An exploration of internationalisation in the context of UK higher education with specific focus on universities: challenges and strategies

Universities' 'internationalisation' has recently become a buzzword in many countries. With the advancement of globalisation, the mobility of students and academic staff at universities has increased dramatically over the last few decades. As a result, more universities are attempting to internationalise their institutions. While some universities focus on internationalising their curricula to meet the needs of a globalised society, others emphasise the formation of new collaboration agreements with foreign universities in order to raise their profiles even further. These changes have elevated universities to the forefront of global knowledge competition, necessitating the development of solid international strategies in order to thrive. In this regard, the United Kingdom has most likely been one of the most proactive countries. This research will look into the underlying concepts of internationalisation in UK universities. The research aims to comprehend internationalisation of higher education as a phenomenon and to create a body of knowledge in this field, particularly in the context of the United Kingdom. It is also critical to define and assess activities, implementation scope, intent, effectiveness, and institutional support. This research will also attempt to explain why higher education institutions in the United Kingdom are pursuing internationalisation what are the strategies, issues and challenges faced by the universities to advance internationalisation. Various internationalisation concepts, theories, and models were examined, and Kinght's cyclical model served as an analytical lens to comprehend various aspects and the process of internationalisation for this study. The study is based on subject-specific questions that have previously received insufficient attention and is designed from the start to be exploratory, inductive, and action-oriented. As a result, it was necessary to scope the field of study and engage with and understand, at a granular level, the perceptions and experiences of internationalisation strategies in UK universities from the perspective of staff. Based on universities in the UK, the study used an interpretive paradigm that included concept analysis and a qualitative approach. The data for the study was gathered via semi-structured face-to-face in-depth interviews conducted by telephone participants representing 13 higher education institutions. The study's outcome was determined through using a thematic analysis approach, which enabled the identification of emergent and dominant themes as a focal point for the study's interpretation. The thesis went into great length into the internationalisation setting in the United Kingdom. The analysis found a wide range of definitions and approaches, demonstrating not only the concept's versatility but also the degree of disagreement among authors. Internationalisation as a strategy, according to the study, is the sum of global actions carried out to manage higher education. Internationalisation is recognised by universities as a viable source of capacity building and revenue generation coupled with boosting rankings on the league table. As a result, when budgetary commitment is low, there is a stronger reliance on the economic rationale for internationalisation as a source of financial-distress relief, according to subsequent investigation. This study investigated the internal impediments that exist to stifle or halt the process of internationalisation. The internationalisation agenda has a number of internal obstacles that have been highlighted. Resources, management support, staff engagement, supporting strategies, quality assurance, curricular content, bureaucratic procedures, staff and student mobility, and communication are all examples of these. These challenges will have varying degrees of impact on various institutions, and ideas for dealing with and coping with them have been proposed. This study has not only made a direct contribution to higher education, but it has also contributed to knowledge by utilising sequential primary research process and closing the obvious knowledge gap associated with the identification of limitations to internationalisation of higher education in the United Kingdom. Finally, this thesis provides a deeper understanding of how internationalisation operations are carried out, as well as the challenges encountered, and solutions devised to overcome them.