Spanish internationalisation improving but long way to go

Spain has improved exponentially in a number of indicators of internationalisation of higher education. There is no doubt that the success of the Spanish university system has been remarkable in certain aspects. The Spanish university system has been leading the figures for student credit mobility over the last 30 years, not only through student mobility included in the Erasmus programme but also through other exchange models.

Spain receives more than 50,000 international students each year through various mobility programmes, making it a European leader and also a world leader when it comes to credit mobility. Spain’s exchange mobility record has experienced a sustained upward trend, interrupted only by a period of decline resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to credit mobility, Spain maintains a prominent position in language mobility programmes. The country receives almost 500,000 international students every year who come to learn or improve their Spanish, of whom approximately 90,000 study at Spanish universities.

Spain also leads other important initiatives in so-called cross-cutting internationalisation, which aims to change the way in which universities approach their traditional missions of education, research and outreach. One of these is internationalisation through the European Universities Initiative.

The European Universities Initiative has succeeded in becoming a driver of change in cross-sectional internationalisation structures, strategies and practices and now has 50 partnerships, involving more than 430 European universities.

Of these 50 European alliances, 44 (88%) involve Spanish universities and 10 (20%) are coordinated by Spanish universities (Spain’s population represents 10% of the population of the European Union) who manage an overall budget in their coordinated universities of more than €140 million (US$153 million).

These figures mean Spain coordinates the most European University partnerships after France.

The downsides

However, it is not all good news when it comes to the internationalisation of higher education in Spain. There is some data that continues to show flaws in the Spanish system compared with other developed countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or the European Union.

The set of indicators showing the greatest weaknesses are related to the effective internationalisation of teaching, management and research structures. These structures are, in our opinion, those which can have the most profound systemic effect and which, moreover, should be placed at the apex of higher education’s potentially transformative role in society.

In the field of student mobility, Spain’s leadership position is particularly clear in the case of traditional student exchange or credit mobility. However, international students’ ability to complete undergraduate or postgraduate studies in Spanish universities continues to show very modest results when compared with similar countries.

According to data from the Spanish Ministry of Universities and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, the Spanish university system hosts nearly 80,000 Bachelor degree-seeking students, which represents only 6% of the total student body. The most advanced university degrees (masters and doctoral studies) tend to attract a larger number of international students than bachelor degrees.

In 2019, the percentage of international students reached 26% in doctoral studies and 21% in masters studies, while in the case of bachelor studies the figure was only 3.9%, which means Spain is well below the OECD average (4.8%), the EU average (8.1%) and way behind countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Austria or Australia, where these percentages usually exceed double-digit figures and in some cases account for more than 20% of the student body.

The internationalisation of research is another area where Spain still lags behind other countries, although there has been a notable effort to internationalise teams and thus research results.

There are several parameters that can be used to measure the internationalisation of research. For instance, the percentage of PhD theses authored by international students was 25% in 2021, with PhD dissertations written as part of an international co-tutorship close to 15% and the percentage of publications with international co-authorship around 50%, according to Scopus, and 57% according to the Web of Science. These figures, although relevant, are still slightly below the average for the European Union and other developed OECD countries.

Recruiting international teachers and researchers

However, one of the ways in which Spain’s internationalisation figures are clearly below those of other comparable countries involve talent attraction, in particular, the recruitment of researchers and teaching staff.

While Spain had an average percentage of international teaching staff of 3.4% in 2022, according to the Spanish Ministry of Universities, Germany had 10.5% and the United Kingdom 27.3%. This is perhaps one of the most important barriers to internationalisation that has remained constant and consistently below average in recent years.

This is undoubtedly related to the existence of barriers to entry for international teaching staff that have to do with Spain’s tenure track system, which favours internal teaching and research profiles over external ones, together with other barriers to the accreditation of international undergraduate and postgraduate degrees that are usually required of international candidates for teaching or research positions in Spain.

If the gap is particularly high in the case of teaching and research staff, it is no less so for the percentage of international workers in administrative positions. The internationalisation of Spanish higher education’s workforce is, on average, below 1%.

This is due to the barriers to entry that international candidates encounter when applying for positions in Spanish universities. These reasons are linked to the lack of flexibility in the system when it comes to the recognition of international degrees as well as limitations imposed by the need to be fluent in Spanish (or relevant regional languages if they exist) if one wishes to access a tenure track position at a Spanish university.

Other internationalisation pathways

Apart from these traditional internationalisation channels, there are other internationalisation paths that have been used in various countries around the world:

• Double (or multiple) and joint degree implementation. This is directly connected to student and academics’ experience of international mobility and is also directly related to internationalisation of the curriculum.

