Taking stock and moving forwards: new spaces, agency, authenticity and critical perspectives

The concept of internationalisation at home (IaH) is relatively new in Italian universities, not least in the institution where the projects recounted in this book take place. As mentioned in the introduction, definitions of IaH “shift the focus of internationalization away from mobility” (Leask, Marantz-Gal, introductory chapter), which has traditionally been the focus of internationalization activities. Patterns of student mobility were already reshaping alongside geopolitical change and the impact of the global pandemic has accelerated the need to rethink Internationalisation as mobility (Mok and Montgomery, 2021; Mok, Xiong, Ke and Cheung, 2021). As the external and internal environment of globalised higher education transforms, Italian universities are responding with innovation in curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment (Giovannetti & Poggiolini 2018; Mair, 2021 and this volume; Mastellotto and Zanin 2021). The chapters of this book have presented notable examples of this. We highlight the new spaces, which are being constructed, the agency and authenticity in student-led learning and the need for critical perspectives on internationalisation.