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Hi Rakesh I have been leading University of Leicester’s response to the Internationalisation agenda and have been exploring UoLs interpretation of the term. You may find the following helpful: One of the most commonly used definitions of internationalisation is that it is ‘process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension’ (Knight 2004). However this definition does not explain the ‘rationale’ for internationalising and it is this that I believe is the crux of your question. De Wit and Knight (1997) identified 4 rationales in higher education that might explain why an institution may wish to internationalise. These are Social/Cultural, political, economic and academic. These rationales are inter-dependent but an ‘institution’ may feel that one takes precedent over the others. Interestingly, in a survey carried out by the IAU, non- EU members noted that the EU members emphasized the economic rationale of internationalisation - this perhaps explains why for many years UK HEIs equated internationalisation with international students recruitment. This emphasis is beginning to change (Knight, 2006; Middlehurst 2006). At an institutional level (if not at national level) the Social/Cultural rationale is emerging with a particular emphasis on ‘mutual support and understanding’ with the other rationales growing out of this value. This may be because of the ESD agenda and employability agenda as well as the United Nations commitment to ensuring that HE contributes to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Ultimately, an institution needs to agree its rationale – and this refreshingly means that the sector has to engage ALL OF ITS PEOPLE in dialogue about the values that underpin their practice. I hope this helps. If you, or others would like to know more about the work here at Leicester then please get in touch. Kindest regards Liz