Internationalization of Higher Education Essay

The paper is directly relevant to the selected theme and concurrent session since it extensively describes the contemporary problems and major perspectives of globalization and internationalization within the framework of higher education in Ukraine. Being objectively affected by the process of globalization, Ukrainian academic institutions gain the impetus to design the international educational environment, responsive to the needs of time, and therefore persistently move towards the understanding of the concept of internationalization and its adequate practical application. Internationalization of higher education: towards its comprehensive conceptualization in Ukraine Globalization and internationalization are significantly affecting higher education in Ukraine as everywhere in the world. The Bologna Process, implemented in Ukraine since 2006/2007 academic year, has fundamentally changed the image of Ukrainian higher education and triggered a range of conceptual transformations. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and reconsider the roles and functions of these processes. The paper provides a conceptual outline of internationalization of Ukrainian higher education, describes the main difficulties to be surmounted during the integration of Ukraine into the European Higher Education Area, and subsequently refers to the experience of Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy. Internationalization as the body of policies and strategies is focused upon rendering higher education responsive to the challenges set by the contemporary global environment. Inter nationalization implies the mobility of programs, ideas and values, as well as enhanced intercultural academic fluency. We are of the opinion that it is important to draw attention to the homogenizing risks which a country may confront on its way to global citizenship. Therefore, the strategies of internationalization in Ukraine must be developed with due account of its national context and priorities. The internationalization of higher education should be interpreted as a kind of response to the influence of globalization, aiming to preserve national identity and cultural difference at the same time. Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy presently educates international students from 42 countries. The significant cultural diversity in the Academy reinforces the understanding of global issues and demands, as well as essentially encourages the development of multilingual curriculum. The Academy sets the primary objectives to foster global outlook and commitment to international expertise among students and staff, as well as to create benign environment for intellectual, cultural and linguistic diversity, thus, being in line with the Academic Values in Internationalization of Higher Education, defined by IAU.