Virtual Internationalization in Higher Education

Digital media and information and communication technology (ICT) are being used more and more in international contexts at universities. In her English-language dissertation, Elisa Bruhn examines how this technological potential can be used strategically to expand internationalization. The data basis of the thesis is a content analysis of contributions to international conferences on university internationalization, online and distance learning, university management and research, and ICT and internationalization. The selected abstracts were analyzed based on the model of "Comprehensive Internationalization" (CI). From the results, Bruhn outlines a model for Virtual Internationalization (VI) that considers curricula, international cooperation, and distance learning as well as the roles of university strategy, administration, management, and teaching staff. The highly topical dissertation closes a gap in university research and offers universities valuable starting points in research and practice of internationalization.