1042022 40(4): 104-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions Abstract In this paper, an attempt was made to locate the role of internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is argued that comprehensive international, intercultural, and global dimensions in the affairs of African tertiary institutions provide for a more nuanced and diversified higher education landscape. Through a desk study approach, dwelling mainly on existing literature, the paper examines the issues of internationalisation from the perspectives of diversity and inclusion, as well as the roles of the relevant key players within those institutions to practically deliver internationalisation strategies that will put the institution on a global pedestal while remaining locally and regionally relevant. More importantly, strategies for achieving comprehensive internationalisation are discussed drawing inferences from literature and documentary sources. The interrogation of these sources in relation to the expectations of the current and future HEIs to remain socially relevant and sustainable is carried out. HEIs in Africa must contribute to socio-economic change and engage with their quad-helix and eco-system partners to ensure that high end skills training, knowledge production, entrepreneurship and innovation are accelerated. In so doing, African HEIs must embrace diversity in its fullness including welcoming differences in gender, race, culture, nationality and providing platforms of engagement that allow for inclusion, and breaking silos to allow for a nuanced agenda of internationalisation. Keywords: African, education, higher education institution, diversity, inclusion, internationalisation 1. Introduction Internationalisation has evolved in higher education in the past years especially given the high demand for mobility and diversity in the world. “Internationalisation of higher education is the intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions, or delivery of post-secondary education, in order to enhance the quality of education and research for all students and staff, and to make a meaningful contribution to society” (De Wit et al., 2015: 29). According to Brajkovic and Helms (2018), there is plenty of evidence that not only universities, but also the economy and society, reap AUTHOR: Dr Kunle M. Oparinde1 Dr Vaneshree Govender1 Prof Sibusiso Moyo2 AFFILIATION: 1Durban University of Technology, South Africa 2Stellenbosch University, South Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/ pie.v40i4.6849 e-ISSN 2519-593X Perspectives in Education 2022 40(4): 104-116 PUBLISHED: 23 December 2022 RECEIVED: 24 October 2022 ACCEPTED: 21 November 2022 Research Article http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2387-1258 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0756-424X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5613-7290 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1052022 40(4): 105-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Oparinde, Govender & Moyo Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions long-term benefits from internationalisation. In their study probing campuses in the United States, they found that there is an articulated commitment to internationalisation in mission statements and strategic plans which have become increasingly supported by specific policies and programming that operationalise the broad ideals of internationalisation. Higher education continues to experience an increase in international student enrolment and according to the Institute of International Education (2022), 43% of institutions report an increase in their international student applications for the 2021/22 academic year, which is almost double the increases reported by institutions a year ago. In many parts of the world, it has become germane to advance diversity and comprehensive internationalisation by embedding its ideals into the core practical affairs of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Previous studies on internalisation have mostly addressed the concept from a generic and broad perspective with limited attention paid to how to entrench the concept within individual institutions. For instance, in their book, The Fifth Wave: The Evolution of American Higher Education, Crow and Dabars (2008) propose the idea of “fifth wave” universities that must position themselves to respond to the needs of students “focused on access, embedded in their regions, and committed to solving global problems”. It is argued in there that universities need to be “comprehensively redesigned to allow for greater access”. Diversity and internationalisation play a big role in creating a high performing teaching and learning as well as research and innovation culture as can be seen in a few highly ranked and impactful higher education institutions (Moyo, 2018) across the entire world. It is against the existing notion that this study forges further to argue that the future of education would naturally be more diverse and inclusive and, as such, each institution of higher learning must begin to prepare its own students for this changing world by incorporating diverse views into their career development and learning. Attempts to provide a universal definition for the term ‘internationalisation’ have been met with academic bottlenecks. Nonetheless, Knight (2004), who is one of the landmark authors on internationalisation in the paper, titled Internationalization Remodeled: Definitions, Rationales, and Approaches, advocates for a definition that may not be universal but that can however be applied in a broad range of contexts regarding internationalisation across many countries and regions of the world. The author sways away from a definition that standardises or homogenises the concept to one which provided rationales/activities for practitioners of internationalisation. Knight (2004) perceives internationalisation as the process of integrating an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions (primarily teaching/learning, research, service), or delivery of higher education. Knight’s perception of internationalisation is comprised of interdependent streams constituting a diversity of activities including curriculum and programmes, teaching/learning processes, extra-curricular