University of Applied Sciences, Fulda

Internationalisation in Europe

Different countries have had different histories of implementing a policy for the internationalisation of higher education. In some countries, such as France, these efforts date back to the 19^th century. They were considered to be part of the country’s 'cultural diplomacy'. The French tried to export their language and culture to other countries, and they were successful in making French the language of the elite in most countries of Europe and Asia. Some former colonial powers, especially Britain, have kept up active academic relations with their ex-colonies. In most of the Indian universities English language is used as the academic language. On a more comprehensive scale, however, coherent policies to internationalise higher education only started to emerge during the 1980s, and this predominantly in Europe, where the process of 'an ever- closing union' required more coordinated and open-to-the-world policies on education.
The movement towards an ‘ever-closing union’ in Europe has put even more pressure on the European countries to move towards an internationalisation of education. Along with the programs to open the borders and make labour mobile in Europe, students’ mobility, at least within Europe, has always been considered an important factor in this process. Within the framework of European integration, many initiatives have made it possible for students to participate in exchange programs and develop their knowledge of other languages by taking advantage of the opportunity to live and study in other European countries.
In the first twenty years after World War II, mobility was restricted to a few elite students from wealthier families. It existed mainly between Western Europe and North America. The independence of the former colonies during the 60s and 70s saw an ever-increasing flow of students from these countries to the West. “The number of Asian students studying abroad increased tangibly as a combined effect of the economic strengthening of Asian and Pacific Rim countries . . .” (Internationalisation in Higher Education, p. 25). Since the 1980s, an increase of organised study-abroad schemes can be observed in a number of countries and regions, especially in the European Union.