Strategic international partnerships – The leader’s role

It is now virtually unavoidable for a university CEO to perform his or her leadership role at a higher education institution without confronting the various aspects, issues and challenges connected with the internationalisation of the institution.

In particular, the need to build and take advantage of real strategic international partnerships that will enhance the quality and reach of the institution should be high on the priority list of any university president.

As university leaders look at this kind of partnership, they should do it in a very practical manner that will reflect tactics that have proven to be useful and successful in actual experience and best practice.

Thus, the following questions will necessarily need to be considered and answered:

• • What does a university stand to gain from strategic international partnerships with counterparts abroad? Why is this something that university leaders are investing in?
  
• • What does ‘strategic’ mean and how is a ‘strategic’ partnership different from other relationships and linkages a university may have?
  
• • If certain university leaders are not currently investing in strategic partnerships, why and how should they?

Why strategic partnerships are important

Let us start by responding to the first question. There are a number of reasons why strategic partnerships are important and worth investing time, effort and resources.

First, the internationalisation of a university is no longer ‘optional’. It has practically become a parameter of quality sine qua non. A university president or CEO nowadays does not consider not doing it. One rather asks where the university stands in this internationalisation process.

Any modern university will be measured and evaluated or ranked – among other things – by the degree of internationalisation it has achieved and its success in terms of students, faculty members, researchers and staff participating in international programmes and benefiting from the experience in specific measurable ways.

Partnerships, and internationalisation in general, are critical to taking on the great challenge buffeting our universities today of preparing our new generation of students for tough competition for jobs in the global market.

Second, a good strategic partnership can improve an institution by, for example, offering students an opportunity to participate in significant experiences abroad, whether through traditional study abroad terms, or through more innovative programmes such as internships abroad, joint or double degree programmes, or service learning experiences, which provide the added advantage of involving students within the local community.

These opportunities help leaders achieve the goal of preparing their students to be true global citizens, which is now a widely embraced aim of internationalisation at many universities.

Providing faculty members with the possibility of teaching at a university abroad, even for a short period of time, or engaging in joint research projects with their counterparts, are additional benefits of international partnerships.

But it is not only students and faculty that may benefit from a strategic partnership. Staff and other sectors of the university community can participate in very enriching experiences in the other country.

What does ‘strategic’ mean

Let us now look at the second question, regarding what 'strategic' means and how a strategic partnership is different from other cooperative relationships.

A strategic partnership is different from a traditional, focused partnership in that the truly strategic one has a greater ‘breadth and depth of impact’. It is interdisciplinary in nature and it goes beyond the usual study abroad or faculty exchange partnership.

It includes complex interactions and involves all sectors of the university as a whole, joint research programmes, dual degrees and other significant initiatives, and even actions favourably affecting the local communities.

In the experience of this author, one partnership, for example, involved influencing local authorities on both sides to establish a sister city agreement between a city in Japan and one in Mexico.

A strategic partnership also involves a strong faculty support and is mutually beneficial to both parties. The benefits may be quite significant, including an impact on the quality of the institutions overall.

Finally it requires a sustained effort over time. It is a long-lasting relationship, because it is solid and well-founded. Naturally, the strategic partnership follows the steps of a good, tailor-made institutional strategic plan. Not all forms of internationalisation efforts will require the same degree of sophistication, but a good strategic plan certainly does.

Steps included in a good strategic plan

Judging from experience from the point of view of a university president or CEO, a good strategic plan must include the following 10 general steps:

• • Step 1: Develop a strategy. This first step involves being aware that there are no recipes for internationalisation; each university needs to develop its own strategies and they need to include the organisational strategies that provide a foundation for the institutional policies, as well as the programmatic strategies that allow us to establish the internationalisation activities and programmes for the substantive functions of the university.
  
