Internationalization of Higher Education Services: The Case of Egypt

The objective of this study is to diagnose the status quo of higher education internationalization in Egypt. It presents the basic concepts of internationalization with emphasize on the barriers to higher education. It shows that the internationalization of higher education in Egypt is not new phenomena. Based on the available statistics, in 2004 there were about seven thousands higher education students abroad. On the other hand, the international enrollment of students in Egypt has been increased from 31 193 to 41 590 between 2002/2003 and 2006/2007. The analysis clarifies that Egypt signs large number of international agreements with different countries. E-JUST represents one of the main fruits of the international cooperation agreements. Finally, it is important for the policy makers to accelerating the steps of systemic reforms for education; development of a national qualifications framework considering the internationalization of competencies to be aligned with the Bologna Process; ensuring that international students are included in Egypt's quality assurance arrangements; reducing the bureaucratic procedures related to international collaboration; and providing adequate incentive funding and support for Egyptian undergraduate students to have a period of study abroad.