activities, liaisons with local cultural/ethnic groups, and research or scholarly activity. As rich as the definition is, the author also recognises weaknesses in the core values associated with the definition as concepts such as partnership, collaboration, mutual benefit, exchange, are not stated but only assumed. It is worth noting at this juncture that the understanding of diversity and inclusion in HEIs is still under significant academic scrutiny. For instance, Tienda (2013) perceives the concepts as prerequisites to promoting integration in HEIs by focusing on ethnic programmes and students’ social interaction patterns. Scott (2020) addresses the incorporation of equality values and objectives in institutional strategy by stating that the matters of equality, diversity, and inclusion should be central to the management of higher institutions. As such, Scott http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1062022 40(4): 106-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Perspectives in Education 2022: 40(4) challenges HEIs, nationally and internationally, to develop and implement equality, diversity, and inclusion policies in their pursuit to become outstanding places of knowledge acquisition and creation. For this study, diversity and inclusion are the key factors in the strategy of internationalisation. In fact, these concepts are interwoven and all interplay to create a diverse community of students and staff in HEIs through different activities. Most higher education institutions attempt, as part of their mission, to increase their staff and students’ training in diversity and inclusion, and include the concepts in their strategic plans. Noteworthy is that as a strategic response to ensuring internationalisation in HEIs, specific attempts adopted by some institutions include increasing international student enrolments, increased opportunities for student and staff academic exchange programmes, internationalisation of the curriculum, joint degree programmes and joint appointments. In fact, many institutions have also established institutional units to cater for internationalisation needs and the management of strategic international partnerships. Usually, the goals of these units vary, and in some cases, they are tasked with improving the enrolment of international students and students from different cultures or under-represented groups depending on the context in order to achieve a more diverse and inclusive university community. In many institutions, especially in Africa, the imbibement of internationalisation is restricted to student enrolment. In contrast, developing diversity in higher education extends beyond the enrolment of students but also deals with the recruitment of administrative and academic staff. Rationally, if the aim is to increase diverse student population, there is the respective need for diverse representations in staff composition as well. In the South African context for instance, diverse representation of staff includes the need to ensure staff from previously disadvantaged groups are included as part of the demographic shifts in the higher education landscape. Coupled with this responsibility is also the need to ensure there is a component of international scholars, researchers, and students to help with the concept of “internationalisation at home”, so that local students and staff who may not be able to physically participate in an academic exchange programme or immerse themselves in a cultural exchange programme can do that at home, within the university environment. 2. Diversity and inclusion as indices of internationalisation In general knowledge, the concepts of diversity and inclusion are perceived as an avenue to advance personal and societal growth in that they challenge stereotypical biases and promote relations between people of different backgrounds. Although the concepts of diversity and inclusion are often used together, they are fundamentally different in their core meanings. Nevertheless, the two terms can be combined to provide HEIs with a motivation to design a comprehensive internationalisation model. Just as diversity implies variation, the definition has also received varying thoughts from scholars who have addressed the phenomenon through different social groups such as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, among others. From an HEI perspective, diversity often connotes the bringing together of individuals with differences, and sometimes unexpected similarities (Sanger, 2020). In the educational setting, diversity deals emphatically with pedagogy and people (students and staff). It is in this respect that Sanger (2020) argues that a diverse curriculum and identities help enable critical thinking, communication, and the problem-solving competencies required to impart impactful learning for present day students. There is a remarkable distinction between diversity and inclusion. In brief, diversity precedes inclusion, or put differently, inclusion is an extension of diversity. Diversity on its http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1072022 40(4): 107-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Oparinde, Govender & Moyo Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions own does not imply inclusion. While diversity does recognise the differences, inclusion is the intentional act of incorporating the differences. In the view of Sanger (2020), for diversity to enhance learning for all, it needs to go together with deliberate and enthusiastic inclusion. For Adams, Bell and Griffin (2007), an all-inclusive pedagogy and curriculum promotes access to learning and belonging for all, which one could even conceive as seeking to dismantle the privilege certain differences or identities hold over others. In the view of Tienda (2013), inclusion requires intention as it involves institutional and instructor-level strategies and practices that promote meaningful social and academic interactions among students who differ in their experiences, views, and traits. The fusion of both diversity and inclusion then creates a solid case for the concept of internationalisation, seeing that internationalisation on the one hand focuses on differences just like diversity, and on the other hand on implementation just like inclusion. A blended understanding of diversity and inclusion is a prerequisite to internationalisation as each on its own cannot fulfil the natural objectives of internationalisation. 