Internationalization of higher education institutions

strategy or fashion

Abstract

The objective of this theoretical essay is to examine the effects of global interdependence in the strategies of the private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The fundamental fact of the 21st century is global interdependence. The largest movement of people, goods and services, information and ideas drives the demand for education throughout the world and challenges the HEIs to seek the internationalization not because fashionable, but as a strategy for better sharing and complementing of skills, aiming at innovation, better preparation of globalised professional and therefore at the sustainability of this type of organization. The article makes a brief review on interdependence and on global society and its consequences in the transformation of labour and the labour market. It presents an overview of higher education in Latin America and the process of internationalization of HEI. It concludes with the practices that enable the international integration of private HEIs as a strategy and a positive reflection of global interdependence, in order to maximize the performance of its primary mission which is to prepare professionals for an increasingly globalised society.