Enhancing internationalisation practices in higher education: A case of the University of Namibia
The world has become a global village, thus higher education has become increasingly international because students and academics have a choice to study or teach at preferred institutions. While interest in international education has increased over the years, various universities have developed policies and strategies for internationalisation, which act as a guide for their respective institutions. Despite the fact that the University of Namibia came into existence in 1992, compared to other universities that were established years ago, there have been remarkable achievements in a relatively short period of time to deepen internationalisation. While the above achievements underscore the development of internationalisation activities at the University of Namibia, the problem remains that the institution still lacks a coherent policy that adheres to effective internationalisation practices. It is against this background that University of Namibia was the case for this study, investigating whether academic and administrative staff experience challenges while embracing internationalisation activities and programmes. This study explored a central research objective namely, to propose a guideline for internationalisation at the University of Namibia. Data were collected through interviews with selected members of the executive management and deans of faculties. Secondly, a comparative analysis of six universities’ internationalisation policies against internationalisation guidelines was made, in order to propose guidelines for the development of an internationalisation policy at University of Namibia. This study used the qualitative approach, and the researcher followed a single-stage sampling procedure. Thus, the interviewees represented by a sample population of eighteen individuals from which sixteen were interviewed. The participants were identified as eight deans in the eight faculties, seven in executive management and three directors. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, revealing that the University of Namibia does not have a standardised policy to guide departments and faculties when practising internationalisation at the institution. The challenges, obstacles and constraints were evident due to a lack of an internationalisation policy that provides clear guidance to the institution. Five recommendations were made, namely: The University of Namibia should develop an internationalisation policy for the institution; the University of Namibia should introduce reward systems to encourage the participation of internationalisation at the institution; the institution should organise an awareness campaign on internationalisation activities and programmes to staff, students and stakeholders; and the University of Namibia should establish a fully-fledged office to coordinate and facilitate internationalisation at the institution. Finally, the study proposed guidelines for the development of an internationalisation policy at the University of Namibia.
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