3. Internationalisation: the conceptual model According to the American Council of Education (2013), internationalisation is a strategic, coordinated process that seeks to align and integrate policies, programs, and initiatives to position colleges and universities as more globally oriented and internationally connected institutions. In what scholars such as Beelen and Jones (2018) refer to as ‘internationalisation at home’, internationalisation begins at home, and in the case of HEIs, begins with the daily affairs, composition, and the activities of such HEIs. The researchers traced the concept of ‘internationalisation at home’ back to the 1990s where the term arose as an alternative to ‘studying abroad’, which was being widely promoted at the time through the Erasmus mobility programme. They also identify the significant progression in the definition of the concept as “any internationally related activity with the exception of outbound student and staff mobility” (Crowther et al., 2001: 8); and further, as “the purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic learning environments” (Beelen & Jones, 2015: 76). The general notion of this concept has been commended for offering international and intercultural dimensions to the teaching and learning processes regardless of whether every individual is able to study abroad or not. This is a fundamental departure from the common knowledge of the concept as one which favours only students who have the opportunity of travelling abroad. As an extension of this argument, the paper posits that with the concept well applied, even students and university staff who have no opportunities for travel can be internationalised. The poor application of the concept by many universities has seen scholars such as Whitsed and Green (2013) criticise the concept as a mere activity and does not result as an indicator of quality or as De Wit and Beelen, (2014) put it, “pretending to be guided by high moral principles while not actively pursuing them”. This interpretation or popular understanding is that internationalisation revolves around the notion that international students create internationalisation, and by making this assumption, internationalisation and the strengths of local students are restricted; or it implies that internationalisation prepares students for mobility; or that internationalisation means the reception of international students. A more holistic and balanced perspective to the often-neglected areas of internationalisation is offered in this paper. The enhancing discussion in the paper centres on the American Council of Education’s (ACE) model for comprehensive internationalisation: http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1082022 40(4): 108-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Perspectives in Education 2022: 40(4) Figure 1: ACE model for comprehensive education (American Council of Education 2013) The ACE model for comprehensive internationalisation clarifies the genuine role of HEIs in fostering the concept of internationalisation using three lenses. The lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion addresses the role of institutions, individuals, and internationalisation in racial, economic, and social justice, agility and transformation, and data-informed decision-making. This advocates for an extension beyond numerical diversity to ensuring that there is a culture of internationalisation embedded in students and employees. The agility and transformation lens highlights the willingness of an HEI to evolve and support structures in response to internationalisation. The data-informed decision-making lens ensures that internationalisation goals, progress, and outcomes are developed from a foundation of institutional self-study, measurement, and ongoing assessment. The first lens is further sub-divided into institutional commitment and policy, and leadership and structure. The sub-divisions for the second lens are partnerships and mobility. For the last lens, the curriculum and co-curriculum as well as faculty and staff support are the sub-divisions. The ambition of this study is not to fully explicate the ACE model but employ the model in the discussion of how to entrench internationalisation in African HEIs which need to transform themselves into locally and nationally relevant institutions while pursuing their global identity. The framework assists particularly in systematically sectionalising internationalisation in HEIs in their bid to respond to the growing current changes in society. Gregersen-Hermans and Lauridsen (2021) also note that HEls across the globe are confronted with increasingly varied and sometimes contradicting expectations from the societies in which they are situated. These expectations partly involve their primary role in general knowledge and delivering graduates that can provide solutions to problems in their respective societies or communities. Concurrently, HEIs are obliged by the authorities to serve national agendas and contribute to their countries’ global economic competitiveness and human capital resources http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1092022 40(4): 109-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Oparinde, Govender & Moyo Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions (Ilieva et al., 2014). This is where the concept of internationalisation takes a stronghold. Gregersen-Hermans and Lauridsen (2021) contend that internationally informed research and collaborative partnerships can support not only the teaching and learning processes which will help develop skills relevant for the global contexts our students will face in the future, but also those which are equally important for living and working in diverse multicultural societies. In their words, internationalisation, thus, has both global and more local intercultural interests at heart. 