On 20 March 2024, the European Association for International Education (EAIE) released the much-awaited 3rd edition of its EAIE Barometer publication – Internationalisation in Europe. The comprehensive report provides detailed insights into five key areas related to internationalisation ambitions and practice in higher education, linked to the respondents’ professional involvement in this field, as follows: 

1. Their own professional roles in international higher education 
2. Their institution’s or organisation’s structure and strategy for internationalisation, goals and stakeholder influences 
3. Budgets for internationalisation 
4. The impact of internationalisation 
5. How their institutions are performing in relation to specific topics of current interest in the field 

The report is based on responses to a large-scale survey that was circulated between end September and end November 2023. The survey was open to all types of professionals working in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), whose work at the time of the survey completion was focused on internationalisation in higher education, whether in full, or in part. A total of 2.817 individual respondents from 46 EHEA countries completed the survey, i.e. slightly more than in the previous two survey iterations. The responses come from all regions of Europe, with Western Europe being the most represented in the data and Western Asia the least.  

Regarding the main findings, while detailed insights are presented in the five sections, particularly noteworthy are: 

• International higher education professionals report a high level of satisfaction with their jobs (57% very satisfied and 34% satisfied), despite navigating times of external and internal change, and show a great degree of commitment to their work. 
• There seems to be an upwards trend towards a combination of centralised and decentralised structures for internationalisation (50%), away from the more prevalent model of the past, of one single central office (25%). 
• National and European-level strategies and actors continue to significantly impact institutional level developments – 58% and 53% respectively, though slightly less so than in the past. 
• Almost half (47%) of respondents attest to a growing pressure to demonstrate impact of international education activities, with almost two thirds (63%) referring to urgent issues. 
• Priorities such as internationalisation of the curriculum (65%), virtual activities (58%) and wellbeing (57%) have gained in importance. 

ACA was happy to contribute to informing the survey and publication by actively participating in the Barometer’s Advisory Board Group, along other key professionals, including from ACA member organisations CMEPIUS and IIE. 

The recording of the webinar unveiling key insights and trends from the report can be watched here.