Emerging Concept of Internationalisation in South African Higher Education: Conversations on Local and Global Exposure at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)

Abstract

Rather than paying attention to the specific approaches emerging from different contexts, current debates tend to privilege Western-universalizing concepts of internationalisation, unproblematically accepted as globally established truths. In South Africa, where the legacy of isolation and the dominance of Eurocentricism in academia have inspired considerable scepticism regarding internationalisation, the challenge is to find innovative approaches that account for its specific context. This article responds to this challenge by examining the emerging concept of internationalisation at Wits. It does so with reference to three questions: What conceptions inform the internationalisation practice at Wits? Does Wits have appropriate strategies in place to promote internationalisation? How do these match its particular circumstances?