International HE in the UK: leveraging the policy-institution-expert nexus in uncertain times.

Long-established paradigms around intensifying global engagement, internationalism and ‘borderless-ness’ in the UK higher education (HE) sector are being challenged and disrupted by the nationalist drift of global political and socioeconomic forces. This article identifies the core policy themes facing UK international HE and reflects on how these are changing in response to the changing external climate (especially Brexit). It analyses how key stakeholders are responding to the challenges created by a fluid policy context, including increasing calls for greater policy alignment and a co-ordinated national international HE strategy. It also examines how UK institutions currently exercise their autonomy through their strategies, structures and practices, including how they create structures to support ‘global engagement’ and develop strategic partnerships, and how these might help them to transcend national policy concerns and weather global ‘storms’, or to proactively shape policy. Growing national policy divergence and competing policy priorities mean that enhanced co-ordination through a sector-level (and cross-national) body must precede, and facilitate, the development of any UK-wide international HE strategy. This must embrace institutional autonomy and mission diversity, recognise and value the full spectrum of international HE activities and provide sufficient funding to leverage the implementation of institutional strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]