to reflect about existing theories, knowledge, and their own identity. Defined this
way, the learning process driven by the individual’s will for edification becomes a
high value for its own sake independent of its use for markets.3
The aim of this article is to analyze the internationalization process of universities
from the perspective of the individual and his or her process of learning - or better
— his or her process of formation. The article begins with an analysis of the value
of internationalization for the individual in the context of higher education and
continues with a definition of university internationalization. Knowing about the
value of internationalization enables a discussion about common methods of eval-
uation and leads finally to the development of a new approach for reaching the
university’s mission of internationalization.
2. The value of internationalization in higher education
An assessment of the value of internationalization for higher education has to start
with the impact of internationalization on individuals and their learning processes.
Internationalization confronts individuals with something “new” and stimulates
them to reflect about their own lives, their ways of thinking, personal behaviors,
social norms and values. According to the OECD, reflexivity is the core of per-
sonal key competencies:
“Thinking reflectively demands relatively complex mental processes and requires
the subject of a thought process to become its object.....Thus, reflectiveness im-
plies the use of metacognitive skills (thinking about thinking), creative abilities and
taking a critical stance. It is not just about how individuals think, but also about
how they construct experience more generally, including their thoughts, feelings
and social relations. This requires individuals to reach a level of social maturity that
allows them to distance themselves from social pressures, take different perspec-
tives, make independent judgments and take responsibility for their actions.
(OECD: 8).”
The impact of internationalization on the individual process of reflexivity could be
illustrated by using the philosophy of “New Kantianism” and its conception of
human beings.4 According to this approach individual behavior is determined by
two key elements. First is the relation between “I” and “the other”, who is a
member of different social groups in the society. Every social group contains a
3 Thornton, 2001, p. 48.
4 The most prominent philosophers of „New Kantianism” (The Marburg School) are Georg Sim-
mel, Richard Honigswald and Ernst Cassierer.