Abstract:

Institutions of higher education increasingly engage in internationalization efforts, for a variety of reasons. The collection of practices these institutions engage in, which can be called conventional internationalization models (CIM) largely focus on centralized and institutionalized efforts. This paper reviews typical aspects of CIM, noting their benefits while also spotlighting the costs they entail and the open spaces they leave. The paper then introduces the self-internationalization model (SIM) as a complement and a supplement to CIM. SIM offers a less centralized approach to internationalization, focusing instead on individual initiatives taken by faculty, academic managers and students. SIM offers institutions a way to continue their ongoing internationalization efforts given the anticipated educational landscape of the future, in which educational models are foreseen to be flexible, student-oriented and less costly because of the rapid increase in the supply of quality technology-based education, hybrid education, and internationalization of institutions of higher education through diverse modus operandi.  This paper explains the functional aspects of SIM, and its comparative advantages and disadvantages vis-à-vis CIM. Furthermore, it provides guidelines for the design and implementation of comprehensive, innovative and dynamic internationalization models combining SIM and CIM in a manner that is suitable, convenient, affordable, and beneficial for all stakeholders in higher education institutions.