THESIS: Trends in Higher Education Systems in International Spheres

Today we are discussing the impact of artificial intelligence, or AIm on knowledge workers, the topic of Trym Berger’s master’s thesis which he completed from the University of Oslo in June, 2024. At the time he was writing his thesis, Trym was also working at UiO’s Faculty of Educational Sciences on innovation initiatives - which is how the THESIS team met him and learned about his work. This gav...

We are wrapping up our third season on international student mobility today with our guest, Tijmen Weber. Tijmen recently obtained his PhD focused on the movement of international students and how immigration, institutional characteristics, programs, and funding policy influence their migration trajectories. He works at the international business program of HAN University of Applied Sciences in th...

Today we’re talking about Iceland, a small country of almost 400,000 people considered a “remote” location for students studying abroad. We speak with Rúna Gudmarsdottir ,  Erasmus+ National Agency Director at RANNIS (The Icelandic Centre for Research), about how Iceland both attracts incoming students and works to support students going abroad.  In her role as the Director of the National Agency,...

Today we’ll be discussing the flows of international students withIN the Middle East and North Africa in the context of security policies with our guests, Dr. Sevgi Kaya-Kasikci and Dr. Chris Glass . Sevgi is a scholar of higher education studies and most recently conducted research as a Hans de Wit Fellow at Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education, where Chris is the Program Di...

Today we are discussing international student enrollment caps in Australia which will be issued through the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 . The bill will be moving through the parliament in mid-August, 2024, and is expected to pass. We will speak with Andrew Norton, a Researcher and Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy at The A...

Today we speak with Dr. Ariunaa Enkhtur and Dr. Xixi Zhang about virtual student mobility, and other online programming, at Osaka University in Japan. Both Dr. Ariunaa and Dr. Sissi are assistant professors at the Center for Global Initiatives at Osaka University where they design and implement virtual programs. Dr. Ariunaa’s research interests include academic mobility including virtual mobility...

Today we speak with Dalia Elgohary , International Relations Executive at EDUGATE , a company based in Egypt hosting Egypt’s largest University fair. We discuss destinations of interest for Egyptian students and reasons why higher education students from Egypt choose to study in different countries, from her perspective.  EDUGATE Youtube Channel EDUGATE on LinkedIn EDUGATE Facebook Page Arab Ranki...

Today the conversation focuses on international student flows between Portugal and what is known as the Lusophone sphere, or countries which share a historical past with Portugal and where Portuguese is still an official language. We speak with Dr. Cristina Sin, Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona in Porto, whose research focuses on internationalization in Portugal, and discuss internatio...

Today we consider forcibly displaced and refugee students. We take a practical approach and hear about an initiative from the Institute for International Education, IIE,  to help support this group of students. Our guest from IIE Latin America & Caribbean is César Maldonado, a Senior Program Specialist based in Mexico. The IIE Odyssey Scholarship program seeks to deliver assistance to these st...

The dutch higher education system has been known for its practices of internationalization and large numbers of international students and staff. But last November, the end of 2023, the dutch right-wing party became the largest party in the dutch House of Representatives in a snap election, which will likely lead to some big changes. Today I speak with Thijs van Vugt , Director of the Analytics an...

In this season, we’ve already touched on emerging regional hubs attracting international students from the perspective of India, where policy is pushing for internationalization on campuses. Today, we look at students headed to China from the continent of Africa. With us to discuss these flows is Dr. Benjamin Mulvey , Lecturer in Equitable Education Systems and Policy at the University of Glasgow....

In today’s episode we speak with Dr. Jannecke Wiers-Jenssen and Dr. Mari Elken about the new Norwegian policy initiating student fees on full-degree seeking international students from outside the European Economic Area in public higher education institutions. The policy was first heard of in the Fall of 2022 and was quickly implemented. Students beginning their degrees at Norwegian public univers...

Today we are talking about the introduction of tuition fees for non-European students in Sweden and the impact of the new policy from 2011. We speak with Per A. Nilsson , an analyst at the Planning Office of Umeå University and former member of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institution’s expert group for internationalisation issues, and Professor Lars Westin , professor in regional e...

In today’s episode I speak with Dr. Mona Khare about India’s bold policy vision to not only increase the number of international students coming to India, but the country’s broader goals for embedding internationalization into the higher education system.  Dr. Khare has immense knowledge from her research on the context of international student mobility into and out from India.  She was recently a...

Today’s episode is the introduction episode to Season 3, where we will discuss international student mobility. I’m excited that our guest today is none other than Karin Fischer, Senior Writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education , well known in the international education space for her journalism on the topic, particularly through her weekly newsletter, Latitudes . In this episode, we set the stag...

Season 3 will be launching December 7th, 2023, with a fabulous guest and episodes to follow!

Did you enjoy the episode about Arbeiterkind in Germany with Martina Kübler from Arbeiterkind.de? Were you curious about the perspective of people who volunteer with the organization? Check out this bonus episode where we speak with volunteer Yvonne Hesse about what the work entails and how volunteers support Arbeiterkinder. ArbeiterKind.de⁠ (Deutsch)

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Anna Adamecz and Dr. Nikki Shure to discuss using first-and-family as an indicator of widening higher education participation and the labor market outcomes of first-and-family students. We look specifically at the cases of England in the United Kingdom and Hungary. Both of our guests hold positions at the University College of London Social Research Institute ,...

Today we are speaking with Dr. Ma Yin about first-generation college students in China and their transitions from university to the workforce. We speak about the context of China’s higher education system and labor market, Dr. Ma’s key points regarding the first-generation college student experience in China, and an article Dr. Ma co-authored with his colleagues using the Psychology of Working The...

Today we are joined by Nombasa Mbatyoti , a recent Masters Psychology graduate. We will be discussing her master’s thesis, “Black female first-generation students’ lived experiences at an historically white South African university.” Nombasa will briefly explain the rationale and methodology of her thesis before providing an  important context to South African higher education. Then, we will take...

We are lucky to be joined today by guests Dr. Milena Mateuzi Carmo and Dr. Charles Klein to discuss the roles of community and student activism in first generation students’ experiences in São Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Mateuzi Carmo holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the Universidade de São Paulo and Dr. Klein is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Anthropology Department at Portland State U...

Today we are discussing the capacity for first generation students in Ghana and Zanzibar, Tanzania, to "hustle." We are joined by Dr. Millicent Adjei, Director of Diversity and International Programs & Leadership Lecturer at Ashesi University in Ghana and Dr. Emily (Markovich) Morris, a Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education. Emily and Millicent, who...

Today we are speaking with Dr. Andrea Flanagan-Bórquez and Dr. Andrew Webb about different policies  and their effects on first-generation and first-generation indigenous students in Chile. Our guests provide the context of Chile’s higher education system and indigenous communities and proceed to share findings from their research and discussions with first-generation students. Dr. Andrea Flanagan...

In this episode, we speak with Golaleh Makrooni , who finished her doctoral dissertation on the experiences of First Generation Migrant Family Students on their educational journey in Finland in 2022. Golaleh's research provides a deeper understanding of how these students perceive themselves before and during their higher education experiences. One concept we didn't discuss in this episod...

Today on THESIS we speak with Dr. Tracy Lachica Buenavista about the term used in the US context: 1.5 generation college student. Dr. Buenavista is a Professor of Asian American Studies at the California State University, Northridge, where she also teaches courses on Educational Leadership and is the Co-principal investigator for the CSUN DREAM Center, the Asian American Studies Pathways Project,...