4. Strengthening internationalisation in Higher Education It has been the practice of HEIs to emphasise on internationalisation by focusing on international cooperation and exchange. In fact, most universities across the African continent now subscribe to the ideals of internationalisation by providing opportunities for international students, and in some cases supporting these students with scholarships. Internationalisation in HEIs has, however, extended beyond the mobility of students, staff, and faculty through international affiliations and global partnerships. It now does majorly include an intra-campus internationalisation agenda. Such focus on intra-campus internationalisation generally promotes peace and cultural understanding across borders while also contributing to nuanced knowledge production. It is within this context that Robson and Monne (2019) state that universities globally are seeking to develop more inclusive approaches that enable all students and staff – and particularly the non-mobile majority – to experience the underlying social, academic, and intercultural learning benefits of an internationalised university experience. As a first step to developing internationalisation in African HEIs, it is important to diversify topics, disciplines, and curriculum. Brendan (2022) notes first the immediate necessary expansion or refinement of the syllabus to broaden the use of examples and case studies to embed the content in international experience and contexts. This diversification of curriculum can attract the interests of students from different cultures and races. To achieve this, there is a need to infuse internationalisation into learning through a global learning spectrum where related issues in other cultures/societies are brought into learning as a way of comparison and knowledge widening. Vaughan (2019) states that a curriculum which is diverse acts as an agent for liberal and democratic values and encourages a mutual understanding of different viewpoints thus having the potential to make students reflect on their identity and their place in society and leads to a better well-being for those students and improved attainment. He states that by not making the curriculum diverse, there is the risk that HEIs are simply reproducing and reinforcing the inequalities that already exist in society. Drawing from the notions of Vaughan, critical questions pertaining to the diversification of curriculum revolve around the topics of the curricula, how we approach the topics, and how these topics shape the development of students in terms of internationalisation. Put more simply, how the formal knowledge imparted in HEIs promotes the nuances of internationalisation should be at the centre of a diversified curriculum. By diversifying the curriculum, the HEI creates a more culturally responsive and equity focussed experience and training (Mbaki, Todorova & Hagan, 2021). Internationalisation of the curriculum is the incorporation of international, intercultural, and/ or global dimensions into the content of the curriculum as well as the learning outcomes, assessment tasks, teaching methods, and support services of a program of study (Leask, 2015). As a way of addressing the diversification of the curriculum from a wider perspective, Mbaki et al. (2021) recommend that the curriculum could become diverse by positioning marginalised and underrepresented students and staff communities within the recircularisation http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1102022 40(4): 110-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Perspectives in Education 2022: 40(4) plans. Frank (2014) reveals that a focus limited to student mobility and international student and staff recruitment, with defined targets for the numbers of students and staff engaged in international programs or research representing structural top-down approaches, can impede a comprehensive understanding of internationalisation. Hence, there is a need for a broader approach, including improvement in programme content and delivery. This is necessary to provide the benefits of an international educational programme to a diverse international group of students. Thus, Leask and Bridge (2013) recommend that universities adopt specific approaches in teaching a broad range of students, including principles, such as the ability to respect and adjust for diversity, the provision of context-specific information and support, and the facilitation of meaningful intercultural dialogue and engagement. A second giant step in the internationalisation of HEIs is the diversification of the people – diverse students and diverse staff members. Scholars affirm that the diversity of the student and staff bodies can be deployed as a tool to encourage learning and innovation through intercultural interactions. Wiers-Jenssen (2019) admits that the number of students undertaking higher education beyond national borders is increasing. Citing Norway as a specific instance, Wiers-Jenssen (2019) investigates how in the aim to achieve internationalisation in their HEIs, the country prepared an active national policy for internationalisation and student mobility, and quite rapid implementation of this policy at an institutional level. At the heart of this policy lies the reasons why international students have been increasing in Norway with factors such as English taught programs, absence of tuition fees, and improving career opportunities. Although this study does not make Norway’s approach a blanket representation of how internationalisation can be supported at the governmental level, it is worth noting that African institutions can also derive befitting and suitable approaches for internationalisation. For instance, the complete absence of tuition is one which many African institutions cannot afford due to their own financial sustainability and over reliance on state funding. Nonetheless, internationalisation, viewing it from the perspective of international students, provides an invaluable benefit for HEIs and the national economy. As Wiers-Jenssen (2019) puts it, international students contribute to the economy in several ways, part of which is their tuition and money spent on housing and other forms of consumption. Also, international students, upon graduation, can also contribute greatly to the national economy through skilled migration. The direct result of this is growth in diversity not only on campuses, but also in the larger society1. Just as the student demographic changes to a more diversified and inclusive one, the diversified composition of staff is equally