Stellenbosch University (SU) prides itself on being a vibrant Study Abroad destination. The team at SU International follows a one-stop service approach to assisting both incoming and outgoing students on their Study Abroad journey.
Generally, 400 to 500 semester mobility students are received every academic year, with the second semester (July–December) usually having the bigger intake. The 2018 and 2019 intakes were 552 and 499 respectively, with Germany and the Netherlands being the largest feeder countries. This is the result of longstanding and historical partnership agreements and collaborations with these two European countries. (A recent partnership agreement signed with SKEMA Business School in France has brought about a slight shift – read on for more in this regard.)
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a notable impact on higher education in general, and student mobility and higher education internationalisation in particular. With student mobility severely affected by bans on international travel, a prohibition on in-person gatherings and social distancing regulations, SU International saw an unprecedented decline in both incoming and outgoing semester mobility numbers. The 2020 intake shrunk by about 50% to 246 students. To successfully complete the academic year, SU moved swiftly to an online teaching and learning platform, and adopted emergency remote teaching, learning and assessment (ERTLA) to accommodate the new reality. However, most students embark on a semester mobility opportunity precisely for the in-country experience, immersing themselves in the local culture both in and outside the classroom – a need the online mode could not quite fulfil. The switch to ERTLA was not without its challenges either. One study identified a host of challenges experienced by SU students learning online, including “home-related challenges, connectivity and personal challenges, academic-related challenges, and mental health".[1] And with additional difficulties relating to immigration, the initial slow roll-out of vaccines, as well as a significant decrease in the online course offering, many students either cancelled or deferred their planned Study Abroad semester.
However, as the virus gradually loosened its grip, various restrictions were relaxed, including those on travel and in-person gatherings, which enabled a slow return to on-campus activities. SU moved from ERTLA to augmented remote teaching, learning and assessment (ARTLA) – a combination of in-person and online teaching and learning. For SU International, this meant a rapid increase in the semester mobility intake, recording a record number of incoming semester students for the 2021 academic year. A whopping 421 students registered for a semester mobility programme in the first semester alone – almost equal to the pre-Covid number for a full academic year. And as the second semester had a bigger intake than the first, the numbers for the overall 2021 intake increased by 100%.
A major contributor to this rapid increase has been the partnership with SKEMA Business School, which accounts for some 50% of the overall number of incoming semester students. These students vary from undergraduate to postgraduate (master') students and follow a specialised set of courses at SU that are taught in collaboration with various partners, such as the University of Stellenbosch Business School, the Sustainability Institute, and the faculties of Economic and Business Management Sciences as well as Arts and Social Sciences. As a result, the partnership has created an opportunity for lecturers from these environments to collaborate with academics from SKEMA on curriculum development.
In addition, as a result of the partnership, France (and no longer Germany and the Netherlands) now accounts for the largest intake of semester students. And since several SKEMA students originate from Francophone countries in Africa, SU International's intake of semester mobility students from the African continent has also increased. Historically, most international students from Africa registered for full degree programmes, with almost none enrolling for a semester mobility programme. This new development presents exciting opportunities to explore possibilities for increasing semester mobility activities among institutions in Africa.
Yet, while the increase in semester mobility numbers is positive, the most exciting opportunity created by this partnership lies in the chance to reimagine and expand internationalisation engagements. Collaboration on curriculum development among academics offers exciting opportunities for scholarly development, research collaboration as well as personal and professional development. The tailor-made courses could enable local (degree-seeking) students to benefit from an internationalised curriculum offering. SU International has already provided opportunities for SU's own BCom International Business students to register for some of these courses as part of the mandatory exchange component of their degree programme. It would be worthwhile to explore the possibility of expanding this to other degree programmes as well, offering students the opportunity to participate in an internationalised classroom and/or benefit from an internationalised curriculum offering.
The opportunities for international collaboration post-Covid-19 are endless if innovative minds gather around a table and deliberate. Granted, there are also countless challenges, particularly facing South African higher education, which may complicate the implementation of new internationalisation activities. However, these can be overcome if we persistently engage and explore together. Let us not miss the opportunity to reimagine and reshape higher education internationalisation by simply returning to the old way of doing things as a traditional residential university.
[1] Onwuegbuzie, AJ, Ojo, E, Burger, A, Crowley, T, Adams, S & Bergsteedt, B. (2020). “Challenges experienced by students at Stellenbosch University that hinder their ability successfully to learn online during the Covid-19 era: A demographic and spatial analysis". International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 12:240–281.
