Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Can Online Teaching Reduce the Carbon Footprint of the Internationalisation of UK Higher Education?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a learning curve for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in devising and delivering teaching online. This transition has enabled HEIs to continue teaching students, especially international students, who were restricted to travel to their countries of study. In the UK, approximately 20% of the student cohort are international students. The pandemic resulted in a drop in international student recruitment, which generated concerns about a potentially alarming economic crisis in the UK HE sector. However, COVID-19 measures have also been portrayed as a significant contributor to reducing global CO2 emissions. Thus, the question arises: can online teaching reduce the carbon footprint of the internationalisation of education? This paper reviews online teaching as a potential solution to reduce carbon footprint and increase access to HE, whilst maintaining high student performance in HE within the remits of internationalisation.