Internationalization and Higher Education

Education is the most successful strategy for a country's growth and development. It is widely agreed that it is the most effective means that society possesses for dealing with the challenges of the future. Nevertheless, higher education has been confronted and needs, therefore, to redefine its historic role as the center of universal knowledge and understanding. This chapter analyzes the importance of internationalization on higher education institutions and enable us to better understand how they are changing as a consequence of the globalization process. Using the University of Aveiro as a case study, we will be studying what internationalization is in a higher education context and which rationales, approaches, and activities are associated with the internationalization process. Furthermore, the appropriateness of theories of internationalization specifically developed for business contexts will be portrayed at the end of the chapter.