Abstract

Purpose – to analyze the development of the concept of the internationalization process and the essential challenges and opportunities for internationalization implementation in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach – the article relies on the qualitative type research methods: content analysis, synthesis, comparison and analysis of scientific literature. The article consists of three main parts. First part deeply analyzing concept of development of internationalization processes, in the second part challenges of internationalization in higher education are analized and in the fird part possible opportunities and suggestions for solving the challenges of nternationalization in higer education are analyzed and presented.

Findings – The article showed that the development of the concept of internationalization, a clear paradigmatic change is observed, when the models and ideas of global cooperation in the context of higher education are replaced by the models and principles of neoliberal competition and economic benefits. The development of the concept of internationalization is promoted by the progress of modern technologies, which implies new forms of internationalization by distinguishing the virtual mobility of students or academic staff and the opportunities it provides. Also, the challenges of internationalization processes include both national, institutional and individual level components. Assessment of challenges and formation of potential solutions requires an interdisciplinary approach, integrating the knowledge of psychology, law, management, sociology, and political sciences. On the other hand, by exploiting the opportunities offered by institutional juxtaposition, due to institutional mimetic and normative forms of pressure, the opportunities to solve these challenges based on the best international practices increase.

Research limitations/implications – The research paper has both methodological and theoretical limitations that need to be addressed in order to assess future research directions and improvement. The work lacks a more detailed analysis and evaluation of the political-organizational aspects of internationalization in higher education, and also presents a limited amount of empirical data that can demonstrate the dynamics and trends of results and activities. Also, artcle is mainly based on the theoretical analysis of scientific sources, so empirical research would be a suitable and significant addition to the article.

Practical implications – In the analysis the concepts and development of internationalization in higher education were explored in detail, as well as different analysis approaches were examined. The work also analyzes the current challenges and opportunities of internationalization in higher education. These findings can be implied as a standpoint both for future scientific research and practical discussion within higher education managers and specialists.

Originality/Value – Internationalization and its opportunities and challenges in higher education have recently been a less studied area in the scientific context, and the different levels of analysis are also poorly reviewed. Solutions and tools for overcoming the latest challenges are rarely found in scientific works, so the value of the work is theoretical insights and practical recommendations, taking into account the latest trends in higher education management.

Keywords: internationalization in higher education; internationalization evaluation; internationalization process

Research type: General review.

JEL classification: M10.