In today’s increasingly globally connected world, and with a European higher education landscape turning toward the rest of the world, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences has made internationalization a key focus of its Strategy 2023-30. Among its four strategic priorities, the institution identified internationalization alongside future-oriented educational offerings, didactics & methodology, and research & development. The stakes were even increased by the university’s accession to the European Universities Initiative in 2024, through its membership in the Applied Connected Entrepreneurial and Engaged European University (ACE²-EU) Alliance.
This emphasis has also been noticeable within the School of Management (SoM) for several years now, starting with its internal structure: the creation of two new roles, Internationalization Commissioner in 2023 and Vice-Dean for Internationalization in 2024, reflects this commitment. The School’s new motto, “Inspiring Minds”, is another evidence of this drive towards a more inclusive and globally engaged environment.
Rather than being defined as a standalone goal in SoM’s own strategic framework, internationalization is treated as a cross-cutting theme, embedded across all objectives and initiatives, through a grassroots approach involving all SoM faculty and administrative staff.
"At the School of Management, we understand internationalization not just as a goal but as a shared journey, something we build together as a team. It’s about connecting our staff and students to the world in meaningful ways and to empower them to shape a globally connected future. Together, we celebrate how far we’ve come, we are excited about the ideas we’re creating, and we are committed to ensuring that internationalization remains inclusive, practical, and impactful for everyone." – Thomas Fenzl, Dean of the School of Management
A Grassroots Approach to Internationalization
At the School of Management, internationalization is recognized as a collaborative effort. Well before formal roles were created, a dedicated team had already been working, on a voluntary basis and for many years, on promoting international engagement. The awareness created by that group laid the groundwork for the School’s current progresses.
In 2023 and 2024, the Internationalization Commissioner conducted individual meetings with each Program Director to better understand their needs and gather ideas for enhancing internationalization in the most efficient way for them and their students. Other key staff, such as international & internationalized staff, as well as representatives from research and marketing, were also interviewed to create a clearer picture of the School’s current internationalization status.
These conversations revealed that many internationalization activities were already happening, though often unrecognized. The need for a common definition of internationalization was also highlighted, because many activities were not labeled as such, which further hindered the visibility of ongoing efforts.
To address this, the Internationalization Commissioner created a mind map, following the analysis of all data gathered so far. This tool, refined with feedback from faculty and key staff, became a valuable resource for identifying existing initiatives and sparking new conversations. The current version was finalized in October 2024 and presented to the rest of the SoM team and other CUAS Schools via different channels. It remains a flexible, evolving document.
Furthermore, one notable visibility initiative has been the creation of an "Internationalization Spotlight", a display wall in the School’s corridor that highlights international activities from all SoM colleagues, helping share and celebrate their work.
SoM Mind Map: a Multidimensional Framework
After analyzing several internationalization strategies in higher education and discussing them with SoM faculty and staff, six main pillars of internationalization were identified. These do not serve as rigid categories but as flexible guidelines, a roadmap helping faculty and staff explore what internationalization can look like and which initiatives suit their needs best.
The six pillars are:
- Internationalization of curricula
- Recruiting of international students
- a. University partnerships (general)
b. Partnerships with European Universities Alliances - International research, development and innovation
- Internationalization activities from staff
- Internationalization@home
The pillars are not hierarchical and can overlap: for instance, an international joint degree program could be both in pillar 1, 2 and 3; and student mobility is part of university partnerships, can be part of the curricula, but also includes the integration of exchange students with local students, and thus be part of internationalization@home.
This multidimensional framework captures both the active efforts SoM undertakes (what does SoM do to become more internationalized?) and the passive characteristics that reflect its international identity (what makes SoM internationalized?).
Conclusion
The School of Management’s progress in internationalization demonstrates the strength of grassroots engagement. Co-creation allows faculty and staff to express their particular needs and challenges, improves the outcome’s relevance and practicality, generates a more inclusive result thanks to the diversity of perspectives, and increases the process’ transparency, which in turn can create a sense of ownership and commitment.
Moreover, a visual tool like a mind map proves to be a particularly effective tool, as it makes visible aspects of internationalization that might not have been considered as such before, and offering inspiration. Additionally, it can guide people thanks to its clear structure, helping them identify the most relevant or useful aspects for their particular context.
Strong of its recent improvements, SoM will continue promoting new internationalization initiatives, while furthering its efforts in showcasing existing ones. Faculty, students and administrative staff engagement are all necessary in this path and their efforts should always be encouraged and celebrated.
