Our overriding goal in this project has been to develop a comprehensive, values-based approach to IaH that could address the new challenges and opportunities that arise in higher education institutions in our diverse national contexts, and more widely still, due to on-going internationalisation and the increasing cultural diversity to be found on our campuses. Core to our approach is our commitment to advancing the values associated with EDI and the UNSDGs, and in particular SDG4, which speaks to ensuring ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.’ This goal is a key driver for positive change and emphasises the radical and transformative power of education in fostering sustainability and equity. Our approach to IaH thereby supports recent calls to reimagine internationalisation in higher education through the UNSDGs (Ramaswamy et al. 2021) and it has the principle of inclusion at its heart.
It has also been our intention to develop an IaH approach that can actively contribute to the advancement of the social mission of universities to contribute to ‘the common good’ of society. Here, we support the argument made by Brandenburg (2020, p.12) for “internationalisation in higher education for society” whereby international or intercultural education, research, service and engagement result in benefits for the wider community (see also Jones et al. 2021; Leask and de Gayardon 2021). Hudzik and Stohl (2009, p.9) tell us that, “internationalisation must permeate the missions and ethos of institutions to be successful [and] it should not be merely a sideshow or an appendage to the institution’s main objectives”. The TRIP approach is driven by these higher goals and principles which we seek to advance in practical ways through the outputs we have developed over the course of the project.