A seminar “Aspects of internationalization of higher education: Attracting students from abroad” was organised by the Agency for Science and Higher Education on 12 June 2019 at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb.
The event brought together representatives of higher education institutions and relevant stakeholders in the system of higher education, encouraging debate on the challenges that institutions face in recruiting international students. The Agency for Science and Higher Education presented the results of its study of higher education institutions’ activities related to this issue. Examples of good practice and institutional experiences were provided by the representatives of HEIs in the ensuing presentations and round table discussion.
“Internationalization is present nowadays in all segments of society and therefore also in the higher education sector. At its essence, internationalization is not a goal in itself but a means for the improvement of the quality of higher education by way of knowledge transfer, international research projects and mobility of teachers and students. Through cooperation with colleagues from Europe and around the world, we learn, create and also realize that we possess considerable expertise that we can pass on”, pointed out prof. Jasmina Havranek, PhD, Acting Director of the Agency for Science and Higher Education.
The Agency’s study showed that there is a significant interest among higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia for recruiting international students, as one of the ways of improving the quality of study programmes and institution quality in general by means of processes pertaining to internationalization. There are currently 53 study programmes delivered in English at Croatian higher education institutions, with plans for 74 more by the academic year 2025/2026. In addition, HEIs that have participated in the study also offer a total of 3007 courses in English for foreign students participating in incoming mobility programmes, delivered at all study levels.
At the round table moderated by prof. dr. Kruno Miličević from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Information Technology in Osijek, the discussion centred on how to design study programmes of high quality for foreign students, how to motivate teachers to deliver courses in a foreign language, what are the mechanisms of promotion and the effects of internationalization on the Croatian economy.
Participants of the seminar had the opportunity to view a promotional video on higher education in Croatia, made by the Agency for Science and Higher Education in cooperation with TV Student, aimed at attracting potential students from abroad. The promotional video is available on the website www.azvo.hr.
The seminar was organised within the project SKAZVO – Improvement of quality assurance and enhancement systems in higher education, implemented by ASHE for the purpose of the development of a new model for external quality assurance system in Croatian higher education.