THESIS: Trends in Higher Education Systems in International Spheres THESIS Podcast

Today we speak with Dr. Ariunaa Enkhtur and Dr. Xixi Zhang about virtual student mobility, and other online programming, at Osaka University in Japan. Both Dr. Ariunaa and Dr. Sissi are assistant professors at the Center for Global Initiatives at Osaka University where they design and implement virtual programs. Dr. Ariunaa’s research interests include academic mobility including virtual mobility and its post-study impacts, and Dr. Sissi’s interests focus on Japanese linguistics, transnational higher education partnerships, and distance education.

Dr. Ariunaa additionally serves as a Digital Media and Communications Co-Chair for the CIES Study Abroad and International Students Special Interest Group, and Dr. Zhang is a lecturer for one of the online courses collaborating with Osaka University alumni in US and Japan).





Virtual Student Mobility from Students' Perspectives: Case Study From Japan.

Enkhtur, A., Zhang, X., & Chen, L. Exploring an Effective International Higher Education Partnership Model Through Virtual Student Mobility Programs: A Case Study.

Today we speak with Dalia Elgohary, International Relations Executive at EDUGATE, a company based in Egypt hosting Egypt’s largest University fair. We discuss destinations of interest for Egyptian students and reasons why higher education students from Egypt choose to study in different countries, from her perspective. 

EDUGATE Youtube Channel

EDUGATE on LinkedIn

EDUGATE Facebook Page

Arab Ranking for Universities

Today the conversation focuses on international student flows between Portugal and what is known as the Lusophone sphere, or countries which share a historical past with Portugal and where Portuguese is still an official language. We speak with Dr. Cristina Sin, Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona in Porto, whose research focuses on internationalization in Portugal, and discuss international student flows to Portugal from countries which were former colonies.



Sin, C., Tavares, O., Aguiar, J. & Amaral, A. (2022). More students and more diverse: new trends in international mobility to Portugal. Tertiary Education and Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11233-022-09090-y



Sin, C., Tavares, O., Aguiar, J., Biscaia, R., & Amaral, A. (2022). International students in Portuguese higher education: who are they and what are their choices?. Studies in Higher Education, 47(7), 1488-1501. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2021.1916907

Today we consider forcibly displaced and refugee students. We take a practical approach and hear about an initiative from the Institute for International Education, IIE,  to help support this group of students. Our guest from IIE Latin America & Caribbean is César Maldonado, a Senior Program Specialist based in Mexico.

The IIE Odyssey Scholarship program seeks to deliver assistance to these students who come with a unique set of circumstances. Listen to this episode to hear where IIE focuses the most in student journeys and how they can deliver these services successfully.

The dutch higher education system has been known for its practices of internationalization and large numbers of international students and staff. But last November, the end of 2023, the dutch right-wing party became the largest party in the dutch House of Representatives in a snap election, which will likely lead to some big changes. Today I speak with Thijs van Vugt, Director of the Analytics and Consulting Team at Studyportals, who has worked in international higher education for almost 35 years: 16 of these at universities in the Netherlands and the UK and 18 years as a consultant for hundreds of universities around the world, primarily in marketing and recruitment and data analytics and market insights.



0:00 - 1:38: Introduction

1:39 - 10:46: Context - why the Netherlands and Dutch universities want international students, why international students study in the Netherlands

10:47 - 15:29: Dutch politics and policy on international students

15:30 - 24:03: Impacts of policies on Dutch higher education and society

24:04 - 27:30: Perceptions of international students in relation to issues in Dutch higher education and society

27:31 - End: Influential people and experiences in This's career



Resources:

Christian Fanga and Ilse van Liemptb: ‘We prefer our Dutch’: International students’ housing experiences in the Netherlands

In this season, we’ve already touched on emerging regional hubs attracting international students from the perspective of India, where policy is pushing for internationalization on campuses. Today, we look at students headed to China from the continent of Africa. With us to discuss these flows is Dr. Benjamin Mulvey, Lecturer in Equitable Education Systems and Policy at the University of Glasgow.



Ben's recent book: Mapping International Student Mobility Between Africa and China (2023)



Other resources:

Mulvey, B. & Li, B. (2023). Social inequality in a ‘hyper-mobile’ society: intra-national mobilities and formal education in China.

Mulvey, B. (2021). Conceptualizing the discourse of student mobility between “periphery” and “semi-periphery”: the case of Africa and China.

Mulvey, B. (2021). “Decentring” international student mobility: The case of African student migrants in China.

Mulvey, B. (2020). International Higher Education and Public Diplomacy: A Case Study of Ugandan Graduates from Chinese Universities.