Internationalization in the backyard

Can an exchange in Liege count as an international experience? When in the late 1980s, the then Faculty of Economics started its internationalization strategy quite some people were very skeptical. Because students could go on exchange to Liege and Aachen, the exchange program was questioned. Some even labeled our exchange program as “internationalization in the backyard” and questioned whether this really had something to do with internationalization. Of course there is a point, because Liege and Aachen are so close to Maastricht. I was thinking of this when I visited a two-day symposium in Liege last week. The topic was “Excellence in Internationalization” and Julienne Erckens and I had been asked to organize a workshop on double and joint degrees (which the Belgians label as dual degrees). The workshop went well and it was nice to be able to discuss our strategy on double degrees. But being at the University of Liege, I noticed how different this is from being in Maastricht. The “feeling” is completely different and difficult to define but let’s give it a try. First, although there are quite a few international students, contrary to many schools where English is the language in Liege French is the language that is spoken. That makes Liege already different from other international schools. Second, both the business school and the main building of the university are in the inner city of Liege. This inner city is a mixture of run down buildings, dirty streets, too much traffic everywhere, but also modern fashion shops and above all, excellent restaurants, both cheap and expensive ones. This is the real student quarter I would say and more vibrant than Maastricht. Third, Belgians know how to create a friendly and open atmosphere to foster mix and mingle of students. Thus although the distance is short, the differences between Maastricht and Liege make an exchange in Liege worthwhile for students I think. For internationalization, it is not the distance in km that counts, but it is the distance in culture that matters. I think that in particular for non-EU students that come to Maastricht to start a bachelor program, an exchange in Liege can be a very valuable experience. In that sense I think that calling an exchange in Liege as Internationalization in the backyard, does not do justice to the added value of such an exchange. Alternatively, going far away for an exchange does not necessarily make you more “international”.