Impact of higher education internationalisation on the economy

This report studies the state-of-play of the internationalisation of higher education institutions (HEIs) and its effect on the economy. Although HEIs and governments are increasingly adopting internationalisation strategies and recognising its importance for generating benefits to society, the internationalisation of HEIs cannot be taken for granted. 

Despite the increasing drive for internationalisation of higher education, it is fair to say that the expansion process is not smooth. It is driven by a dynamic and constantly evolving combination of political, economic, sociocultural and academic rationales. This holds even more so in the current deglobalisation trend, itself spurred on by the Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath. 

This makes it all the more important to monitor the process of internationalisation of HE and to evaluate its effects. This, however, presents a challenge, as high-quality internationally comparable indicators for the various forms of internationalisation are underdeveloped and high-quality studies on the impact of internationalisation are rare. 

This report reviews the available evidence on the status and trends in internationalisation of higher education, with a special focus on Europe, and with a focus on the most practised and prioritised types, namely incoming and outgoing student and researcher mobility and international cooperation in research. 

It also provides recent evidence on the possible impact of internationalisation on the economy via improved labour market outcomes and more successful career paths for mobile students and research staff.

It reviews specific EU policy instruments for stimulating internationalisation of HE in Europe, namely, Erasmus+, Marie Sklodowska-Curie and European Research Council grants. 

Based on all this evidence, a series of policy recommendations are suggested.

Author

Reinhilde Veugelers

Cite as

European Commission: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture and Veugelers, R., Impact of higher education internationalisation on the economy, Publications Office, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/68889