Best Practice Cases

PROCSEE themes:

• Alignment of PHE with Regional Development Strategies
• Significantly develop their capacity for knowledge exchange in all its forms

Tags:

• constrainers
• enablers
• Lessons Learned
• mobility
• Portugal
• professional higher education

ISCAP’s internationalization can be said to begin in 2004, as before that time the number of international students was low to non-existent. The few existing mobilities were weak and non-structured. During that year, the school’s board decided to assume internationalization as a strategy, and as something with important value, creating the International Office (Gabinete de Relações Internacionais, GRI) and nominating a manager to lead the newly created Office. Development of internationalization of ISCAP is presented in a chronological way, noting the goals, results and difficulties met during the full process. Just like in the works of Tsuruta (2013) and Robson (2011), so has ISCAP witnessed benefits at both institutional and a personal levels. At the institutional level, this process allowed for the spreading of the school’s name and brand, improved its image and reputation abroad (foreign countries and the community involved) with its consequent increase in internationalization, on all its sides. At the individual level, the teachers involved were able to share their experiences, learn from each other, open themselves up to the exterior, collaborate, grow, and improve their tolerance and self-reflection. The teachers have also improved their English language skills, learned new teaching methods, evaluation, found new opportunities for collaboration and saw overall improvement in their skills.