On Internationalization Of Canadian Research Universities

When we inter into the21st century, globalization is accelerating. Members of the international community compete globally. Economic competition or competition on comprehensive competitive advantage of nations are in essence competitions between human beings. A globalized environment has a deep impact on the development of higher education. All nations must endeavor to cultivate talents equipped with an a strong international vision, global dimensions, good understanding of multicultural rules and practices as well as the ability to communicate and act internationally. Against the backdrop of globalization, the internationalization of higher education represents the mainstream of world education reform and development these days. The cultivation of talents with international dimensions depends on the internationalization of higher education.A flat world, economic globalization, political multi-polarization, educational internationalization and multiculturalism represent significant drivers for globalization. These factors also have a deep impact on Canadian research intensive universities in a global context. Education is not a federal responsibility in the Canadian system. Canada’s open political system and education policies provide an enabling and supportive external environment for the internationalization of Canadian research intensive universities. The Canadian Government has come to realize the importance of what education and research matter to Canadian interests through its participation in global affairs. The Government of Canada encourages Canadian research intensive universities to undertake international teaching, research and student mobility collaborations. Multicultural education lays a solid foundation for the internationalization of Canadian research universities. With the growth and development of higher education, the internationalization of higher education has provided the internationalization of research universities with an empowering international perspective. The internationalization of higher education requires research universities to understand the parameters of international development from a global perspective with a view to adapting into world trends and to realizing all objectives of educational internationalization.In a global environment, all Canadian research intensive universities are committed to internationalization. Canadian research universities place priority on their responsibility to internationalize their campuses. In addition, Canadian research universities have formulated their respective internationalization strategies with priorities focused on academic programming, teaching, research, faculty and student engagement and international banding. Ways to realize the internationalization of Canadian research universities include formulation of comprehensive internationalization strategy, curriculum internationalization,faculty internationalization, internatonal student recruitment, faculty and student mobility, joint progamming and the establishment of research-oriented international partnerships.The internationalization of research universities in Canada has diverse dimensions. This paper adapts case study method and conducts a comprehensive of the internationalization strategies in the case of UBC, University of Alberta, Western and the University of Waterloo, four top-rated and globally significant Canadian research universities with extensive China connections.Canadian research universities have in place sophisticated international information system, international performance and appraisal indicators for faculty engagement and assessment, high level faculty and student engagement, active international commercialization of research outcomes, a commitment to openness and university administration’s leadership and involvement on the internationalization front. Canadian research universities have achieved high level internationalization with many best practices recognized internationally. Some challenges are also identified in this process such as low cultural sensitivity on the part of Canadian universities in their dealings with non-Western cultures such as China, efforts to increase the international dimension of curriculum design and development as well as insufficient budgeting to support internationalization initiatives.Research universities in China are being internationalized within a global context. However, there is an obvious gap if we look at the levels of internationalization amongst Chinese research universities and top research universities in the world. China’s challenges relate to low level of the internationalization of curriculum design and development, insufficient international learning sources, poor capacity to teach in English, low level of international teaching methodology, limited international mobility opportunities for faculty and students, as well as the poor quality of certain international partnerships. These are areas in which Canadian research intensive universities have a lot of best practices to share with China. Research universities in China should place priority on including internationalization as a key performance indicator, identifying key priorities, focusing resources on doing the right things, building internationalization capacity, encouraging international research partnerships, strengthening the international dimension of curriculum development, promoting faculty and student mobility, reinforcing international content of university websites and encouraging students’ international outreach and engagement.