Reflection is useful isn’t it. As 2024 creeps towards its conclusion I find myself thinking of two new TNE partnerships in particular that I have been involved in over the last year. One was a partnership between a UK university and an institution in Singapore that agreed to deliver a range of undergrad degrees and an MBA in Mandarin. Second was a new partnership between a UK university and an IT school in Tokyo under a hybrid delivery agreement to deliver undergrad and post grad qualifications in Japanese. The latter was just completed last week and what a journey that has been.
You see, despite the rhetoric from many universities about inclusion and diversity, this doesn’t seem to stretch quite as far as TNE activities. Delivery of a UK degree in a language other than English is simply still a massive step too far to contemplate. What’s the problem exactly? As a TNE consultant I regularly reach out to universities to inquire if they might be interested in collaborating with a new client I am representing. I don’t just introduce prospective partners – even though I may be working on behalf of a client I also work closely with the new partner university to ensure progression is achieved only by working under usual and expected norms of quality assurance. Herein lies a regular challenge - when approaching a number of UK universities on behalf of my Japanese clients, many comments I received were along the lines of, ‘no we just don’t do it’, ‘nope, they’ll never agree to it’, ‘no chance, why won’t they do it in English?’, ‘Tell them if they’ll do it in English, we’ll think about it’, and many times, ‘nope no quality, can’t guarantee the quality, can you’. Ah well actually you can, and for those universities who already deliver these sort of programmes, they have successfully implemented strong quality systems that stand up to probably more scrutiny than happens in the home institution. It can be done.
So why do it? What’s the attraction for both ‘home’ and ‘host’ institutions to collaborate in this type of partnership. For the host institutions, generally the rationale is simple. A UK degree is still widely recognised and respected globally – Quality is usually guaranteed and the standard of TNE partnerships are generally good and above (many being excellent). However the main reasons for a UK degree in the host country language is largely to retain local talent, a lack of English language proficiency and no desire to work in an English -speaking country in the future. For the home institution, rationales for doing so may be a combination of desire to diversify their TNE portfolio or take an opportunity with a clearly professional and high achieving international institution. There may be some financial imperatives that drive the new collaboration but as we all know, TNE is rarely an automatic panacea for filling higher education black holes.
Personally I believe that given the advances in technology that we shall need to consider alternatives that previously were untenable in terms of our programmes delivery – are we really saying that in the future to all of our students that you can only study our programmes if you learn English? Or do we harness technology, quality systems and processes and set new expectations that no matter where you come from, no matter what language you speak, if you want to study our courses in your country, you can?
Last week, I spent two days in approval events evaluating the delivery of a new partnership between the UK and Japan. The discussions were among the most rigorous I’ve experienced in over 30 international collaborations. Although there are conditions and recommendations to address, these add significant value to ensure the TNE partnership is fit for purpose, respecting and incorporating both sides' perspectives. It was incredibly satisfying.
So, as I bid farewell to 2024, I look ahead to the coming year and the new challenges in transnational education (TNE) collaborations. I foresee AI playing a significant role in future partnerships—an inevitability, perhaps? While the future is uncertain, the infancy of these style of TNE partnerships, combined with rapid technological advancements suggests that the clouds on the horizon are not just meteorological phenomena. Exciting TNE times lie ahead...
Bernie Quinn
I have not identified any of the parties involved in these collaborations as they have not been made public as yet. Watch this space though!
If you want to discuss TNE opportunities delivering degrees in a language other than English drop me a line anytime – doesn’t matter if you are a ‘home’ or ‘host’ institution!
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