G7+Summit: common statement of agencies supporting the internationalisation of higher education

Common statement of agencies supporting the internationalisation of higher education - Milan 2024

The focus of many international and national meetings is on how education can contribute to resolving the multiple global crises active in the world. We are living in difficult times. Crises ranging from wars, terrorism and demographic decline to climate-induced challenges are affecting debates on the economy, environment, energy and immigration. We, as national agencies supporting the internationalization of education, declare that our global response must focus on fostering international academic cooperation, the mobility and integration of students and scholars to re-build the future with peaceful, inclusive, and sustainable societies.

As agencies supporting higher education internationalization, we affirm that international students represent an invaluable resource for supporting institutional cooperation, opening up our higher education institutions, addressing skilled labour shortages, rebuilding societies, fostering local development, and bridging cultural divides. Over the past decade, the G7 summits on international higher education have aimed to construct these bridges, focusing on international student mobility to tackle the global challenges of our time. In any case, we should always be ready to welcome voices outside our own.

In this context, the evolving importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers new possibilities for promoting talent retention, circulation and integrating international students into the local and global talent pool. By leveraging AI and other advanced technologies, we can enhance existing systems, making it easier for international graduates to find meaningful employment that benefits their host and home countries and global society.

This summit’s roundtables have stressed the urgency of creating holistic systems for welcoming and integrating international students into both the education system and the global labour market. National agencies are playing a key role in strengthening ecosystems that ensure international talent is not only educated but, in some cases, retained or circulated, thus contributing to both the growth of host societies and countries of origins.

In line with the outcome of our discussion in Milan, we commit to focusing each future G7 International Higher Education Agencies Summit on a specific critical topic, publishing and updating joint reports and studies on best practices to inspire concrete solutions. We would contribute similarly to other meetings such as G20 or similar. These topics will have a wide range, for instance about knowledge circulation, hosting policies, talent retention, alumni engagement and integration policies to more global considerations involving the inclusion of the other relevant countries in higher education frameworks. We also commit ourselves to demonstrating the significant economic benefits of international students to our economies. They create jobs, support local businesses, and often go on to lead successful companies and organizations. G7, G20 and other ‘moments’ of international meeting will become a driving force for presenting reports and analysis to continue the discussion and propose effective collaboration between the Global North and the South through the expansion of international policies in the field of higher education. We aim to broaden the scope and impact of international higher education policies, ensuring that international students – whether from Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas – can contribute to building cohesive and resilient communities around the world.

We are united in the belief that the mobility of ideas and people can play a decisive role in personal and collective development. However, we must always be able to combine the duty of inclusion with the needs of integration. That is a powerful force to ensure that international students, who play a pivotal role in shaping the future, are given every opportunity to succeed, integrate, and contribute—both in their host countries and back home.

Signed by G7 International Higher Education Agencies

Canada - CBIE / France - Campus France/ Germany - DAAD / Italia - Uni-Italia / UK - British Council / USA - IIE / Japan - JASSO

and

Austria – OeAD / Czech Republic - DZS / Estonia - Harno / Finland – Edufi / Greece – Study in Greece
Lithuania – SMPF / Norway - HKDIR / The Netherlands  - Nuffic / SPAIN – SEPIE / Poland - NAWA