Shaping change through the internationalisation of higher education institutions

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Higher education institutions have social responsibility. In view of global challenges, greater integration of academic research and teaching is more important than ever. The DAAD study “Internationalisation in Higher Education for Society (IHES) – Concept, Current Research and Examples of Good Practice” examines the role that internationalisation at higher education institutions can play for society.

UN climate summits are continually trying to motivate political decision makers to take tougher action to slow down climate change. The climate protection targets in the Paris Agreement therefore also determine current German policy when it comes to new legislation and regulations that are intended to lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions. But policy alone will not be able to solve this global social challenge – it also calls for the international cooperation of academics. “Research fields such as climate change, Earth systems and the energy transition are becoming increasingly important,” explains DAAD Secretary General Dr. Dorothea Rüland during the presentation of the German-French research programme “Make Our Planet Great Again” (MOPGA). “The focus is on the future of our Earth and our responsibility to future generations, who are the ones that will feel the effects of global climate change.” In saying so, the DAAD is making it clear that internationalisation and the social responsibility of higher education institutions are just as important as research and teaching. MOPGA-GRI, the German component of the French initiative “Make Our Planet Great Again”, is intended to make a contribution to achieving the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement. But not just that: “The programme also contributes to the internationalisation of German higher education institutions and the participating non-university research institutes. Through MOPGA-GRI, we attract highly qualified academics to Germany and connect them with researchers all over the world, which means they also act as ambassadors for Germany and Europe.”

“Higher education institutions are part of society”
But it is not just about climate protection. The responsibility of higher education institutions – the “third mission” – should relate to resolving all societal problems since the academic world can no longer be considered separate from society. “All projects that the DAAD supports are connected with society and thus also with social responsibility. After all, our scholarship holders – higher education institutions, students and researchers – are part of society,” says Dr. Jan Kercher, Senior Expert in External Studies and Statistics at the DAAD. “Up to now, however, society outside higher education institutions has seldom been included directly in internationalisation measures – as an actual target group of the projects.” It is precisely this situation that the DAAD is aiming to change by increasing its efforts to motivate higher education institutions to take their social responsibility seriously: “As our next step, we are planning to examine the entire DAAD portfolio for projects that have a direct social connection. We will ask ourselves how we can expand these approaches and what good examples we can use to guide us.” A number of answers are provided by the IHES study, in which the two themes of internationalisation and the social responsibility of higher education institutions are connected with each other for the first time.  

“Research and teaching are never just an end in themselves”
There seems to be little doubt about the necessity for higher education institutions to become much more involved in solving global challenges. “It is out of the question for a higher education institution to not have a social mandate. Research and teaching are never just an end in themselves,” says Associate Prof. Uwe Brandenburg, Managing Director of the Global Impact Institute in Prague. Together with three other internationally renowned higher education experts, Hans de Wit, Elspeth Jones and Betty Leask, he conducted the IHES study on behalf of the DAAD. “Two thousand higher education institutions worldwide say that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are only achievable with the help of higher education institutions”, Brandenburg adds.

Klaus Rathje (27. Februar 2020)

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