Over 120 delegates from 30 countries took part in RSU internationalisation of higher education conference

The 3rd International Conference "Internationalisation: from Words to Action" at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) gathered over 120 delegates from 30 countries representing 65 universities and other institutions associated with higher education. Erasmus+ International Week was held in conjunction with the conference, the aim of which was to showcase current issues in the international cooperation of various institutions of higher education.

This year’s conference was opened by Gero Federkeil, a founding member and managing director of global university ranking U-Multirank web tool, supported by the European Commission. In his presentation, he compared several global university rankings and provided in-depth insight into each U-Multirank indicator, as well as analysed the U-Multirank evaluation of several Latvian institutions of higher education in various categories.

A significant part of the conference was devoted to highlighting the best examples of international collaboration at various institutions of higher education. Deputy Vice-Chancellor for External Relations at the University of Lincoln (United Kingdom) Prof. Toby Wilkinson gave a presentation on the implementation of strategic goals of internationalisation and the measurement of their outcomes. The professor spotlighted the following areas of internationalisation – the development of international collaboration in research, provision of international mobilities and the incorporation of an international dimension into university study programmes.

Professor Dietwald Gruehn from TU Dortmund University (Germany) informed conference delegates about the joint spatial planning study programme offered by TU Dortmund University in cooperation with the University of Duhok (Iraq).

This was followed by a detailed analysis on the creation of international collaboration networks between universities and global industrial companies by Enric Ordeix, who is Academic Director of Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations of Ramon Llull University (Spain) and Internal Communication Manager of the football club “Barcelona” as well as Georg Overbeck, Administrative Director of the Research Centre of Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences (Germany). The conference also showcased other noteworthy examples of internationalisation implemented by universities in Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Kazakhstan and Latvia.

Irina Ferencz, Deputy Director of the Academic Cooperation Association (Belgium) outlined current trends in internationalisation in Europe and informed about the European Universities Initiative of the European Commission.

The conference ended with a presentation delivered by Rachel Hall, editor of the Higher Education Network of influential British daily newspaper The Guardian, who analysed how national-level political and media processes influence international student flow and cooperation.

Within the frame of Erasmus+ International Week, participants had an opportunity to present their universities to find partners for collaboration in various projects and mobilities. International Week also included an info fair with networking and brokerage opportunities.