Rethinking internationalisation

Abstract This article discusses the sustainability of higher education internationalisation and changing practice during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. While many previous studies frame the understanding of sustainable internationalisation within the discourse of environmental and financial sustainability, we view the sustainability of internationalisation in terms of ‘educational sustainability’ – a developmental process that is characterised by new paradigms, policies, purposes and practice of internationalisation, and its adequacy for the post–COVID-19 era. Our study draws upon the thematic analysis of a wide range of academic literature, national and institutional policy documents and sixty interviews in six universities in England and Hungary. Conceptually, we argue that sustainable internationalisation beyond the pandemic is about prioritising making education itself authentic and sustainable, realising human potential and building social capacity. In practical terms, such authentic education must be rooted in place and tradition, open and participatory, and must not be industrialised and commercialised.