Students’ changing conceptualizations of university internationalization in Australia

ABSTRACT Interrupted international mobility since 2020 emphasized the limited nature of focusing higher education internationalization on the recruitment of international students. Likewise, the term ‘internationalization’ has lost appeal as it connotes for some the imposing of Western approaches and colonialist assumptions about best practices. To assist universities as they reimagine international education in Australia, this article discusses a study that explored how students conceptualize an internationalized university and the importance they place on various strategies. Analysis compared the responses of those who commenced their studies pre-pandemic, at the start of the pandemic and mid-pandemic to explore the influence of the pandemic on students’ ideas. Findings suggest consistent beliefs that common internationally minded strategies and graduate skills are important; however, some university characteristics, such as a diverse student population, seem more strongly associated with ‘internationalization’ than others. Slight differences based on when students commenced their studies suggest that some characterizations of internationalization are more static while others might be outdated. Such insights can assist universities in restructuring their internationalization approaches for this current period of change or future crises.