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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 5 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.439086 THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION ON EDUCATION IN GEORGIA Ekaterine Pipia Prof. Dr., International Black Sea University, Tbilisi, Georgia Abstract: The process of internationalization and globalization grants the curriculum with a global outlook and provokes a great feasibility for international student mobility and chance of employability globally; however, it poses threats, like brain drain, as Georgia is still a developing country and many skilled young people seek for better jobs and salaries abroad. The paper stresses the level of internationalization in Georgian HEIs after the implementation of reforms and tools of the Bologna process. Keywords: globalization, internationalization, international student s mobility, brain drain Introduction The continuous process of globalization and internationalization brings a number of opportunities for people all over the world to get a citizenship of a global village. This is a free movement of people, capital, knowledge, services and ideas across national borders, a process by which economic, social, cultural aspects of people living in different countries and cultures become homogeneous. The process of globalization is not a new phenomenon; however, it has been accelerated drastically through past several decades due to the technological advancement (Maringe & Foskett, 2010). It is thought-provoking that in many professional literature globalization and internationalization are employed interchangeably, though some discrepancy lines should be drawn between them. Globalization of education is connected to the competition and commercial knowledge transfer, assumes that borders between countries get blurred. Internationalization of education refers to the academic mobility Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 16 Ekaterine Pipia THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION ON EDUCATION IN GEORGIA and academic cooperation (Ulrich, 2004). Notably, both processes push higher education towards international involvement in globalized world. I have summed up these differences in the table below. Table 1: Distinctions between Globalization and Internationalization Characteristics Features Globalization The acceleration The process by which Competition, movement of people, ideas, different commercial knowledge, capital, goods nations and homogeneous. services of Result through cultures and become knowledge-transfer national borders. Internationalization The response of educational Higher institutions internalization results in academic cooperation the and to globalization process the degree higher globalization degree and of of vice Physical mobility, academic knowledge transfer versa. International student mobility is one of the most important indicators in internationalization of higher education (Woodfield, 2012). UNESCO defines internationally mobile student as the person leaving the country of origin and moving to another country with the study purpose (UIS, 2008). There are two categories of international student mobility: full-term (diploma) and short-term (for credit) mobility. The feasibility of credit mobility is ensured by the exchange programs existing at higher institutions. The diploma mobility requires an agreement only between the student and the university and further recognition of the diploma by government. According to Teichler 2009 , there are vertical and horizontal mobility types. Vertical mobility is defined as the mobility of students from underdeveloped or developing countries to the developed ones. On the other hand, horizontal mobility is the mobility of students in the countries which are developed equally (Teichler U., 2009). During a vertical mobility, international students from the underdeveloped countries seeking for better opportunities might pose a threat of a brain drain and hinder the growth and development of the country (Spring, 2009). The process of brain drain is strongly tied up with "pull" and "push" factors (Woodfield, 2012). Pull factors refer to the desire gaining international experience, hope of future career development, language or culture study, increasing knowledge, plans of migrating to the country after completing the study, or just a wish to travel to another country and experience its culture, broadening the view of the world. Push factors could be the escape from European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 5 │ 2017 17 Ekaterine Pipia THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION ON EDUCATION IN GEORGIA discrimination (general, racial, religious, political etc.) or the poor economic conditions, some students seek the higher education in foreign country because they think their country cannot provide them the education that meets their abilities and skills. 1.1 Lost Hope or Opportunity for Georgia? In 2005, Georgia became a part of the Bologna system, which provoked internationalization and Europeanization processes in Higher Education. Many reforms have been implemented in Georgia to increase the level of higher education and become a full-right member of European Higher Education Area. Georgia is also a member of the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, together with National Center for Education Quality Enhancement of Georgia are working to increase the competitiveness of the country in the international educational market. The current policy on national level include supporting the financial autonomy of the HEIs by establishing funds, internationalization of the accreditation process and establishment of joint programs and joint research programs. Currently, Georgian system of higher education is in the process of gaining trust and recognition at the international