Africa is growing. This growth touches many sectors, including higher education. In the past few years, the international dimension of higher education has started to gain a centre stage in Africa’s higher education. Internationalisation is now impacting on the higher education systems of Africa in unprecedented ways. This has made internationalisation to be one of the major forces shaping Africa’s higher education sector as it attempts to meet the continent’s challenges of the 21st century.
The picture of internationalisation that is emerging is one of complexity, diversity, and differentiation. This poses peculiar challenges, risks, and opportunities to all the parts of the world, Africa included. While it presents many opportunities, internationalisation also faces myriad challenges and also poses serious consequences to Africa’s higher education. These consequences, attendant risks and even the unintended consequences of internationalisation to Africa’s higher education sector need analysis, understanding. They call for the development of policies and strategies to minimise or rebuff the possible impact.
The turn of the 21st century has witnessed attempts at revitalising and harmonizing African higher education and the development of regional frameworks, networks and consortia, growing academic mobility, and growth in cross-border provision. These are encapsulated in the new policy direction aimed at Strengthening Africa’s Higher Education and Research Space (AHERS) The African Union, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and regional higher education organisations have consequently accorded higher education a central role, especially in relation to human resources development, knowledge production, innovations and inventions. This provides a scope for increased internationalisation activities and collaboration among African universities, and in their engagement with other universities beyond Africa’s borders. It is therefore imperative that higher education institutions in Africa maximise the benefits offered by internationalisation while simultaneously minimising the risks of internationalisation. This conference will open the debate on these core issues.
The aim of this conference is therefore to bring together researchers, academics, policy makers, institutional leaders and government officials to debate how African higher education institutions can maximise the benefits presented by internationalisation. This will be done in relation to four focus areas, namely: inter-institutional partnerships; research collaborations; the development of regional frameworks, networks and consortia; and academic mobility and growth in cross-border provision.
In doing this, they will also discuss the inherent risks and challenges posed by internationalisation with a view to developing interventions to minimise them. As such, how higher education institutions in Africa will respond and interact with internationalisation in order to maximise its benefits and minimise the risks will be the core deliverables of the conference discussion.
An increased awareness of the phenomenon of internationalisation of higher education as its implications for Africa in the four focus areas of this conference;
A stronger commitment of higher education stakeholders to increasing the benefits of internationalisation of higher education to Africa’s development;
A series of recommendations, policies and strategies to minimise the risks and unintended consequences associated with the internationalisation of higher education in Africa;
A continental research agenda which explores more deeply the benefits and risks of inter-institutional partnerships, academic mobility, regional frameworks and research collaboration;
An action plan on how higher education institutions can take advantage of the benefits of internationalisation while minimising its risks; and
Greater support for the work and role of ANIE in strengthening Africa’s higher education sector and its contribution to African development.
This conference invites abstracts and later papers that will address its theme. Abstracts and papers should address the issue of how to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks of the internationalisation of education in relation to:
We invite abstracts and panel proposals related to the main theme and the sub-themes outlined above. The abstracts should be in English and of not more than 500 words and should be sent to sec@anienetwork.org on or before 15 June 2012. Authors will be informed by the Programme Committee by 15 July 2012 whether their abstracts have been accepted for presentation. Selected papers presented at the conference will be published in the ANIE E-Journal subject to peer review. Further details will be provided after the synopses have been reviewed.
The conference will be of interest to all stakeholders engaged in any form of internationalisation of higher education, especially policy makers, higher education leaders, international programme officers, practitioners, and researchers. Young scholars from Africa are strongly encouraged to participate.
This is one of the finest opportunities to get your organisation noticed, especially in Africa and also to support ANIE. For advertising in conference publications, sponsorship options and request for an exhibition stand, contact sec@anienetwork.org.
Registration opens 1 June 2012
Submission of abstracts 15 June 2012
Acceptance of abstracts 15 July 2012
Early bird deadline 30 June 2012
Submission of full papers 30 August 2012
Conference dates 26 to 28 September 2012
