Megatrends in Internationalization of Higher Education: Evidence from Big Data Analysis

Over the past two decades, discussions on the internationalization of higher education have become prominent worldwide. The need to enhance global competitiveness of universities continues to be a significant subject. In recent times, there has been a shift towards new dimensions of 'de-borderization' including remote, virtual, and new normal scenarios. In response, many universities in this country are giving top priority to digital-based internationalization in their strategic agendas. 

This article presents a big data analysis of major trends in higher education internationalization using text mining method.

About 12,000 results were obtained from the Scholarly Research Information Service (RISS) using 'higher education' as a keyword. These results were further explored using the search function within the results for (1) 'international' and (2) 'global', conducting a comprehensive data collection process. For this purpose, Python was used to crawl the titles and keywords of papers, and the collected data was subjected to text analysis and visualization. 

In addition, since the phenomenon of internationalization in higher education predominantly intensified post-2000s, the period from 2003 to 2022, spanning 20 years, was set as the scope. This timeframe was divided into two phases: Phase 1 (2003-2012) and Phase 2 (2013-2022), with a focused examination of the differences that emerged over these periods.

The text frequency analysis revealed that the study of internationalization trends also encompasses the general attributes of higher education research. Keywords related to students' learning activities, such as 'Student', 'Learning', 'Study', 'Development', were the most prevalent. This shows that characteristics like learner-centeredness, student development, and learning, inherent to the keyword 'higher education', are also reflected in internationalization research.

Both in the first and second phases, the words 'Student' and 'Learning' appeared most frequently, with their visibility significantly higher in the second phase. This suggests that the level of interest in the research theme of 'students' has grown considerably compared to the first phase. It can be attributed to the active research in new perspectives on students' international mobility, adaptation to online learning environments, learning effectiveness, and satisfaction, especially during the pandemic.

The study also noted a change in the primary keywords of internationalization research over time. Terms that were absent in the first phase, such as 'Sustainability', 'Covid', 'Mobility', 'Engagement', 'Quality', 'Role', saw a notable increase in the second phase.

The emergence of 'Sustainability' reflects its significant presence in higher education over the past decade, becoming one of the most important agendas. 'Covid' demonstrates the impact of the pandemic on the entire field of higher education. 'Mobility' can be interpreted as the pandemic's influence on the flow of international student mobility, mainly due to the physical distancing measures and global economic slowdown caused by COVID-19. The rising importance of 'Quality' illustrates the increased academic interest in the international quality management and assurance systems in higher education over the last decade. Lastly, 'Role' seems to indicate a growing trend in discussions about the existence and role of universities, evolving through two decades of higher education internationalization.

Based on these analysis results, the following key agendas for future higher education internationalization are proposed. 

First, a greater focus should be placed on 'learning', as global higher education is increasingly researching student international mobility, adaptation to online learning environments, learning effectiveness, and satisfaction to holistically improve the student learning experience.

Second, considering the prominence of 'sustainability', strategic actions related to sustainability and social responsibility of universities should be undertaken. 

Third, a discussion on 'redefining the role of universities' is necessary in response to the digital revolution and changes in industry. Universities need to embrace new roles in line with societal changes and help students develop skills for future success, connecting with AI, big data, and industry demands.

Fourth, strategies for adapting to changes in 'international student mobility' post-COVID-19 should be established. This includes adjusting student recruitment strategies and online education models, as well as exploring various forms of international exchange and cooperation. 

At the end of the day, it's crucial to reassess and develop policies and directions for the future, considering what keywords will center around higher education internationalization in the next decade post-pandemic.

*This is a translation of the article published on Kyosu Newspaper (Faculty Newspaper in English) in November 2023. For the original content, please visit https://www.kyosu.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=111958.