Executive summary - IAU 1st Global Survey (2003)

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Chart Seven: Catalyst/demand for internationalization
3.3 Obstacles
It is clear that there are many barriers facing the successful and sustainable implementation of
internationalization. To gain a better understanding of these barriers, respondents were
asked to indicate the level of importance for the following key obstacles and to list others:
• Lack of policy/strategy to facilitate the process;
• Lack of financial support;
• Administrative inertia or difficulties;
• Competing priorities;
• Issue of non-recognition of work done abroad;
• Lack of reliable and comprehensive information;
• Lack of opportunities;
• Lack of understanding of what is involved;
• Insufficiently trained or qualified staff to guide the process.
Chart Eight presents the list of barriers in descending order of importance as determined
by the percentage of institutions which ranked the obstacle as most important. Lack of
financial support was clearly the most significant factor at play. Lack of a policy/strategy
and competing priorities were ranked next in importance. It is interesting to compare the
18% who indicated the lack of a strategy as the most important barrier with the 35% who
replied (see section 3.1) that they did not have any plan in place.
It should be noted that respondents listed other organization factors that were perceived
to be barriers. These included the following four: 1) the difficulty to get heads of departments
and faculties committed to support internationalization (Europe), 2) in view of the
increasing workload relating to internationalization, insufficiency of administrative staff at
central and departmental level (Europe), 3) lack of an efficient and compatible credit transfer
system with, and within Latin American Higher Education institutions, 4) bureaucratic
structures and the resistance to change (Africa).