COVID-19: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR HEI INTERNATIONALIZATION

Abstract

The article seeks to discuss the issues of internationalization for higher education institutions that arose with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in particular, the suspension of both student and staff academic mobility. However, academic mobility is the fundamental premise for the internationalization of higher education where students who cross borders with the desire to change their lives and the strive for better prospects are the most critical element of this mobility. The mobility of all the education process participants has become an important driver in ensuring and promoting education transparency and the access to quality education for everyone. In fact, within the past six months, prospective students are increasingly changing their intentions to study abroad, or defer their enrolment plans for subsequent years. The aim of this paper is to explore possible solutions for further implementation of internationalization principles into all university's activities framework under the quarantine and post-quarantine period. The research findings from the in-depth analysis of a range of higher education institution performances have revealed that one of the most promising areas to enhance university internationalization is a shift from actual to virtual mobility which is based on communication within the information and educational environment. In particular, the design of new competitive online courses in English and their large-scale promotion on the international market is another priority objective for internationalization during the quarantine. Apparently, University positioning in a virtual environment is a crucial factor to build attractiveness and competitiveness of higher education institutions in the global settings.