level. The shortage of educational leaders and managers in the higher education can be seen as one of the main challenges for Georgia in the reformation process; however, the problems still exist. Georgia is still a developing country and is on its way to prove itself as the provider of high-level education (Ghlonti, 2007). This development could be detected through the statistical data of international student mobility between the years 2005-2016. Figure 1.1: International Student Mobility in Georgia Georgia as 2005- 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011- 2012- 2013- 2014- 2015- 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 313 64 121 320 215 265 270 216 562 434 403 144 428 621 499 832 1263 1670 2910 3405 4780 6643 a country of origin Georgia as a host country Source: based on information available from: (http://www.geostat.ge/index.php?action=page&p_id=2104&lang=geo) The obtained data reveals that Georgia, as a host country, gains its popularity among foreign students and shows a significant increase in numbers. In 2005-2006, the country hosted only 144 foreign students, while in 2015-2016 there are 6643 of them. This fact European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 5 │ 2017 18 Ekaterine Pipia THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION ON EDUCATION IN GEORGIA could be explained through a great increase in English programs and consequently, stresses the improving quality of education. There is no smooth dynamics in the number of Georgian students participating in international mobility, as the maximum number of Georgian students, who left the country for study purpose, was 562 in 20132014 and declined to 403 in 2015-2016. Georgian government, with the help of International Organizations, initiates the projects to support a brain gain in Georgia. The project Temporary Return of Qualified Nationals aims to bring Georgian skilled workers temporarily in Georgia to share their professionalism. The project was finance by Nederland Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Laliashvili, 2012). International organization of migration in Georgia was established 1993 and aims to back a migration return through providing them with free travel, airport assistance and secondary transportation, vocational training, provision of temporary accommodation and medical assistance. They even could be supported in small business start-up. In 2013, Georgia and France signed an agreement on circular migration and the maintenance of qualified professionals. Another pilot circular migration project is also implemented together with the German Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). These schemes aim to promote regular migration and reduce irregular movements (Chumburidze, et al., 2015). Ministry of Education and Science in Georgia supports some international scholarships for Master and Doctorate programs with the obligation of returning to the country and share their professionalism. Conclusion The increase in number of foreign students since 2005 is a clear evidence of increasing internationalization in Georgian Higher Education and a sign for the country s development. All the programs initiated by Georgian government mainly focus on brain gain. But still much has to be done in terms of preventing a brain drain in the country and integrate Georgian students in international student mobility through the pull factors not the push factors, which itself requires an economic stability of the country. The great flow of Georgian students in international mobility might cause a brain drain for the country, but if there are more local markets available, the opportunities for return will arise. It is notable here that the country should have a clear-cut policy of providing students with international higher education and at the same time, winning back its citizens. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 5 │ 2017 19 Ekaterine Pipia THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION ON EDUCATION IN GEORGIA References 1. Chumburidze, M., Ghvinadze, N., Gvazava, S., Hosner, R., Wagner, V., & Zurabishvili, T. (2015). Report developed in the framework of the EU-funded Enhancing Georgia’s Migration Management ENIGMMA Project. Vienna: International Center for Migration Policy Development. 2. Laliashvili, Z. (2012). Expectations and Realities of Brain Drain from Georgia. Prague: International Days of Statistics and Economics. 3. Ghlonti, L. (2007). The Way to Europe: Problems and Perspectives. 4th International Silk Road Symposiumm: New Trends in Higher Education, (pp. 55-60). Tbilisi. 4. Maringe, F., & Foskett, N. (2010). Globalization and Internationalization in Higher Education. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. 5. Spring, J. (2009). Globalization of Education: An Introduction. New York: Routledge Chapman & Hall. 6. Teichler, U. (2009, March). Internationalisation of higher education: European experiences. Asia Pacific education review, 10(1), 93-106. 7. UIS. (2008). Global Education Digest. Montreal: Unesco Instute for Statistics. 8. Ulrich, T. (2004, July). The Changing Debate on Internationalisation of Higher Education. Higher Education, vol. 48, pp. 5-26. 9. Woodfield, S. (2012). Key Trends and Emergind Issues in International Student Mobility (ISM). In F. Maringe, & N. Foskett, Globalization and Internalization in Higher Education (pp. 109-122). London: Continuum International Publishin Group. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 5 │ 2017 20 Ekaterine Pipia THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION AND INTERNATIONALIZATION ON EDUCATION IN GEORGIA Creative Commons licensing terms Author(s) will retain the copyright of their published articles agreeing that a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) terms will be applied to their work. 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