Maximizing the Benefits of International Education Collaborations

Abstract

International collaborations are frequently mentioned in university strategies as a way of promoting internationalization, often in relation to achieving greater connectivity among staff from different backgrounds. Much less explicit attention is paid to the underlying rationale for facilitating such connectivity, or the challenges academic staff may face in participating in such collaborations. In this article, the author argues that failure to pay adequate attention to such interaction issues can hinder the added value that international projects can offer and that much greater attention needs to be paid to the collaboration process itself in order to maximize benefits. The author analyzes the interaction experiences of staff who participated in a set of Sino-British collaborative e-learning projects and reports and illustrates the key challenges they faced and the ways in which they responded. The article concludes with a number of implications and recommendations for personnel involved in researching, planning, and/or participating in international education collaborations.