Chalmers, KTH and SSE still most international universities in Sweden

STINT’s Internationalisation Index indicates the degree of internationalisation in Swedish Higher Education Institutions. Overall, this year’s index shows a slightly positive trend. Like last year, Chalmers and KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm School of Economics are awarded five out of five stars as Sweden’s most international universities.

At a time when the value of openness and international cooperation is being questioned, the internationalisation of higher education and research is particularly important. STINT has developed an internationalisation index for measuring the degree of internationalisation of Swedish Higher Education institutions. The index describes six key aspects of the internationalisation of research, teaching, staff and management. The index includes 28 Swedish higher education institutions and we hope that the index will support their continued internationalisation efforts.

“Internationalisation demands long-term, strategic thinking. It will be interesting to see whether the ongoing internationalisation inquiry will affect higher education institutions and how that will be reflected in STINT’s Internationalisation Index,” says Andreas Göthenberg, Executive Director of STINT.

Most changes can be seen in the aspect accorded most weight in the Index, namely international co-publications, normalised per discipline. In total, eight higher education institutions have received higher scores than last year, and four lower scores. As far as the academic background of staff is concerned, all changes are towards higher scores.

The government has commissioned an inquiry to draw up an internationalisation strategy for Swedish higher education and research, not least because internationalisation is an important tool in the development of higher education institutions’ operations. Higher education institutions with international connections also contribute to an inflow of ideas, knowledge and networks that enhance Sweden’s competitiveness. This of special importance, as the Swedish economy is very dependent on exports.

STINT’s Internationalisation Index – Methodology