Internationalization at Home: A Sustainable Model for Chinese Higher Education in the Post-pandemic Era

Abstract

Internationalization at Home (IaH) has become a hot research topic although it is not a new concept appeared recently especially in China. The concept of IaH has experienced several changes since it was created in 1990s while the widely used one refers to the purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic learning environments. The recent development of the concept pays more attention on the establishment of international communities for each individual included. China changed its strict pandemic prevention and control policy in the end of 2022 and moved forward into the post-pandemic era. The practice of IaH has already appeared in China since the reform and opening-up policy carried out in 1978. However, the focus of Chinese policy and practice changed from international mobility to Internationalization at Home with a long-term development. The pandemic fastens this changing process. Due to the theoretical and practical background, IaH is recognized as the sustainable mode for Chinese higher education in the post-pandemic era which represents the future development path.