important to cater for an increased diverse group of students. For HEIs, the human composition is mainly students and the workforce. As such, to achieve internationalisation, both human compositions should be affected in policies and formation since they will both collaborate in making the education process more innovative and practical. HEIs should understand the need to hire employees from varying backgrounds, both in terms of disciplines and types of institutional training, if internationalisation is expected to be at the forefront of their teaching and learning, research and innovation. Promoting a diverse student community while ignoring the workforce will be counter-intuitive in the journey towards internationalisation. This is arguably so as the workforce will impart students with the agenda of internationalisation, and they will also elongate the culture since they outlive the students time within the institution. Often noticeable, even in many institutions where internationalisation is 1 It is worth mentioning that issues around “brain gain” or “brain drain” and their negative/positive impact have not been dealt with in the current paper as they have been left for a current research project being worked on by the researchers. http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1112022 40(4): 111-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Oparinde, Govender & Moyo Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions perceived to be an agenda, is that the diversity of staff is often marginalised (Stockfelt, 2018) while the diversity of students is prioritised. This is a fundamental error in the stride towards internationalisation considering that it is in the cross-pollination and collaboration of these two human components that HEIs can use to promote the exploration of new ideas promulgated through interactions with a wider range of international policy experiences and case studies (Brendan, 2022). It was further discovered by Brendan (2022) that expanding international cohorts brings greater dynamism to the class experience. In a bid to ensure a diverse employee composition, HEIs also need to be strategic in their recruitment. For instance, hiring advertisements must include statements that foreground international engagement and inclusive pedagogies. Importantly, hiring committees must be equipped with the necessary skills that can examine inclusive and cross-cultural competencies in prospective employees. There is also a need for HEIs to recruit strong advisors who can guide and counsel students on the need for inter-cultural emersion, internationalisation and designing co-curriculum that re-enforces graduate attributes. Also, alongside the international office units often created by HEIs to mainly oversee admissions of international students, HEIs also need to recruit Diversity and Inclusion Officers (DIOs) whose roles can also include internationalisation on campuses. The responsibilities of the DIOs can include providing initiatives on how to get the HEIs comprehensively internationalised. Such officers can also be tasked with the responsibility of developing creative ways of internationalising the curriculum and also coming up with curriculum in collaboration with relevant faculty that promotes learning other attributes outside the classroom. For Williams and Wade-Golden (2013), DIOs or Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) as they are sometimes referred to, serve as powerful integrating forces for diversity issues, collaborating and working through the lateral networks of the institution no matter how large or small their staff compliments. This is a point also conceded by Martinez (2018) who argues that CDOs must utilise multiple strategies to build relationships, secure allies, and convince higher education constituents that diversity benefits higher education in multiple ways. As the student body diversification gathers more attention in higher education, staffing in HEIs should also reflect the local and national demographics with a component of international staff, not just for the sake of rankings but really impactful “internationalisation at home” and “comprehensive internationalisation” with mutual benefits for both students and staff. A dedicated diversity and inclusion officer can, thus, greatly engineer educational and social reforms within HEIs. The argument of this study is further entrenched within the notion that internationalisation, when applied correctly, contributes significantly to the human economy as well as knowledge economy in HEIs. It is, therefore, through the advancement of these economies that the national economy can derive its own development. If these are to be achieved, it is not enough to stop at the hiring stage when considering internationalisation. Students and staff must be equipped and supported to deliver the internationalisation agenda. To develop a strong and practical sense of internationalisation in HEIs, it is necessary for the universities and campuses to develop an internationalisation policy specifically tailored to the needs and demographics of the university. Such internationalisation policies should constantly be reviewed to ensure that the diversity and inclusion nucleus is readily present and implemented. The policy must address how units responsible for internationalisation will contribute to achieving institutional goals on diversity, inclusion, and internationalisation. As a matter of importance, the establishment of an advisory committee to ensure progressive work in the area of internationalisation and its direct impact is needed. The advisory committee can then http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1122022 40(4): 112-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Perspectives in Education 2022: 40(4) be saddled with the responsibilities of reviewing the policies to constantly ensure that diversity and inclusion are catered for in the curriculum and in the daily campus activities. In essence, a working policy on internationalisation will help identify and define shared goals within the institution. The advisory committee, alongside the DIOs, can thus collaborate to provide clear diversity and inclusion by infusing salient factors of internationalisation. 