Inclusive Comprehensive Internationalisation: Enhancing global learning opportunities for ALL students

Many universities in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) tackle internationalisation and address diversity and inclusion in separate strategies or as a part of their institutional one. Still, only some universities comprehensively focus on the intersection of inclusion and internationalisation. The ICI consortium had experience in previous successful Erasmus+ projects, good practices focusing on certain stakeholders of internationalisation, like teachers and educational developers (EQUIIP) and admin and technical staff (SUCTI). The team also has valuable experience on COIL and Virtual Exchange. Thanks to this background, ICI identified the need to point the light towards the student body as a necessary step towards a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to internationalisation. To tackle this, ICI took a systemic approach, focusing on what can HEI do to enhance these opportunities and understand diversity as a complex asset rather than a problem. For this, we allocated special attention to internal aspects such as the hidden curriculum or unintended messages , and how do we incorporate inclusivity in the international opportunities, also considering virtual and blended ones.

ICI aimed to ensure the provision of intercultural and global learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their background or orientation and support them in their development of globally responsible professionals and citizens. ICI aimed to enhance the quality of international learning experiences by making the opportunities and offer truly inclusive, including virtual and blended modalities, alongside a systemic institutional approach. ICI raised awareness and engagement at HEI about the need for an inclusive, comprehensive approach to internationalisation. The project also encourages collaboration among the university community (academic, educational developers, administrative, and students) to co-create inclusive strategies across professional, academic, and cultural boundaries. ICI promotes critical evaluations of internationalisation efforts, highlighting ‘hidden’ messages that undermine inclusivity. Additionally, ICI fosters the adoption of inclusive digital opportunities, ensuring a comprehensive, efficient, and sustainable approach to internationalisation.

The main outputs of ICI are: a definition and framework for the implementation of an inclusive comprehensive Internationalisation approach at HEI (PR1); Guidelines for self-assessment of inclusive internationalisation learning opportunities (PR2); a training course that can be used to implement an ICI approach at HEI (PR3); a manual to implement the ICI Training Course (PR4); and an institutional roadmap of good practices that will help those willing to implement an inclusive comprehensive internationalisation approach to do so. (PR5) We have also created the ICI core teams in all participating institutions, paving the way for others to follow suit and ensuring the continuation of in-house trainings. ICI raised awareness of internationalisation and capability at all participating institutions, but also, through the various multiplier events, to other HEIs of the countries involved in the project and beyond. ICI has endorsed the relevance of inclusivity in higher education, especially when linked to internationalisation; raising awareness of the importance of a comprehensive internationalisation approach that includes all stakeholders (internal and external) of our higher education institutions.