Promoting collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the field of international student mobility: What can higher education institutions do?

This policy brief explores the gap between research and practice in international higher education, with a specific focus on international student mobility (ISM). Different sources show that higher education institutions (HEIs) often downplay their role in raising awareness and facilitating interaction between ISM researchers and practitioners (2,5,7,8,9). Thus, a stronger commitment by HEIs to actively link different staff groups could be one solution to help overcome the divide. As we argue below, rather than following complicated and long administrative processes, the best solution would be for HEIs to foster human relations and enhance daily personal interactions between ISM researchers and practitioners.