Higher education and research play a key role in countries’ response to globalisation. At the same time, even if no global model of the higher education system is currently emerging, higher education is increasingly becoming globalised. Higher education is thus simultaneously a response to, and a scene for, global competition, collaboration, mobility and cross-cultural encounters.

Higher education drives and is driven by globalisation. It trains the highly skilled workers and contributes to the research base and capacity for innovation that determine competitiveness in the knowledge-based global economy. It facilitates international collaboration and cross-cultural exchange. Cross-border flows of ideas, students, faculty and financing, coupled with developments in information and communication technology, are changing the environment where higher education institutions function. Co-operation and competition are intensifying simultaneously under the growing influence of market forces and the emergence of new players. How will global higher education evolve over the next 20 years? How can governments and institutions meet the challenges and make the most of the opportunities?

This chapter provides a conceptual framework for understanding the dynamics between higher education and globalisation. It then reviews a range of related strategic elements relevant to both countries and higher education institutions. Against this background, the chapter reflects the relative global positions of different higher education systems, with a particular focus on research capacity and performance. The chapter concludes by reflecting on how globalisation is altering the traditional relationship between higher education and national environment.

This chapter examines the future of cross-border higher education, notably student mobility. After pointing out several major trends in cross-border higher education and describing the main internationalisation strategies, it argues that international student mobility should continue to increase in the medium term and offers a prospective analysis of the evolution of the internationalisation strategies adopted by countries and institutions, examining in particular their convergence or the continued diversity of approaches.

This chapter examines the future prospects for cross-border mobility of higher education institutions and programmes. The chapter develops four alternative future scenarios, by taking into account elements such as the state of economic development and domestic higher education provision in host countries. The scenarios draw on current trends in student demand, programme delivery and government policies, with a specific focus on Australia and South-East Asia.

This chapter discusses three examples that are particularly relevant for reflecting on the future of globalisation in higher education. It first examines the future potential of the policy developments within Europe, after which it takes a critical look on global institutional rankings and cross-border faculty mobility worldwide.

This chapter analyses the trends and driving forces that can be observed in academic research over the past two decades in the OECD area. It gives an outlook of the main current characteristics of academic research at a macro level in terms of funding and activities in comparison with research performed by other sectors. It also highlights future challenges and sketches in appendix a few possible future scenarios for academic research in a 20-year time frame.

This chapter first presents historical developments and current characteristics of Chinese and Indian higher education systems. It then examines the respective roles of China and India in increasingly globalised higher education sphere by looking into cross-border mobility and international research competitiveness. The chapter finally explores the internal challenges related to higher education access, equity and emergence of private provision in China and India. It shows that while China and India are two of the world’s largest academic systems, it is less clear that these systems will be globally competitive in the near future.

This chapter takes a detailed look into the Bologna Process in Europe and reflects it against the wider global context. It first provides an overview of the complex dynamics of the process, after which it takes stock of the main reforms related to it. The chapter concludes by discussing the persisting challenges, different opportunities and alternative scenarios for the future of European higher education, reflecting also on the potential of the Bologna example to diffuse to the other parts of the world.

This chapter takes a long historical perspective on the global emergence of private higher education. It first provides an overview of the history of private higher education worldwide by examining it within the context of the evolution of the modern State. The chapter then focuses on the driving forces behind the recent expansion of private provision in several regions of the world and explores the related challenges. It concludes by discussing the different roles private higher education could play in the future.

This chapter examines to what extent there has been a shift away from public provision and funding in higher education in OECD countries in the past decade. It first focuses on relative enrolments in the public and private sectors to show that enrolments in the public sector have not significantly declined, and only marginally benefited the private for-profit sector. It then analyses changes in the funding of tertiary education from the perspectives of tertiary education institutions, students and governments. It shows that only students have experienced a shift away from public funding. Finally, the paper points to other possible reasons for the perceived decline of the public model of higher education.

This chapter explores how tertiary education worldwide could develop in a financially sustainable manner. The chapter starts by discussing the potential impact of demographic changes as well as of new provision and delivery models on higher education financing in different parts of the world. It then provides an overview of the main alternatives for higher education financing today, with an emphasis on different allocation models. The chapter concludes by developing three future scenarios for higher education financing.

This chapter examines the developments in higher education quality assurance worldwide. It starts by providing an overview of different quality assurance models, their characteristics and the differences in their use across countries and regions worldwide. It then reflects on a number of emerging trends with regard to alternative quality assurance approaches and methodologies. The chapter concludes by discussing the future prospects for internationalisation of higher education quality assurance.