5. Internationalisation and policy implications: Taking South Africa as a case In the Policy Framework for Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa (2019), it was admitted that the South African higher education institutions cater for growing numbers of international students, particularly at a postgraduate level, which in return necessitated the need for the policy. While the framework addresses internationalisation, the approach is met with some frailties. First, the framework perceived the notion of internationalisation heavily from the perspective of student and staff mobility with little attention paid to how HEIs can begin the internationalisation process at home. In the 65-page document, the concept of ‘internationalisation at home’ was mentioned thirteen times and with little attention given to the concept from an actionable point of view. Thus, the framework was evasive in addressing the matter from an active point of view. Also, on page 24, the policy states that “the focus of internationalisation of higher education must be more on the quality of the initiatives, activities, and programme content than on the quantity thereof”. While this is arguably right, it can also be logically argued with the earlier assertion that since there is a growing number of international students in South Africa, the policy needed to address the growth in the diversity of students with what internationalisation also means in terms of growth in the diversity of staff and why diversity and transformation are important for human, social and economic development. COVID-19 and its impact has also demonstrated to various HEIs that collaboration across borders can help build interdisciplinary research and innovation teams that are able to address both national and global challenges affecting health and climate change. There is still a greater tension though globally in the “universal nature and embeddedness in the national and local contexts as a feature of tertiary education” (de Wit & Altbach, 2021). Given that HEIs in South Africa need to now premise their own policies on the one provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training, it is important that germane areas relating to internationalisation are adequately covered in order to assist HEIs to develop a nuanced policy. At current, Vaccarino and Li (2018) note that there is little evidence that HEIs are taking on the developmental challenge of internationalisation. To build a university’s internationalisation capability, a strong, culturally aware, culturally literate, and culturally sensitive workforce is essential (Vaccarino & Li, 2018). They further note that to develop staff intercultural competencies and sustain an internationally competitive advantage, it is imperative for staff at tertiary institutions to be appropriately and systematically trained. To this end, the South African Department of Higher Education and Training have also invested in staff capacity building by funding international staff exchange and mobility as part of the University Capacity Building Programmes. What is more important is to also encourage Africa Engagement initiatives through various networks to get other players within the continent to contribute resources to mobility programmes for both staff and students across countries. Noteworthy is the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) which has been driving collaboration and setting a research and innovation agenda to address common continental and global challenges through partnerships. In the current African higher education landscape, http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1132022 40(4): 113-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Oparinde, Govender & Moyo Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions it is important to bring regional HEIs together to collaborate – otherwise the impact on regional development and fulfilling Africa Agenda 2063 and the SDGs will not be realised. Vaccarino and Li (2018) stipulate that internationalisation is an important part of a university’s economic, academic, and cultural vitality, and as such, many universities are increasingly investing in their human capital by training employees to meet the demands of organisational diversity, to become culturally flexible and adaptable in multicultural contexts. Having developed a working institutional policy on internationalisation, a major area in need of the attention for HEIs is to invest in education and training on the concept of internationalisation. Internationalisation, as rightly posited by Knight (2013), is a process through which university role-players need adequate periods to learn, internalise, and begin to exhibit their knowledge of internationalisation. The design, content, and delivery of this training is also the responsibility of the DIO who is meant to ensure that the university is internationally diverse, inclusive, and more welcoming for students of different communities and cultures. It is in the provision of relevant training that students and staff of institutions will harness the extensive benefits of internationalisation. Vaccarino and Li (2018) further pontificate that diversity has become a reality and being culturally competent is a vital skill required to work effectively with culturally diverse individuals. Therefore, equipping staff with cultural proficiencies has become sacrosanct and undeniable. The achievement of the above stages, although in the right direction, do not signal the end of the internationalisation process. There is a need for constant assessment and evaluation to ensure that students and staff members transfer their knowledge of the training to classrooms, interactions with various quad-helix partners, and the workplace. This can be achieved using surveys and questionnaires where students and employees express their views on the practicality of internationalisation within the campus or respective environments. Through these assessments, the level of understanding as well as deficiencies of the students and staff and potential benefits for immediate communities that are part of the institutions’ eco-system will be determined while they can also provide feedback and suggestions. In fact, the concept of internationalisation and its practicalities can be subjects of academic research where new findings are empirically produced to cater for the advancement of internationalisation as a critical cross cutting theme for diversity, transformation, and access to higher education. The results of the surveys can assist the responsible units, officers, and advisory committees to make important decisions when it comes to the notion of internationalisation and its impact on socio-economic development. 