• Internationalisation of the curriculum. This (and the corresponding learning assessment) is a relatively recent phenomenon in the international university landscape. It is a relatively difficult factor to measure, as it affects the design, content and teaching-learning process of higher education programmes. It includes aspects such as the inclusion of a global perspective in the curriculum, taking into account elements such as climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals, economic globalisation and cultural diversity.

• There are no statistics on internationalisation of the curriculum in its many facets beyond the percentage of degrees taught either totally or partially in a foreign language [less than 5% in undergraduate studies in Spain in 2021]. However, partial indicators suggest that curriculum internationalisation is making inroads, especially in those fields of knowledge most exposed to the influence of globalisation (such as Business & Management).

• The intercultural competence of students and staff. It has a direct correlation with the international mobility experience of students and staff. In fact, according to EU data applied to Spain, more than 80% of participants in international mobility programmes state that their mobilit experience has helped them to improve their language and intercultural management skills, skills that can later be transferred to their studies or jobs.

• Language proficiency. Spain has made significant progress in this area in the last 20 years, despite the fact that the very existence of a widely spoken national language has traditionally meant that the Spanish population (including the university population) has maintained relatively low levels of proficiency in other languages (mainly English). It is estimated that only 15% of the Spanish population speaks English correctly. Among university-age or post-university populations (20-29 years of age), this percentage rises to 32%.

• The creation of international branch campuses, preferably on other continents, has been a strategy that some Anglo-Saxon universities began to implement more than 40 years ago. This strategy, known as the international branch campus strategy, has rarely been used by Spanish universities. The initiatives that have been implemented have been linked to private business schools, which have launched international campuses since the 20th century. Currently, there are at least four Business Schools that have infrastructure located on international campuses.

In addition, 15 more universities (public and private) have permanent representation abroad that can vary from research groups, specific teaching programmes and international student recruitment offices to permanent institutional representation. This strategy is still at the early stages and does not have a homogeneous strategic orientation in Spanish universities since interest in it may range from mere international representation and recruitment offices to the full deployment of a branch campus with a complete teaching or research infrastructure.

Weaknesses and opportunities

The Spanish university system is strong in areas such as its presence in intermediate positions in international rankings, the international mobility of students for credit mobility and leadership in certain programmes, such as the European Universities Initiative. However, the system has weaknesses such as inefficiencies and a lack of flexibility in attracting and retaining talent as well as excessive bureaucracy that affect the agility of its governance and management structures. Cross-cutting digitalisation and international recruitment of degree-seeking students is another weakness of the system.

However, these weaknesses could be countered by opportunities arising from the demographic and economic potential of Spain’s areas of influence, mainly in Latin America and Africa. As for threats, these come mainly from the push for internationalisation of emerging countries in Southeast Asia or from countries with a more advantageous starting position, such as those coming from Anglo-Saxon systems or from European systems that are more internationalised and have more flexible structures.

What could the future hold?

The internationalisation of Spanish higher education is a success story, but only a partial one. Internationalisation based on credit mobility has worked in a very positive way, with figures that show Spain leading in this area at an international level.

However, internationalisation has not occurred across the spectrum and there is a baseline deficit due to the lack of development of the type of internationalisation which has deeper structural implications. The lack of cross-sectional internationalisation development requires the implementation of a series of actions that would allow progress to be made in areas that are less internationalised.

The following are the areas in which greater effort should be made to consolidate the internationalisation of the Spanish university system:

• A more flexible admissions system for international degree-seeking students. This is one of the main weaknesses of the system. Admission for international degree-seeking students was de facto enabled in 2015 due to the introduction of a legal reform that lifted the previously existing requirement of a single national entrance exam for international students.

This exam, in practice, represented an insurmountable barrier for the vast majority of international students interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Spain. Since the removal of this system, the number of international students has doubled in the period from 2015 to 2022.

• Despite this, there is another legal norm (LOMLOE 2020), which puts in place reforms of the system which could reintroduce the compulsory requirement for the exam. This would be a serious setback for the internationalisation of the system and a return to parameters similar to those that existed at the beginning of the 2010s.

The application of this rule is still pending further regulatory development. This situation of uncertainty may negatively affect future student flows and the attractiveness of the Spanish university system for international students. It would require the creation of a stable and flexible framework that would allow the expansion of the internationalisation of the system in such a way that universities themselves would be in charge of arranging their own admissions policies for international students.

This option of institutional autonomy when it comes to admissions is one that exists in most OECD and European Union countries, as confirmed by a recent study carried out by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities CRUE.

