The project DHIP

The project DHIP (Developing Higher Education Institutions'Internationalisation Policies) is co-financed by the European Union  Erasmus+ Programme, in the frame of its KEY ACTION 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices,  Action Type: Capacity Building in Higher Education. It started in October 2018 and will last until 2020. Six different countries are involved: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia. 

Worldwide, HEIs launch international initiatives, announcing their ambition to become "global educational institutions". A look at what is happening shows that often these initiatives have a marginal impact. In recent years, several universities in Latin America have undertaken ambitious internationalisation programmes which have delivered less than satisfactory results. It is clear that there is a significant gap between internationalisation efforts and concrete outcomes. The starting point of our project is a holistic idea of internationalisation. The standard and widely accepted definition, as " the process of integrating an international dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of the institution", does not capture in our view the essence of a process whose ultimate goal is to integrate the institution into the emerging global knowledge production and transfer (research and learning/teaching) network, while enhancing its relevance for its own students and territory. Our definition emphasises the HEIs' need to become an integral part of the world's knowledge and learning/teaching system, not only to benefit from it but also to contribute to its development. This rationale calls for change in existing structures, operating modes and mindset to allow the institution as a whole (staff, students, and future employers) to contribute to the emerging global knowledge and learning network. The project foresees joint elaboration of strategies and roadmaps for each partner, using cutting edge techniques and tools, including those created in the Tuning Latin America and ECHE principles. The result foreseen will be the increased ability of the Latin American partners to start and manage their internationalisation process effectively, enhancing mobility and quality, and thanks to carefully planned dissemination and twinning, improve the performance of other HEIs in the region and the EU.