6. Conclusion Internationalisation has a key role in learning and teaching by contributing to both graduate and staff attributes that prepare the human resource to work in and with culturally diverse teams and hence should continue to be a core focus of the internationalisation strategy of any HEI. Through diversifying students, staff, and the curriculum, academia can derive a more multipronged, creative, innovative, and theoretical perspective in education and research. For a modern-day HEI, the development of strategies for a genuine international learning environment within their campuses is inimitable. The internationalisation of higher education has many positive impacts on teaching, learning, research, and innovation, and on socio- economic transformation. From an academic perspective, internationalisation also leads to improved academic quality through the cross-pollination and collaboration of international students and staff. Viewing it from a social lens, it provides opportunities for minorities and http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 1142022 40(4): 114-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Perspectives in Education 2022: 40(4) marginalised groups as well as under-privileged people to access education in any part of the world. It is worth noting that as much as the internationalisation and globalisation of higher education has its positives, there are also a variety of negatives that future research should take cognisance of. One such negative is the danger of commercialising the internationalisation of education while lagging in the offering of quality education. What is advocated for in this paper is the internationalisation and globalisation of education for the purpose of promoting knowledge economy and socio-academic factors and not primarily for commercialisation purposes. It is, thus, the conclusion of this study that advancing diversity and inclusion in higher education will ultimately lead to an educational system devoid of colour, racial, and ethnicity issues for all nations while also helping to provide a bedrock for scholars to get their teaching and research done in more nuanced environments where solutions to problems are sought from socio-cultural grounds. For HEIs to remain especially relevant to the needs of the current world, the internationalisation and globalisation agenda must be rooted within the educational process. There is a need for constant re-imagination around the dispositions of HEIs to issues of diversity and inclusion from a holistic point of view without neglecting the training of the local human capital in critical skills in the first place. These conversations should involve a shared understanding of intercultural competencies, international collaborative academic work, diverse personnel and student strengths, student academic exchange programmes, among others, as these nuances are all intrinsically linked to the future and sustainability of higher education. Lastly it is important to reiterate the importance that HEIs play in socio-economic transformation and how the future university in going forward will need to look beyond its current boundaries and collaborate to remain sustainable, impactful, and relevant. References Adams, M., Bell, L.A. & Griffin, P. 2007. Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203940822 American Council on Education. 2013. Model for comprehensive internationalisation. Available at https://bit.ly/3iVvBFm [Accessed 7 June 2022]. Beelen, J. & Jones, E. 2015. Redefining internationalization at home. In A. Curai, L. Matei, R. Pricopie, Salmi, J. & Scott, P. (Eds.). The European higher education area: Between critical reflections and future policies. Dordrecht: Springer. Beelen, J. & Jones, E. 2018. Internationalisation at home: In P. Teixeira, J.C. Shin, A. Amaral, A. Bernasconi, A. Magalhaes, B.M. Kehm, B. Stensaker, E. Choi, E. Balbachevsky, F. Hunter, G. Goastellec, G. Mohamedbhai, H. de Wit J. Valimaa, L. Rumbley, L. Unangst, M. Klemencic, P. Langa, R. Yang & T. Nokkala (Eds.). Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Dordrecht: Springer. Brajkovic, L. & Helms, R.M. 2018. Mapping internationalisation on US campuses. International Higher Education, 1(92): 11-13. https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2018.92.10277 Brendan, W. 2022. Challenges and conflicts in the internationalisation of planning education. Dublin: University College Dublin. Crow, M.M. & Dabars, W.B. 2020. The fifth wave: The evolution of American higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203940822 https://bit.ly/3iVvBFm https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2018.92.10277 1152022 40(4): 115-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Oparinde, Govender & Moyo Entrenching internationalisation in African Higher Education Institutions Crowther, P., Joris, M., Otten, M., Nilsson, B., Teekens, H. & Wächter, B. 2001. Internationalization at home: A position paper. Amsterdam: EAIE. De Wit, H. & Beelen, J. 2014. Reading between the lines: Global internationalisation survey. University World News. Available at https://www.universityworldnews.com/post. php?story=20140429110128348 [Accessed 6 June 2022]. De Wit, H., Hunter, F., Howard, L. & Polak, E. 2015. Internationalisation of Higher Education. Brussels: European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies. De Wit, H. & Altbach, P.G. 2021. Internationalization in higher education: Global trends and recommendations for its future. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5(1): 28-46. https://doi.or g/10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898 Department of Higher Education and Training. 2019. Policy framework for internationalisation of higher education in South Africa. Available at https://bit.ly/3HmR83T [Accessed 10 July 2022]. Frank, A. 2019. Enhancing internationalisation through inter-institutional collaboration: Innovative practices in planning education. Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning, 1(3): 1. https://doi.org/10.24306/TrAESOP.2019.01.002 Gregersen-Hermans, J. & Lauridsen, K.M. 2021. Internationalising programmes in higher education: An educational development perspective. London: Routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9780429344503 Ilieva, R., Beck, K. & Waterstone, B. 2014. Towards sustainable internationalisation of higher education. Higher Education, 68(6): 875-889. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9749-6 Institute of International Education. 2022. IIE Survey: Universities Indicate Optimism, Confidence on International Educational Exchange. Available at https://bit.ly/3USVcvM [Accessed 8 July 2022]. Knight, J. 2004. Internationalization remodeled: Definitions, rationales, and approaches. Journal for Studies in International Education, 8(1): 5-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832 Knight, J. 2013. The changing landscape of higher education internationalisation – for better or worse? Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 17(3): 84-90. https://doi.org /10.1080/13603108.2012.753957 Leask, B. 2015. Internationalizing the curriculum. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9781315716954 Leask, B. & Bridge, C. 2013. Comparing internationalisation of the curriculum in action across disciplines: theoretical and practical perspectives. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43(1): 79-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.746566 Martinez, J. 2018. Framing inclusion and exclusion: The framing strategies of chief diversity officers in higher education. Doctoral dissertation, Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University. Mbaki, Y., Todorova, E. & Hagan, P. 2021. Diversifying the medical curriculum as part of the wider decolonising effort: A proposed framework and self-assessment resource toolbox. Clinical Teacher’s Toolbox, 18(5): 459-466. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13408 Moyo, S. 2018. Towards building useful institutional reporting systems for research and innovation in African higher education: A lateral view. In: E. Hazelkorn, H. Coates & A.C. http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20140429110128348 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20140429110128348 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898 https://bit.ly/3HmR83T https://doi.org/10.24306/TrAESOP.2019.01.002 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429344503 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429344503 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9749-6 https://bit.ly/3USVcvM https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832 https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2012.753957 https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2012.753957 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315716954 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315716954 https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.746566 https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13408 1162022 40(4): 116-116 http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 Perspectives in Education 2022: 40(4) McCormick. (Eds.). Research Handbook on Quality, Performance and Accountability in Higher Education. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Robson S. & Wihlborg M. 2019. Internationalisation of higher education: Impacts, challenges, and future possibilities. European Educational Research Journal, 18(2): 127-134. https://doi. org/10.1177/1474904119834779 Sanger, C.S. 2020. Diversity, inclusion, and context in Asian higher education. In: C.H. Sanger, & N.W. Gleason. (Eds.). Diversity and inclusion in global higher education. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1628-3 Scott, C. 2020. Managing and regulating commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion in higher education. Irish Educational Studies, 39(2): 175-191. https://doi.org/10.1080/0332331 5.2020.1754879 Stockfelt, S. 2018. We the minority-of-minorities: A narrative inquiry of Black female academics in the United Kingdom. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 39(7): 1012-1029. https:// doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1454297 Tienda, M. 2013. Diversity ≠ Inclusion: Promoting integration in higher education. Educational Researcher, 42(9): 467-475. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X13516164 Vaccarino, F. & Li, M. 2018. Intercultural communication training to support internationalisation in higher education. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 46(1): 540-563. Vaughan, S. 2019. Some reflections on diversity and diversifying the law curriculum. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3392248 [Accessed 1 July 2022]. Whitsed, C. & Green, W. 2013. Internationalisation begins with the curriculum. Available at https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20130123121225469 [Accessed 4 June 2022]. Wiers-Jenssen, J. 2019. Paradoxical attraction? Why an increasing number of international students choose Norway. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(2): 281-298. https:// doi.org/10.1177/1028315318786449 Williams, D. & Wade-Golden, K. 2013. The chief diversity officer: strategy, structure, and change management. Sterling: Stylus Publishing Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.38140/pie.v40i4.6849 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904119834779 https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904119834779 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1628-3 https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2020.1754879 https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2020.1754879 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1454297 https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1454297 https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X13516164 http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3392248 https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20130123121225469 https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318786449 https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318786449 _Hlk119928862 _Hlk117449365