Call for Participation: GO-GN Perspectives on Internationalisation at a Distance

As part of an accepted proposal titled Building Global Capacity in Open Education: Open Values, Open Practices, Open Networks for the British Journal of Technology (BJET) we are researching internationalisation, defined as transformative processes in higher education teaching, learning, and research that promotes equitable, global experiences that help prepare students and graduates to live in and contribute responsibly to a globally interconnected society (Advance HE website, n.d.). From the literature, internationalisation at a distance (IaD) is described as formal education provided “across borders where students, staff, and institutional provisions are separated by geographical distance and supported by technology” (Mittelmeier et al., 2019, p. 2). IaD emphasises mobility of knowledge over the movement of students (Yue et al., 2023).

Our main research interest is the internationalisation of informal learning and research as experienced through GO-GN. From a GO-GN perspective, we might better define internationalisation in terms of a community of care. 

We are calling for co-authors to contribute narratives to a Google form responding to the question: 

How might internationalisation at a distance be described from your context and experiences with GO-GN? 

As a result of a contribution, participants can be named as contributing authors (choice indicated on the form), understanding that edits of responses may occur during the writing/revision process. Responses to the prompts will also help us collectively write the opening and closing parts of the paper, thus expanding current definitions and discourse on IaD.

Add your contribution to this Google form.

Abstract

With over ten years of experience in global and open educational research, this organisation moves beyond traditional boundaries of higher education contexts and shifts the dynamics and transforms definitions of internationalisation at a distance. Current research into internationalisation focuses on the transnational mobility of the student or the digitisation of knowledge for international studies. This research focuses on capacity building and sharing knowledge within meaningful intercultural and international experiences relative to open educational resources, pedagogies, and practices.GO-GN membership includes over 175 Ph.D. and post-doctoral researchers from over twenty-five higher education institutions with 30% from global south locations. Applying a variety of technologies, GO-GN works in parallel, yet on the periphery, to higher education formal structures, stretching the possibilities for internationalisation of knowledge production and dissemination at a distance. The virtual and hybrid activities include webinars, in-person workshops, conference sessions, and openly shared research productions. The members of GO-GN exemplify the vision and qualities embodied in their motto (Tuko Pamoja – trust, empathy, sharing, unity, and understanding), thus offering a view of learning at a distance that is collegial, supportive, caring, and open. This multi-voiced autoethnographic collection of GO-GN members’ living narratives offers testimonies on learning at a distance in a community of care (Iniesto et al., 2023) from around the globe. From these individual narratives and analysis, this research advances an expanded vision of internationalisation at a distance.

Read the BJET call for proposals.

References 

• Iniesto, F., Pitt, B., Bossu, C., Farrow, R., & Weller, M. (2023). Community, fellowship, openness: Supporting early career researchers through open educational practices. Edutec. Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, 85, 136–152. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2023.85.2839
• Internationalising higher education. (2020). Advance HE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/guidance/teaching-and-learning/internationalisation 
• Mittelmeier, J., Rienties, B., Rogaten, J., Gunter, A., & Raghuram, P. (2019). Internationalisation at a distance and at home: Academic and social adjustment in a South African distance learning context. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 72, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.06.001 
• Yue, Y., De Souza, D., & Townsin, L. (2023). No human mobility: How is knowledge mobile in a context of internationalisation at a distance? a case study. Higher Education Research & Development, 42(5), 1165–1181. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2216643