerships, plans for an overseas campus, international opportunities for staff and students, and so forth. I will do so by further briefing papers, presentations, discussion forums and the development of interactive webpages. Just as important as me communicating with you, is that you inform me about developments within your Schools and Directorates, and all of your ideas about internationalisation. Contact details I really do want to hear from all of you who are interested and enthused by internationalisation. While my webpages are in development, please either email me directly, s.j.mithen@reading.ac.uk, or email my PA, Sue Jones, s.w.jones@reading.ac.uk (ext 7113). Steven Mithen, PVC (International & External Engagement) I really do want to hear from all of you For more information, please contact: Steve Mithen Sue Jones (PA) s.j.mithen@reading.ac.uk Tel 0118 378 7113 s.w.jones@reading.ac.uk Tel 0118 378 7113