The Importance of Internationalizing the Higher Education Institutions (A Case of Georgian Universities)

Education Sciences

Higher education administrators are challenged by a diversity of global changes and demands. Considering new requirements and demands that emerged from the globalized world, higher education institutions attempt to balance the quality of education while coping with the implementation of new concepts and notions. Despite the fact that internationalization and globalization are conflated and believed to be similar terms, they quite differ in their contexts. Unlike globalization, internationalization owns distinct strategies and tools that could be used and utilized by diverse educational institutions. The fluctuating characteristic of internationalization leads the perception of internationalization to vary from country to country and from institution to institution. Therefore, understanding the term and focusing on implementing its strategies are significant in meeting the global demands. Education institutions attempt to internationalize their institutions however, there is a risk of misunderstanding the concept and underestimating the quality of education. Education organizations need to contemplate on the essence of internationalization and decide how to internationalize by taking the priorities and requirements of their countries and regions into account. Therefore, internationalization of higher education serves as an important tool in meeting the global demands. Considering the studies carried out in Georgian higher education institutions, there should be further research on discovering the whys and wherefores of internationalization in order to understand the concept better and improve the tools and strategies that are utilized by distinct educational institutions. Being a broad term and possessing a considerable number of definitions, internationalization owns a variety of strategies that may lead institutions to enhance the quality of education in this regard.

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