It’s an exciting time for internationalisation and teaching and learning in higher education. Rapid growth in ‘transnational education’ creates opportunities to collaborate with new partners, adopt new approaches and technologies, and even teach in new places. This blog highlights some of the innovative work going on at Edinburgh (and around the world).

We are proud of being one of the most international universities in the world. Our combined international staff and student community tops 20,000, we have strong partnerships all around the world, and a real desire to work with the best students regardless of where they are from.

In some ways, the world is becoming a smaller place, travel is cheaper, the internet provides opportunities to communicate, collaborate and learn in new ways, and universities around the world are constantly exploring ways to work together to deliver new learning opportunities at home and abroad. The world also remains a big place, for many funding is an issue, and for some other responsibilities mean that travel to Edinburgh to pursue study is simply not possible.

It’s great to be able to scan across some of the initiatives that exemplify the global possibilities of international higher education. This month, amongst others, we will hear from Rachel Simmond, who will talk about her experiences as a ‘flying academic’ to Shanghai and Paula Smith who will highlight the important role of scholarships for Malawian doctors studying surgery.

I hope that you enjoy this edition of Teaching Matters and that it inspires you to get involved: on campus, on another continent, or somewhere in between. Sometimes it’s about the destination, but it’s always about the journey….

Dec 5, 2017