Conceptualization and Experience of the Internationalisation of Chilean Undergraduate Studies

Abstract

Despite the increasing relevance of the international dimension of the Chilean higher education system, little is known about the way it shapes the activities of our higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, the main aim of this research was to determine how Chilean HEIs understand and experience internationalisation at the undergraduate level. An explorative, qualitative study was conducted, based on semi-structured interviews to a non-probability sample of 33 micro and macro stakeholders of the Chilean higher education system. Major contradictions between the discourse about internationalisation and the way it is actually experienced within the HEIs were found. The main argument of this article is that Chilean HEIs understand and experience internationalisation as a set of international activities to be conducted alongside their traditional local activities, and not as a process by which they can enrich their ethos and mission. Thus, the country does not have truly internationalised HEIs, but rather institutions conducting some academic activities with different degrees of international involvement. The findings of the study serve as a starting point to explore the impact of potential inequalities in the provision of and access to international academic activities in the higher education system.