• Greater flexibility to attract international faculty. This is another of the main weaknesses of the internationalisation of Spanish universities. Access for international faculty is subject to a series of barriers that fundamentally affect the approval of international degrees, a process that can take more than two years to be resolved and, secondly, the tenure track system which, in practice, favours the promotion of home candidates over candidates who may come from other institutions or even from other countries.

In some cases, barriers related to mandatory knowledge of Spanish or regional languages are imposed for subjects that will only be taught in English, which is a paradox that is difficult to resolve.

A solution can only be found through a truly flexible system of recruitment and selection of personnel as well as a simplification of the bureaucratic procedures faced by candidates interested in joining Spanish universities. Universities and higher education institutions must be given autonomy so that they can choose their own system for recruiting international faculty more flexibly, and also introduce salary policy autonomy so that salary can be seen as an effective way of recruiting talent.

• A more flexible access system for international researchers. Although universities and authorities have made considerable progress in attracting international researchers, it is necessary to continue advancing in these areas. Further progress is needed when it comes to the elimination of bureaucratic obstacles, visas and authorisation for international residence, as well as in the flexibility of the hiring and accreditation systems for faculty, which also affect researchers.

• Reform of the institutional support system, or internationalisation ecosystem, to improve the net number of international students and faculty. Although considerable progress has been made in recent years, it is necessary for the different members of the support ecosystem to make greater and more coordinated efforts.

More resources should be given to the National Agency for Internationalisation (SEPIE) as well as to the education delegations in the Embassies. These delegations are absolutely essential for coordinating an internationalisation strategy which reaches all the countries in which there is a Spanish diplomatic presence and, especially, those with a greater interest in Spanish universities.

These delegations should be better coordinated with the National Agency for Internationalisation of Education. Also within the support system, thecoordination mechanisms between the ministries responsible for internationalisation regional governments and the universities themselves should be strengthened.

• Implementation of cross-sectional internationalisation incentives at campuses. Universities must establish internal policies for cross-sectional internationalisation that genuinely go beyond exchange mobility. Great progress has been made, but there is still work to be done to coordinate resources and to strengthen and make internal structures more flexible so that internationalisation can be applied to all the universities’ missions.

• Enhancement of the information and transparency system for students and faculty. The current administrative and legislative complexity introduces what can seem an insurmountable barrier for students, faculty and international researchers. In addition to actions to promote and make access systems more flexible, it is necessary to continue working to make the system more transparent. The creation or strengthening of student and teacher admissions portals, both national and institutional, should be an avenue to be explored.

• Promotion of cross-sectional internationalisation channels that have not been properly explored. We have seen how Spanish higher education has performed really well in terms of international mobility and leadership of international alliances and networks. However, other avenues for internationalisation based on cross-sectional internationalisation of curricula and staff are still in the early stages. Direct internationalisation actions abroad through branch campuses as well as hybrid or virtual internationalisation options have also been little explored. All these aspects should be known and managed by higher education institutions and also by the administrations involved.

• Implementation of a National Strategic Plan for the Internationalisation of the Spanish University System. The last Strategic Plan for the Internationalisation of Higher Education expired in 2020. Since its expiry, a new Strategic Plan that takes into account the new challenges of international education (open education, hybrid and online education, AI-supported formats, etc.) has not been configured. A new strategic plan must be put in place to identify the current challenges and propose solutions that are capable of responding to current developments with bold solutions.

• A comprehensive analysis of the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the internationalisation of curricula and design of international studies. Artificial Intelligence will be one of the most far-reaching disruptive elements in our lives and will also affect the internationalisation of higher education. An analysis is needed to generate awareness of how this technology might affect students and their families’ decisions about internationalisation through access to further and richer information analysis tools that may affect what institution and programme they choose. All these aspects deserve special attention from both universities and local, regional and national authorities.

Spanish universities have made enormous efforts to improve their structures and their immediate internationalisation objectives. These efforts have resulted in very positive results for credit mobility and in the leadership of European Universities Initiative and other international networks.

However, the internationalisation of higher education in Spain has a number of weaknesses and deficiencies. By highlighting these weaknesses and areas where there is room for improvement, we aim to increase awareness of them and also to promote change.

Sebastian Bruque is a full professor of management, University of Jaén, Spain. He is also a former executive secretary in the internationalisation section of the Spanish Conference of Rectors and a consultant-advisor on European and international institutions in the field of internationalisation of higher education. Fátima Guadamillas is professor of management at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, where her research centres on internationalisation of higher education. Carmen Rubio is former president of the Internationalisation Working Group of the Spanish Conference of Rectors and former vice president for internationalisation at the Universidad de La Laguna (Spain) where she is full professor in toxicology.