The debate about internationalisation of higher education has become politicised, as part of discussions on immigration, inequality, and identity. General arguments regarding quality or cost benefits are no longer sufficient for higher education institutions to defend their stance. Rigorous arguments should not only be consistent with their academic mission and values, but also require a better understanding of the manifestation of internationalisation in different disciplinary and professional areas. Drawing on theoretical concepts of academic cultures and on prior empirical research on internationalisation in various disciplines, this study aimed to develop a conceptual framework including the nature and culture of the disciplines as its internal (academic) dimension and the structure of labour markets as its external (socio-economic) dimension. Data were gathered from three research universities in the Netherlands and bring about interesting differences between internationalisation in various disciplines and (in particular regulated) professions, and the extent to which these differences can be steered.
Kolster et al. (Tue,) studied this question.