Both the ACE report on International Higher Ed Partnerships and the IIE Report on the Process for Screening and Authorizing Joint and Double Degree Programs have touched upon details from initiating international partnership to keeping them valuable and successful. The collaboration, development, and establishment of international partnerships is not a one step process, it includes numerous important phases, such as strategic planning, faculty and student engagement, ongoing collaboration for enhancements and improvement, and of course quality assurance. Within those phases, the institutions need to remember that transparency, accountability and commitment are extremely important throughout the whole process.
From the ACE report, it is evident that it is very important for the individual institutions to establish international strategy and policies as the first step toward internationalization and most importantly international partnerships. The base recommendations/requirements for international partnerships seem to be very similar or rather more stringent than for any other internationalization initiatives. It could be due to the fact that many internationalization programs created by the government or NGOs are typically short-lived and often don’t have long lasting strategy. On the other hand, international partnerships are typically institution initiated and are all about keeping the relationship and enhancing knowledge and experience as the partnership grows and progresses. That is why establishing international policies that will help institutions determine the goals, priorities, rules, and limitations and being able to compare them to those of the partnering institution are extremely important. They will not only determine the initial negotiations that need to take place, but also the future potential conflicts that can take place, which should be addressed at the initiation of the partnership agreement to avoid future disagreements.
I found the example of Rice University in IIE The Process for Screening and Authorizing Joint and Double Degree Programs to be a perfect example of how any partnership process should work. It includes a lot of collaboration, details, clear guidelines, continuous learning process, evaluation, and improvement of programs and experience. Although ACE report that concentrates mainly on the American partnerships, additional IIE resources also talk about 4 Steps for Creating Sustainable Academic Partnerships. Those include finding sustainable partnership based on common goals, creating more specific shared vision, establishing commitment from faculty and other involved parties, and making sure the partnerships will have longevity. Therefore, no matter if an institution is in the United States, Europe, or any other part of the world, finding a partner institution that shares common vision and international goals will certainly create a base for successful long-term partnership, as long as institutions are willing to collaborate and learn through the process.
Hi Natallia,
I find it interesting that you mention strategy as a base for initiating international partnerships. Just last night in the finance class, we discussed what it is that drives decision-making and budgeting at institutions of higher education. Some people said money, others said morals and sticking to the mission. At the end of the conversation, we all realized that is extremely difficult to find a middle ground between those two. Ultimately, we figured out that, as you say, strategy is at the heart of it all. If a partnership is to be successful, both parties need to figure out what will help sustain that relationship, hopefully for the long-term. I agree, though, that common goals are at the crux of a lasting partnership. If two sides are going to be satisfied with the outcomes, they are probably going to need to be on the same page. Even still, the only way to get to that point is to implement sound strategy. Most likely, at some point along the way, an organization will have to sacrifice either a little money or its morals. It upsets me to say that, but compromise is extremely important.
Ben
The points mentioned in the article you shared definitely makes sense to ensuring the partnership lasts and does not become a short-term “fling”. And I also find it interesting that you mention strategy, since it’s definitely very important to know what your goals are for the program and what you expected to receive from the partnership and then finding a good match for the program so that the partner institution also has similar goals and thus will be more likely to follow through and be willing to work with you to come to agreements on the details. And it’s also important to strategize with the right faculty and staff that buy the goals and partnership and understand what is needed to make it work.