Maria Kelo, Director of Institutional Development at the European University Association, tells us how her international education journey started as an undergraduate student at the London School of Economics, which took her to Brussels for a traineeship at the European Commission in the Higher Education Policy Unit. This latter experience set the tone for her career which led her taking the role of Director of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), before joining the EUA.

Maria tells of her interest and experience in international cooperation at policy level, in particular in the context of the Bologna process, and shares insights on current developments in the European Higher Education Area, such as conversations around European Degrees, the quality assurance and recognition of joint programmes, and the revision of the European Standards and Guidelines. She reflects on the needs for universities to be future oriented and prepared to adapt to change, such as advancement in AI and digital technology, and the changing political landscape in Europe less favourable than before to internationalisation … and she shares the memorable moments of the approval of the 2015 ESGs revision by the Bologna ministerial conference, and ending up reading in a private mass to the Pope when carrying out an ENQA review of the Holy See Quality Assurance Agency.

Hayley Shields, partner at Edified and former Director of Student Experience at Education New Zealand shares how unable to take on the opportunity to study internationally herself she eventually joined the University of New South Wales in Australia to help with growing international student recruitment.

Hayley tells of the work Edified is doing to help universities improve customer services when it comes to student recruitment, based on the findings of their inquiry experience tracker, and she shares the work they did at Education New Zealand in response to raising concerns about the welfare of international students, which lead to the development of national policy around international student well-being embedded in the  New Zealand International Education Strategy. She reflects on the role of technology in supporting universities with application volume and the importance of enhancing the employability of international students by supporting them in finding internships…and she shares the memorable experience of volunteering for the Harpswell Foundation to support girls’ access to education in Cambodia.   

Tamsin Thomas, Senior Strategic Engagement Manager at Duolingo, former Research Manager at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and Higher Education Manager at British Council USA, tells us of her first introduction to international education as an undergraduate student in international relations, which brought her to Canada for a study abroad period, and subsequently motivated her work in international offices at different UK universities.

Tamsin shares her passion for practical solutions capable of driving social mobility and scaling up access to education opportunities, and how this passion led her to join Duolingo to support initiatives to reduce barriers to quality education unlocking the potential of digital solutions, such as the Duolingo English online test. She reflects on the challenges facing universities having to find new stability in the context of today’s disruptive dynamics, from technological innovation to geopolitical tensions… and she shares the memorable experience of having to explain the potential consequences of the Scottish independent referendum to concerned prospective students when at the British Council USA, which helped with managing similar questions in the aftermath of Brexit. 

Lotus Postrado, Country Director of British Council Philippines, tells us of her first engagement with international education when working with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education (SEAMEO), Organization Regional Institute for Higher Education Development (RIHED), where she was involved in the multiregional AIMS (Asian Ministers of Education and Ministers of Higher Education) mobility programme. She then moved to the British Council Philippines to lead on TNE and UK-Philippines relations in higher education.

Lotus reflects on the changing policy landscape in the Philippines for TNE, and existing challenges and opportunities, including growing inbound international student mobility and growing interest in international education hubs in the country ... and she shares the memorable experience of accompanying the first high-level delegation of Philippines universities to the UK to start exploring partnership opportunities  

Nishat shares her reflections on the potential of technological innovation to break down geographical barriers, warning about the risks of creating a digital divide, and on the importance of making international education inclusive, and the critical role that equitable TNE partnerships can play in fostering mutual learning and respect for diverse ways of thinking. She also shares her insights into developments in the Pakistan higher education landscape as the country is turning to international education to meet the education and training needs of the 5th most populous country where 60% of the population is under 30… and the memorable experience of meeting at the airport a beneficiary of the Scottish Pakistan scholarship program she managed, as she was embarking on her first international journey through a scholarship for postgraduate studies in the UK.

Alison shares her insights about the different priorities for international education across the region, ranging from TNE, English as Medium of Instruction, and regional harmonization. Focusing on India we discuss the implications of the National Education Policy 2020, which has created a favourable policy environment for international engagement, and consider India’s ambitious goals for internationalising its HE sector, such as increasing its international student population from the current 50,000 to 500,000 in 2035, including by leveraging the power of TNE…and the rewarding experiences of seeing how international education has impacted the professional journey of people she has worked with over the years.

Leina Shi, Director of Education at British Council China, tells us how her international education journey started studying English at secondary school, which eventually motivated her to come to the UK for her undergraduate studies. Leina shares her experience of international education opening opportunities to students and her view of the importance of creating international platforms bringing together different perspectives to create collective knowledge and explore solutions to shared challenges. 

She stresses the role that international education and the British Council play in providing such a platform, helping in the process to improve and deepen reciprocal understanding and changing individual mindsets and perspectives. Leina also reflects on the current state of UK-China relationships in education, looking at future developments, and stressing the need to improve the quality of UK-China conversation based on better-informed views of both countries’ needs and priorities… and recollects the memorable experience of accidentally meeting a former student who benefitted from being admitted for her UK degree without formal qualifications.

Tayyeb Shah, Vice President of the European Association for International Education, and former Deputy Vice Chancellor Global Partnership at the University of Western Australia, tells of his initial involvement in international education as the inaugural international director at Kings’ College University of London. Tayyeb shares his reflections on how academic power is moving east and the implications of this reconfiguration for international student recruitment and TNE.

He emphasises the need to consider the environmental impact of international education and the important work of the Climate Action Network for International Education, as well as the need to promote inclusive internationalisation, such as through collaborative online international learning. He reflects on the growing strategic importance of TNE, increasingly being considered now as an internationalisation strategy also by research-intensive universities, and growing expectations for mutually beneficial TNE partnerships… and the many memorable conversations, often late at night, conducive to deeper reciprocal understanding and international partnership building.

Bobby Mehta PVC Global Engagement, University of Portsmouth, tells us how his international education journey started on the clearing hotlines, an experience that eventually led him to support the international office in packing and sending boxes to British Council's fairs around the world.

Bobby shares his views on how the work of international offices has changed over the years with the advancement if technology, and reflects on both current challenges for in-bound and out-bound student mobility associated with today’s unstable policy environment, and the growing opportunities for TNE as a broader range of developing countries are facing capacity shortages and are looking at ways to strengthen the quality and internationalise their HE sector. Bobby also shares the memorable experience of being given the opportunity to give back to the sector as Chair of the British Universities' International Liaison Association (BUILA).

Miguel Antonio Lim, Senior Lecturer in Education and International Development at the University of Manchester, takes us through his international education journey that started when he moved from the Philippines to France to pursue his further studies at Sciences Po. He eventually supported the university establishing academic partnerships in East and Southeast Asia attracting students to degrees offered in English, then moving to LSE in the UK one of the French university’s partners.

Miguel tells us of his interest in the social production of value which led him to undertake a PhD on university rankings, looking at their role in creating value among universities and asking questions about the value of higher education. We talk about developments and initiatives in Southeast Asia aimed at leveraging internationalisation to strengthen intra-regional cooperation and mobility, as well as a recent study undertaken for the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) on universities’ engagement with SDGs, and we reflect on the role of international education in helping think about the global commons and build a sense of solidarity across nations vis-a-vis market-driven approaches to internationalisation… and the memorable and significant question of one of his students whether it was ok to refer to non-English language sources in her essay.