Globalization has fundamentally changed the framing of the nation-states and its institutions. The neoliberal imaginary has become dominant and hegemonic (Harvey 2005). Whereas nation-states might have in the past favored the social democratic orientations in designing their educational systems, neoliberalism has set the requirements for competition, efficiency and profit-seeking as the new standard for higher education (Rizvi & Lingaard 2010). As a part of the competitive landscape, internationalization has become an important vehicle for the Universities for income generation and climbing upwards in the international rankings. Neoliberalism and internationalization have changed the role of the traditional, regional university that has for long had the role of facilitating regional growth and development by meeting the needs of the labor market through education and research (Zgaga 2009). As the new forms of Universities balancing between the global ambitions and the local needs have emerged, the traditional type of social responsibility to the community has changed and taken new forms. For example, international students require supports that challenge the practices of the hosting universities (Arambewela 2010) and former humanist-liberal forms of international cooperation are discouraged to pave the way for something more profit-oriented (Nørgaard 2014). In this presentation, I’m exploring the notions of social responsibility in higher education in regards to internationalization and concentrating on two questions; do the strategies and/or policies promoting internationalism at the target universities mention 'social responsibility'? If so, how is it understood and/or conceptualized? As my data I will use interviews collected as a part of a larger project called Ethical Internationalism in Higher Education, funded by the Academy of Finland, involving 26 universities in 9 countries. The interview data will be analyzed using critical discourse analysis and by doing close readings of the interviews text and highlighting important themes connected to the research questions. (Talja 1999). The preliminary analysis of the data shows that most universities do mention social responsibility in their strategies but the conceptualization of the term is extremely versatile. Furthermore, in some cases, what is seen as social responsibility somewhere, might be overlooked elsewhere. This naturally has to do with the ambiguity of the term but also the attitudes and ideologies of the respondents. Also, the location of the University and the traditions in internationalization have a dramatic effect on what social responsibility means in regards to internationalization.

Arambewla, R. (2010). Student Experience in the Globalized Higher Education Market: Challenges and Research Imperatives. In F. Maringe and N. Foskett (Eds.) Globalization and Internationalization in Higher Education: Theoretical, Strategic and Management Perspectives, (pp. 155-171). London: Continuum. Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford University Press. Nørgaard, T. (2014). Liberal Education in the Erasmus Programme. In B. Streitwieser (Ed.) Internationalisation of Higher Education and Global Mobility, (pp. 99-118). Oxford: Symposium Books. Rizvi, F. & Lingard B. (2010). Globalizing Education Policy. New York/London: Routledge. Talja, S. (1999). Analyzing qualitative interview data: The discourse analytic method. Library & Information Science Research 21(4), 459-477. Zgaga, P. (2009). Higher Education and Citizenship: ‘the full range of purposes’. European Educational Research Journal 8(2), 175-188.