Internationalisation Strategy 2021 – 2025
Through targeted internationalisation and, in particular, the integration of an international and intercultural dimension in studying, teaching and research1 universities prepare young people to face the complex challenges of a globalised world. They build bridges, shoulder responsibility and facilitate cooperation. Their ideas and knowledge are not bound bynational borders. Their networking strengthens research and teaching, and influences culture and society. Universities are essential actors in a global knowledge society.
As one of the first universities of applied sciences in Germany to do so, in 2016 Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences drew up a strategy for systematically driving its internationalisation process forward. The first Internationalisation Strategy (2016 - 2020) produced good results, in particular in terms of structuring the institution's internationalisation work.
When developing its Internationalisation Strategy for2021 - 2025 the university looked to the relevant regional, national and European higher education policy frameworks. This means that the Internationalisation Strategy is based equally on the target agreement between the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the university, and on the Saxony-Anhalt Internationalisation and Europe Strategy as well as the European Commission objectives for the European Education Area.
Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences aims to
- qualify its students and young academics in an interculturally competent and internationally competitive manner,
- attract qualified international degree and exchange students, academics and non-academic staff and retain them permanently at the university and in the region,
- establish and network itself as an attractive teaching, learning and research institution in the international higher education area and engage in this for the benefit of an international knowledge society and an intercultural social community,
- advocate a comprehensive social welcoming culture, the promotion of diversity and a firm commitment against any kind of discrimination and racism, and to this end anchor internationality and internationalisation in the university culture and also structurally in all areas of the university.
Core Objectives
Based on these themes, the university has established two core objectives in its internationalisation strategy for the years 2021-2025.
Objective 1 - Internationalisation of studies, teaching and research
According to the Teaching and Learning Guidelines at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, quality is achieved by all members of the university taking an equal interest in teaching, research and development, knowledge transfer and social responsibility2. Internationalisation consolidates and enhances quality in all areas and is also shaped by every stakeholder at the university, all of whom bear equal responsibility for it. In the process, internationalisation has long since ceased only to be about, in simple terms, mobility of university members and joint international research projects, but instead is an integral and tangible part of the academic teaching and overall university organisation3.
Objective 2 - Increasing the number of international students and support for the mobility of all university members
In line with the objectives of the European Education Area, the university is increasing its number of international students and the opportunities for its students and lecturers to travel abroad. The Erasmus+ programme represents one driver promoting mobility. With its extensive offers for all university groups, the programme acts as a spur to the internationalisation process and in this way promotes the further development of the university towards becoming a modern, international, academic institution. It facilitates the acquistion of essential foreign language and other key skills and promotes the understanding of democracy and the dissemination of European values, which are of primary importance for the university.
The two stated core objectives have sub-objectives assigned to them. These and the associated measures are part of the internationalisation strategy.
Internationalisation Strategy 2021 – 2025
This internationalisation strategy was agreed at the suggestion of the Rector’s Office on 14.07.202 by the academic senate of Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.
1 Beelen, J. & Jones, E. (2015). Redefining Internationalization at Home. In A. Curai, L.Matei, R. Pricopie, J. Salmi & P. Scott (Eds.), The Europeanhigher education area: Between critical reflections andfuturepolicies (pp. 67-80). Dordrecht: Springer.
De Wit, H., Hunter, F., Howard, L. & Egron-Polak, E. (Ed.)(2015).Internationalisation of Higher Education. Brussels: EuropeanParliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies.
De Wit, H. & Altbach, P. G. (2021).Internationalization in higher education: global trends andrecommendations for its future, Policy Reviews in HigherEducation, 5:1, 28 - 46,DOI: 10.1080/23322969.2020.1820898
2 Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. (4 March 2019).
Teaching & Learning Guidelines
3 German Rectors’ Conference. (9 May 2017).
Recommendation of the 22nd General Meeting of the German Rectors’ Conference on 9 May 2017 in Bielefeld on the Internationalisation of Curricula
