Internalization is defined as “the integration of international/intercultural dimensions to HEIs’ purpose, functions, and/or delivery; it involves a process of interchange of higher education between nations, between national systems of higher education, and between institutions of higher education. It is the expansion of higher learning within and beyond national borders and centers of scholarly studies. Internationalization of higher education is a much broader concept than cross-border education.” (CMO 55, s.2016)

From a global perspective, the following trends mark higher education: education massification/diversification, Outcomes-Based Education/21st Century Skills, increasing international student mobility, ICT in Education, cross-border & transnational higher education, regionalization, and internationalization of higher education.

In light of this, there is a need for a programmatic and holistic approach to developing and implementing a university internationalization strategy instead of one-off, random activities. It seeks to further drive positively and incentivize the good practices, thrusts, and programs on internationalization that delivers on fulfilling sustainable goals not just on education but the 17 other goals stated in SDG 2030.

As stipulated in CMO 55, s.2016, an internationalization strategy in Philippine higher education is warranted by the demands of integration and globalization which the national higher education system alone cannot meet. In the context of integration, students’ learning environment needs to be enhanced, their experiences diversified, and their competencies sharpened so that they can participate meaningfully in regional and global labor markets. These are made possible through expanded forms of educational interfaces that widen their educational experience and mindsets.

Internationalization confers the following intrinsic benefits:

• enriches and diversifies students’ learning experience so that they can be more adaptable to fast -paced changes in a global environment;
• promotes and deepens awareness of social and cultural similarities, and inculcates respect for social and cultural differences;
• generates highly qualified graduates that can compete in the national, regional, and international labor markets;
• serves as a platform for the government and HEIs to participate in the setting of international standards that can help in developing program and curriculum design with an international orientation;
• provides an opportunity for developing and
  strengthening academic linkages for collaborative work and exchanges;
• promotes academic and knowledge transfers that can enhance the quality of Philippine HEIs over the long-term;
• provides an opportunity for strengthening diplomatic and international economic relations that could deepen awareness of the interdependence of nations; and
• provides an opportunity for knowledge and technology transfer, sharing and broadening of perspectives and experiences of faculty, academic staff, and students through institutional visits, joint research, collaborative academic and cultural activities, and sharing of academic and cultural resources.