Global reach
Internationalisation is at the heart of The University of Nottingham. We have been described by The Times as “the closest the UK has to a truly global university” due to our campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia, which act as hosts to a genuinely global academic community in all three countries.
The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) provides unique opportunities for students from around the world to access a University of Nottingham education.
Our principles
- Reciprocity. Internationalisation is a two-way process; for the University to realise the full benefits of our global reach we must give as much as we get. We believe as a community that by working multilaterally rather than unilaterally we achieve more in terms of teaching, research and knowledge exchange. We concentrate our energies on cultivating enduring, boundary-spanning relationships that are mutually beneficial, which applies to students and to academic and commercial partners.
- Commitment. Internationalisation is an investment for the future and requires a long term commitment — to our students, to our staff, and to our partners globally.
- Quality. We seek to maintain the highest standards in all that we do. Although we are fundamentally a British institution, internationally we will always aim to be sensitive and relevant to local circumstances.
- Social and environmental responsibility. Knowledge is a public good and we recognise that we have a responsibility to generate and share knowledge for the greater good of society. As an educational institution operating on a global level, we are committed to educational capacity development in emerging economies, in a way that is environmentally sustainable.
Our purpose
- As a result of our international approach to research and teaching, to be a significant catalyst to improve the lives of people around the world, via research, discovery, dissemination and commercialisation of knowledge and innovation.
- To provide globally excellent and internationally relevant teaching, research and knowledge exchange activities to our key external stakeholders.
- To develop The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus as an outstanding location for international students and research partners.
Background
The University is acknowledged as a leader in the internationalisation of higher education. Students from more than 150 nations chose to attend Nottingham’s UK campus in 2012/13, boosting international numbers to over 9,000 for the first time in the institution’s history. With another 9,500 studying at our campuses in Malaysia and China, the University has underlined its status as a truly global player in higher education and is now the largest recruiter of overseas students to a British university campus.
UNMC is currently home to a community of international students from around 70 countries around the world. Our student body is supported by a genuinely international academic community. Some 25% of UNMC academic staff are international and represent around 30 countries worldwide. Our students have mobility opportunities to University of Nottingham Campuses in the UK and China and a range of other academic partners.
Challenges
Like any other international university, we face a range of challenges associated with our presence in a global market:
- The world economic climate, particularly in the developed world, and currency fluctuations, which introduce uncertainty in international operations and study abroad costs
- World political instability, which affects student mobility in many countries
- The impact of evolving government migration policies locally and internationally affects the movement of international students and increasingly there are major challenges in this respect in Malaysia
- Emerging competition as other Universities worldwide recognise the attractions of establishing a base in Malaysia in particular and Southeast Asia in general
- Emerging trends in the region for countries to establish educational hubs creates competition for a similar
Aims and objectives
Below are our major aims. Beneath each are the main objectives and activities we will focus on to ensure we achieve our aims by 2020.
- Secure our achievement in establishing UNMC as a beacon of international excellence within Southeast Asian and ASEAN:
- Ensure that UNMC can sustain its activities by expanding student numbers while retaining a balance in terms of the diversity of the student community
- Gain greater financial and reputational advantage for UNMC by imaginative use of the facilities for summer programmes, as an additional offer for student mobility, and for events and conferences
- Increase the level of externally funded and collaborative research with University, business, government and third sector partners particularly in Malaysia, ASEAN and the broader Southeast Asian region
- Grow and enhance our student focused partnership engagements, including university teaching partners and overseas representatives (agents) to project a more professional and consistence customer experience
- Continue the process of more fully embedding our internationalisation programme into all of our teaching and research activities
- Enhance the University’s global technology-enabled communication facilities to allow broader and easier collaboration while reducing the need for travel
- Expand student and staff mobility:
- Increase the proportion of outward study abroad participation to 15% by 2020, ensuring we encourage and support all students, including those whose circumstances might make study abroad difficult
- Improve support for staff and student mobility between our campuses, in order to allow them to realise the opportunities Nottingham offers for truly global education, research and knowledge exchange
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Develop and enhance international teaching and research partnerships:
- Develop new and existing international research and teaching partnerships, paying particular attention to ASEAN and the broader Southeast Asian region, both to further our own aims and to help build higher education capacity elsewhere
- Develop collaborations with Universitas 21 partners, with particular emphasis on the internationalisation of teaching and learning, student mobility and staff mobility programmes
- Share teaching and research expertise with national and international partners, with a particular focus on open educational resources and the improved digital availability of appropriate research resources
Responsibility
Lead
Professor Christine Ennew, Provost, UNMC
Support
Mr Govindan Nair, Director of the International Office, UNMC
Professor Neville Wyle, Dean of Arts and Social Sciences
Professor Hai-Sui Yu, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation
Mr Vincenzo Raimo, Director of the International Office
UNMC Management Board Owner
Professor Christine Ennew, Provost, UNMC
Measuring success
Performance targets