Connections Through Digital Internationalization: Lessons on Partnerships and Networks from the Virtual Exchange Field

• In Event: Digital Internationalization in Higher Education: Beyond Virtual Exchange

Proposal

Networks and partnerships are fundamental elements of digital internationalization (DI) in the same way that technology relies on networks to function. As in all systems, the strength of DI networks depends on the partnerships that underpin them. Much has been documented on the role of partnerships, networks, and linkages between educational institutions, including those that cross borders (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Sutton, 2010; Tadaki & Tremewan, 2013). Drawing on the Stevens Initiative’s experience developing and maintaining partnerships and fostering virtual exchange (VE) networks, this chapter investigates how technology tools add new dimensions to educational programs, mobility structures, and pedagogical methods; describes mistakes to avoid when forming and maintaining connections; and considers which good practices can be emulated. This chapter pays special attention to partnerships between institutions in the Global North and Global South, which have the potential to be fragile or imbalanced.
Developed through the efforts of foreign language educators (O’Dowd, 2017), VE has expanded substantially and today includes an array of models that seek to meet the needs of institutions and learners, with a wide range of projects that create learning experiences in which students connect through technology (Commander et al., 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic provided “new momentum” in the adoption of VE (Rubin & Guth, 2022).
Many VE partners encounter friction regarding logistics such as time zone and academic calendar differences and struggles with technology tools. These may seem like unavoidable challenges whose impact is likely to be felt equally by students and educators in all participating countries. But their initial neutral appearance illustrates the way imbalances between partners–and particularly, power imbalances rooted in structural inequity–are one of the most significant causes of challenges to the health of partnerships.
Organizers and facilitators should keep the risk of power imbalances in mind as they push their project forward, naming the structural factors that can contribute to power imbalances between partners in different regions, routinely asking themselves and each other which external factors are shaping the situation and which decisions they may be making without thoroughly considering the implications for their partners.
The hallmark of the most successful VE programs, especially when there is a disparity in the resources available to the institutions on both sides of the exchange, is strong international partnerships rooted in proactive communication. Program designers and facilitators in all locations should discuss at the outset what they hope to achieve and how they plan to structure activities, rather than having one partner make decisions alone or relying on assumptions that they all understand the plan the same way or can figure things out later. Many program leaders value establishing clear and regular modes of communication to give all partners an opportunity to discuss decisions before they are made and to raise concerns before they become major problems.

Author

• Henry Shepherd, Stevens Initiative at the Aspen Institute