Globalisation produced collaboration, competition, and competitive leverage. This also happens in the higher learning sector when globalisation pushes the birth of world class university. Internasionalisation became one step taken by many countries to respond to the globalisation. It also forces higher learning to have international collaborations.
"With those collaborations, various international programmes and events are integrated into teaching, research, and community service,” said Retno Sunu Astuti in the Auditorium of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM on Friday (27/5).
According to Retno Astuti, many Asian countries that are developing countries consider internasionalisation as a strategy to increase the university quality and change their organisational culture. But, the massive nature of higher learning experiencing rapid growth has driven the emergence of interest among industrial countries to export their education products and services as important parts of foreign policy.
"In the past, industrial countries considered various types of education events were to help developing countries, but now they have made education as an export commodity in various internationalisation programmes,” said Retno when sitting for her open doctoral promotion at Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM.
Due to the shift of internationalisation goals in industrial countries which is responded by developing countries through international collaborations, Retno Astuti sees it important to do exploration of the driving force behind internationalisation that has produced internationalisation programme variations in Indonesia.
Internationalisation and international collaboration often act as a commercial icon that is attractive for trade as well as positive response from the market. Many programmes are designed, events done, collaborations established, all to gain economic benefits.
"Many education have international labelling, but they have local quality. This has made internationalisation programme inefficient, insignificant to quality improvement,” said lecturer of Public Administration from Diponegoro University.
Defending dissertation titled Variation of Internationalisation in Indonesian Higher Learning: Driving Force and Strategy, Retno Astuti in the exam was accompanied by her promoter, Prof. Dr. Muhadjir Darwin, MPA, and co-promoter, Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, M.Si and Dr. Phil. Gabriel Lele, M.Si. According to Retno Astuti, there is a tendency to see higher learning internationalisation in Indonesia as a quantitave approach. As a result, higher learning internationalisation is seen as only within the number of programmes being funded and facilitated by institutions of individuals to get opportunity to be engaged in internatioal activities, such as staff mobility, research, international classes using English as medium of instruction, and networks,” she said.
"Some universities merely understand internationalisation is instrumental, so internationalisation is seen as a goal, not means, to achieve the goal of internationalisation. This shows the misundersatnding of the meaning of internationalisation," said the lady born in Semarang, 18 December 1962.