From Metrics to Meaningful Engagement in Australian Universities International Strategies

As Australia's universities recalibrate their international strategies post-pandemic, understanding their approaches to internationalisation has gained new urgency. In this study, we examined how Australian universities currently conceptualise and implement internationalisation in higher education. Specifically, explored (a) the ways universities have recently described their international strategies and (b) the importance that various stakeholders place on key internationalisation strategies. In doing so, we sought to capture “the pulse” of Australian higher education internationalisation and identify the future directions in which it might move. The study was conducted in two phases in 2022-2023. First, a desktop review was conducted that analysed universities’ public facing international strategies. Then, a short survey explored student, staff, and expert perspectives (n = 258) on key strategies and approaches to university internationalisation.