Evidence For Excellence In Internationalization & Mobility - A Self Assesment

Internationalization and Mobility (I&M) has become an integrated part of engineering education, making institutions embracing it as a worthy profile in their marketing strategies. Though most areas of operation at an engineering institution are annually evaluated through systematic quality assurance, their I&M profile seldom is put under scrutiny. One reason might be that the standard for I&M insufficiently is stated through assessable outcomes and evidence.

The issue of I&M has been propelled onto the agenda of CDIO and proposed at the 6^th international conference at Montreal, June 2010, as a 13th CDIO standard (Campbell, 2010).The proposal was thoroughly discussed at various meetings at the conference, in the CDIO regional groups and the CDIO council, which endorsed follow-up actions. In an effort to support the process, this paper will present a self-assessment of I&M at the School of Engineering, Jönköping University with the ambition to formulate clearer outcomes and evidence for excellence in Internationalization and Mobility.

The self-assessment will follow the general guidelines for the implementation at an institution of CDIO Standards with the involvement of all stake holders. The central question will be: What are the evidence for a good standard of internationalization at the university? Information will be taken from both undergraduate and Master students from their evaluation forms and from interviews with the personnel at the International Office and heads of departments. Research will also be made on what is written in the area of assessing Internationalization & Mobility.

Clearly formulated evidence for excellence in I&M and a model of how to constructively assess it in an organization should contribute to the current discussion within the CDIO initiative.