Internationalisation - Broadening Horizons

Internationalisation  
Internationalisation

Strategic objective: To embed a culture of internationalisation across our activities and in so doing enhance our reputation as a global university.

We have always been a university with a global reach. From the very earliest days of the University’s existence, scholars from Aberdeen travelled the globe with their ideas. Today more than ever we need to nurture and hone that spirit of internationalism, and we will exploit the opportunities open to us through our location in a region which is itself at the heart of an international industry and which, historically, has had a global perspective.

Internationalisation is fundamental to much of our research. We have extensive partnerships throughout the world, and will continue to extend our international reach and seek like-minded partners and collaborators overseas.

Our strategy will be based on collaborations and partnerships with the very best institutions and scholars with whom we will undertake our work. We will partner both in research and in teaching and will endeavour to focus our partnerships strategically with a number of key institutions. Building on Aberdeen’s long history of transporting ideas and best practice across the globe, we will seek to develop our work, for example on maternal health, to maximise the societal impact of Aberdeen in other countries.

The impetus for internationalisation comes as much from individuals as from university policy. We will seek to provide opportunities for scholars to develop their careers by interacting with the best scholars internationally. An international focus in all that we do will feed through into a richer cultural and learning experience for our students, benefitting our reputation as one of the world’s leading universities.

We aim to:

  • help all our research scholars develop their intellectual profiles by collaborating with international colleagues
  • grow our international student population
  • provide opportunities for students at all levels to study overseas
  • develop international research and teaching partnerships, existing and new; these might involve many partners across the whole range of disciplines, or single partners and single subjects
  • explore opportunities to form partnerships and networks centred around countries or regions

Case Studies

Exporting education for a global industry

Unique research and teaching strength at the heart of a global energy centre makes the University the partner of choice for countries with expanding industries and big global ambitions. Our expertise, experience, facilities, research capacity and industry links are increasingly building international academic, industrial, and government partnerships. Mexico is a great example. Our developing partnership with state oil company PEMEX includes postgraduate scholarships in engineering and petroleum geology, continuing professional training, and collaborative research links with several Mexican universities. Visits to Aberdeen by the Mexican President and Ambassador confirm our central role in growing economic, industrial and cultural links between the Energy Capital of Europe and the UK’s second largest trading partner in Latin America.”

Action on UN mission to cut maternal deaths

Half a million women die during pregnancy and childbirth in the world’s poorest countries each year. Researchers at our Initiative for Maternal Mortality Programme Assessment (IMMPACT) work with global partners to improve the health of mothers and babies in developing countries, and so achieve key United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Working with international development, academic and policy teams in the UK, Europe, the US and developing countries, IMMPACT is strengthening the evidence on cost-effective strategies to reduce maternal deaths and contributing expert advice to the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), international governments and NGOs, and movements including the international coalition White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.