Creating Strategic International Partnerships

The Initial Steps

International partnerships have become key features of higher education institutions' policy and practice in many countries. The establishment of international partnerships is not something new, but many partnerships were ad-hoc in nature, and initiated and implemented by individual departments, schools and faculty members. This brought about issues and problems that made institutions start to review the whole process of developing a partnership. Reviews on current partnerships indicate the need for institutions to develop strategic practices in establishing partnerships, which allow the institution to strategically focus the partnership activities on those that are really benefitting the institutions and their stakeholders. This article focuses on factors which will contribute to the success of the partnership from the very beginning. Through these initial steps, institutions will be able to identify characteristics of partnerships that will ensure their effectiveness, sustainability and success.