TAM Report / Algeria - Internationalisation at Home

GENERAL INFORMATION

TAM title: Internationalisation at Home (IaH) in Higher Education: A Path to Global Learning Without Mobility

Type of Event: Seminar

Modality: Hybrid

Location: University of Tlemcen

Country: Algeria

Dates: 21-22 May 2025

Participants: A total of 141 participants took part in the seminar, with 52 attending in person and 89 participating online. The event brought together targeted managers of higher education institutions, national experts, policymakers, academic staff, and students from Algerian HEIs, and featured contributions from invited experts from Lebanon, Jordan, and Tunisia. 

THEMES COVERED

• Internationalisation of higher education worldwide and in the Algerian context
• Internationalisation at Home (IaH): concepts, principles, and good practices
• Curriculum internationalisation at home (regional case studies)
• Virtual exchange and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
• Use of digital tools to support inclusive internationalisation
• Relocation of international higher education campuses
• Models for creating international higher education hubs
• Evaluation metrics for monitoring the impact of IaH initiatives
• Drafting a roadmap for the internationalisation of Algerian higher education

KEY OUTCOMES

During the workshop, participants:

• Developed a shared understanding of Internationalisation at Home as a complement to physical mobility
• Examined international and regional case studies illustrating curriculum internationalisation and COIL practices
• Identified institutional strengths and gaps related to digital capacity, faculty readiness, and strategy
• Engaged in dialogue on inclusive approaches to internationalisation that reach a wider student population
• Contributed to discussions on drafting a national roadmap for internationalisation in Algeria

OVERVIEW

The two-day Technical Assistance Mission “Internationalisation at Home (IaH) in Higher Education: A Path to Global Learning Without Mobility” aimed to strengthen understanding of Internationalisation at Home as a strategic approach to ensuring that all students benefit from international and intercultural learning, beyond physical mobility.

Through keynote presentations, thematic sessions, case studies, and panel discussions, participants explored global and regional perspectives on internationalisation, curriculum internationalisation at home, virtual exchange, and emerging institutional models such as international higher education hubs. The event combined conceptual input with practical reflection, enabling participants to analyse the Algerian context, exchange experiences with peers from the region, and contribute to discussions on a national roadmap for internationalisation. The seminar concluded with the formulation of recommendations to guide future institutional and policy-level action on IaH in Algeria.

THE FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY

Title of the activity: Meeting with the National Committee for Internationalisation

Dates: 23 June 2025

Audience: The follow-up activity targeted members of the National Committee for Higher Education Internationalisation, including Rectors, Vice-Rectors, and Directors from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS).

Description: The follow-up activity took the form of an online meeting with stakeholders, organised by the National Erasmus+ Office in Algeria. The meeting aimed to inform the National Committee for Internationalisation about the key outputs and recommendations of the TAM on Internationalisation at Home.

During the meeting, the TAM recommendations were presented and discussed, and coordinators of two ongoing Erasmus+ Capacity Building projects (SALDAE and RADIO) were invited to share their results related to Internationalisation at Home. The discussion focused on how the TAM outputs could be integrated into the national strategy for internationalisation, contributing directly to policy development led by the MESRS. The follow-up activity supported coordination between universities, ongoing projects, and policymakers, with the objective of incorporating TAM findings into the final national strategy report to be validated by the Ministry.

ENHANCING IMPACT: PROPOSED NEXT STEPS

• Make Internationalisation at Home a national priority embedded in higher education policies.
• Foster an institutional culture that supports IaH across teaching, learning, and governance.
• Implement gradual curriculum internationalisation aligned with institutional capacity.
• Strengthen COIL and virtual exchange as scalable tools for inclusive internationalization.
• Promote the strategic use of digital tools to support IaH initiatives.
• Develop mechanisms to evaluate the impact of IaH at institutional level.
• Adapt international best practices to the Algerian context.
• Encourage inter-university cooperation and resource sharing within Algeria.
• Actively involve students in the design and implementation of IaH strategies.
• Launch a national roadmap for Internationalisation at Home.

RESOURCES AND BACKGROUND MATERIAL

• Heleta, S. and Chasi, S. (2023) ‘Rethinking and redefining internationalisation of higher education in South Africa using a decolonial lens’, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 45(3), pp. 261–275. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365364950_Rethinking_and_redefining_internationalisation_of_higher_education_in_South_Africa_using_a_decolonial_lens
• European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (2015) Internationalisation of higher education. Brussels: European Parliament.
  Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/540370/IPOL_STU(2015)540370_EN.pdf
• Bulnes, C. and de Louw, E. (2024) ‘Towards a typology of internationalisation at home activities in academic disciplines: A study conducted at a Dutch university of applied sciences’, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 54(2), pp. 332–351. doi: 10.1080/03057925.2022.2108376.
• Leask, B. (2022) ‘Internationalisation of the curriculum and global engagement’, Higher Education Research & Development, 41(4), pp. 1075–1088.
  doi: 10.1080/07294360.2021.2014406.
• Jones, E. and Leask, B. (2022) ‘Internationalisation, diversity and inclusion in higher education’, Studies in Higher Education, 47(11), pp. 2191–2204.
  doi: 10.1080/03075079.2022.2083102.