Inclusivity in Internationalisation: Connecting research, strategy and practice

This seminar will discuss the implications the concept of inclusivity in internationalisation for developing strategy and in practice. To set the context, a brief outline of five distinct manifestations of internationalisation is elaborated: academic mobility, transnational education, digital education, internationalising the curriculum, and internationalisation at home. The overall aim of the lecture is to highlight the existing gap and possibility to connect micro (individual) and macro (institutional) dimensions of internationalisation from an inclusive lens. To examine such connection begs the question - how do normative understanding of internationalisation as a process of embedding an international dimension into higher education relate to individual rationales? Drawing on my research, I put forward practical possibilities for reimagining internationalisation through inclusivity lens, linked to the five manifestations of internationalisation.

Discussion points include:

• What does inclusivity look like in internationalisation?
• Why does inclusive internationalisation matter?
• How can we integrate inclusivity in internationalisation strategy and practice?

Bio: Dr Omolabake Fakunle  

Omolabake Fakunle is Chancellor’s Fellow, and Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh. She is Affiliate Faculty, Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano. Her award-winning research, teaching and consultancy includes inclusivity in internationalisation, employability, and decoloniality. She was a member of the inaugural Scottish Funding Council’s Tertiary Quality Framework Expert Advisory Group, and current member of the SRHE Governance and Appointments Committee.