New IIE Publication Delves into the What, Why, and How of Strategic International Partnerships

A recent study by the Institute of International Education and the Freie Universität Berlin reveals that the main impact of strategic international partnerships is in increased visibility, raised profile, better brand recognition, better positioning (including rankings), and increase in reputation with regard to both research and teaching quality. This survey is the first to delve deeply into the topic of strategic academic partnerships to find out what motivates institutions to enter into them, how they are managed, and what the impact is on their institutions.

This survey report is included in IIE’s latest publication, Global Perspectives on Strategic International Partnerships: A Guide to Developing Sustainable Academic Linkages (March 2016), produced in partnership with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The second in the Global Perspectives series, this book takes an in-depth look into strategic institutional linkages from a host of vantage points, providing readers with critical case studies, practical advice, theoretical background, and good practices for developing successful partnerships. Authored by practitioners from around the world, this publication pushes the global dialogue surrounding institutional partnerships to focus on what makes a partnership strategic, how long-term partnerships are managed, and what underlying tenets should guide those seeking to initiate or improve their strategic partnerships. It includes:

    • Results from a global survey on strategic international partnerships

    • In-depth case studies of long-term, successful strategic partnerships

    • Guidance for initiating, expanding, evaluating, and terminating relationships

    • New models for addressing ethics, culture, and mutual benefit 

    • Recommendations for partnership paradigms in international development

This publication is edited by Clare Banks, Institute of International Education (IIE), and Birgit Siebe-Herbig and Karin Norton, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The "Global Perspectives" series is a joint effort by IIE and DAAD to explore current international education policy issues from a global lens. This book will be released at IIE’s Best Practices Conference, hosted by the University of California, Davis on March 10-11.