  
• • Step 2: Establish a university mission with regard to internationalisation. Once established, it must be communicated appropriately to the university community and to the community at large. This involves reaching consensus among the faculty, staff and students with regard to institutional policy on internationalisation. It also includes appointing a central coordinating body on internationalisation at the institutional level, establishing an office responsible for international programmes, and assigning the necessary space and resources.
  
  
• • Step 3: Maintain financial and staff support at the level that is needed. This support is vital to the success of the process. Time and persistence is required to make international programmes solid and, obviously, financial and staff resources need to be kept in place to execute the programmes.
  
  
• • Step 4: Establish clear coordination at the institutional level. It is no easy task and the bigger the university is the harder it will be to provide this coordination. Integrated planning is required, involving all departments, in order to prevent the tendency towards the creation of power conflicts or resistance to change by the faculties or schools.
  
  
• • Step 5: Define decision-making roles and responsibilities. It is essential to indicate clearly who has the decision-making power on international affairs at the university, as well as the roles of each office or person in each international programme. It should also be clear who decides the assignment of resources, who decides on priorities, what the relationship is between the vice-president for international affairs and the deans at each college, faculty or school.
  
  
• • Step 6: Use technology. Recognise the importance of technology in international programmes and use it appropriately, such as through virtual teaching or advising.
  
  
• • Step 7: Establish an agenda to be followed by the office of the vice-president for international affairs (or similar role) and the central coordinating body on internationalisation. This agenda will include identifying areas of potential collaboration between departments. Naturally, it is necessary to monitor progress, including the internationalisation of the curriculum.
  
  
• • Step 8: Establish a strong and sound structure for the management of international programmes. The size of the structure will depend on the size of the university, but purposes, functions, responsibilities and relations need to be crystal clear.
  
  
• • Step 9: Periodic review. A university leader should ensure that there is a periodic careful review of each programme affecting the international mission of the institution: the internationalisation of each subject; faculty and staff international development programmes; student mobility; foreign language teaching and learning; faculty visitation and exchange; joint research internationally; international internships; and any other programmes.
  
  
• • Step 10: Examine the relationship between the university and the community. This includes examining relationships with consulates and embassies, with governments, with local businesses and industry, with national and international organisations, and with alumni. The aim of these actions is to use community resources wisely. Of course, there needs to be an appropriate evaluation and assessment periodically and the strategic plan needs to include it.

Investing in strategic partnerships

Thus we arrive now at the final questions we wish to consider: If certain university leaders are not currently investing in strategic partnerships, why should they and how should they?

Earlier, several reasons were provided regarding why university leaders should feel a clear responsibility in establishing strategic partnerships. They included the fact that any modern university needs to be internationalised, as this will be a factor in institutional quality ranking and evaluation.

Second, strategic partnerships, when based on a good plan, will involve and benefit all sectors of the university – students, faculty, researchers, and staff – and even the local community where the university is located.

As to how a university president should act and invest in worthy international strategic partnerships, setting up the strategic plan is paramount. But it should certainly be added that a wise university leader must also first reflect carefully and have a decisive role in determining who are the best strategic partner(s) for the institution and secondly in establishing direct close relationships with his or her counterparts.

The choice of a strategic partner should be approached as carefully as one approaches the choice for a marriage. When both presidents become friends in the process of interacting as partners, there is a great advantage to help solve and overcome any unexpected obstacles or difficulties as the partnership progresses.

Perhaps it is also important to express that, at a time when the ugly face of racism and xenophobia is still showing its negative features, a positive attitude towards the other culture and people will help avoid wrong or even arrogant positions. When one recognises that one’s own way of seeing things in life is not necessarily 'the right one' or the only one, cross-cultural interaction will certainly be more fruitful.

Alvaro Romo is secretary general of the International Association of University Presidents, or IAUP. This article is a short version of a chapter that will appear in a book, Global Perspectives on Strategic International Partnerships, produced by the Institute of International Education in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD, due to be published in February 2016. It was also the subject of his speech at the semi-annual meeting of the IAUP held at Bond University, Queensland, Australia, in October.