Research Snapshot: EAIE Barometer: Perceptions of Impact
EAIE Barometer: Spin-off report
Published date: 09 September 2024
This publication is a spin-off report from the EAIE Barometer: Internationalisation in Europe (third edition) report, published by the authors in March 2024. As with that main report, this spin-off drew from the responses of just over 2800 individuals working in international higher education (IHE) across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), but zeros in specifically on how respondents perceive the debate around the ‘impact’ of internationalisation. The purpose of this exercise was to shed some light on if or how IHE professionals experience pressure to deliver ‘impact’, where this pressure comes from, and the extent to which there is active debate or a sense of urgency – or not – with respect to the impact(s) of internationalisationat their institution. Similarities and differences in perspectives are explored across such variables as geographic region, respondents’ professional profiles, and types of institution/organization where they work and more.
This research would be useful for EHEA leaders and policymakers who are keen to understand how matters of ‘impact’ in relation to internationalisation are perceived by those working directly in this field.
This report demonstrates that many international higher education professionals experience pressure to produce evidence of internationalisation’s ‘impact’ and surfaces unique insight into how they perceive institutional priorities for delivering impact.
About the authors
Key findings from the research
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A solid 63% of respondents indicated some level of urgency around ‘the debate or discussion about the impact of internationalisation’ at their institution or organisation. At the same time, it is notable that a sizable 37% of respondents perceived that there is no such debate or discussion, no urgency in relation to it or are simply unsure about the nature of the discussion about impact in their institutional context.
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Across the EHEA, institutional/organisational leadership as well as national governments or national higher education authorities are overwhelmingly seen as the key sources of the pressure felt by individuals working in the field to produce evidence of the impact of internationalisation. And while one in three respondents perceives academic staff as a source of pressure to deliver impact, the role of students, current or former, in exerting such pressure is notably limited, as is that of social actors such as employers or the media.
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Respondents most frequently perceive that their institutions are concerned with delivering impact from internationalisation in three key areas — reputation/rankings, student learning outcomes and research activities — although student employability is also somewhat on the radar.
