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Internationalization of Malaysian Higher Education in the Post COVID-19 Era

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Crafting the Future of International Higher Education in Asia via Systems Change and Innovation

Abstract

Malaysia emphasizes cooperation strategy as an internationalization medium to transfer and learn best practices from international counterparts to improve the quality of higher educations and institutions. Major challenges that are often highlighted in the literature are the international coverage in the curriculum; higher education institutions’ staff involvement in the internationalization process; physical and financial resources for projects and new initiatives, research, and academic collaboration; and exchange programs and networks to recruit international students and staff. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has made society rethink the internationalization process of higher education. This paper addresses the impact of COVID-19 on the internationalization of Malaysian higher institutions and the way forward. Based on institutional evidence, this paper discusses the trends in international students and staff, challenges encountered in academic, and research collaborations such as student mobility, joint conferences, research, and publications during this pandemic. The findings provide insights to policy makers and institutional leaders on the strategies to enhance international collaborations in the post-COVID-19 era.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Husaina Banu Kenayathulla

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  1. Husaina Banu Kenayathulla
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Correspondence to Husaina Banu Kenayathulla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Angela Yung Chi Hou

  2. Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Joshua Smith

  3. Lingnan University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Ka Ho Mok

  4. College of Education, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chao-Yu Guo

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Kenayathulla, H.B. (2023). Internationalization of Malaysian Higher Education in the Post COVID-19 Era. In: Hou, A.Y.C., Smith, J., Mok, K.H., Guo, CY. (eds) Crafting the Future of International Higher Education in Asia via Systems Change and Innovation. Higher Education in Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1874-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1874-4_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-1873-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-1874-4

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