These were among the arguments made by a panel of experts at the British Council's Going Global conference in Hong Kong last week.The conference, themed World Education: the New Powerhouse, was attended by more than 1,000 delegates from 68 countries. John Hudzik, former vice-president of global engagement at Michigan State University, argued that there would be a "paradigm shift" in global higher education. Beginning a roundtable discussion on whether internationalisation was an "unattainable dream or sustainable reality", he said international missions would become "imperative" and "pervasive" for universities, but would increasingly be judged on a cost-benefit basis.

By Van R. Wood

The term “globalization” represents the international system that is shaping most societies today. It is a process that is “super charging” the interaction and integration of cultures, politics, business and intellectual elements around world. Driven by technology, information and finance, a full spectrum of views exist, some praising, some disparaging, as to the value of globalization. However, most observers believe that the ability to harness the good from globalization and avoid the bad lies in the cultivation of knowledge (see - Robertson 1992; Ali 2000; Friedman 2000; Newman, Couturier and Scurry 2005).