Purpose

The main reason for writing this paper was the systematic determination of the state of internationalization of public higher education for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). This paper aims to compare the state of internationalization with the results of comparative European and world research in higher education in order to determine the direction of public universities in B&H following globalization and connection with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), as well as to determine future steps for mandatory inclusion into global higher education flows. Furthermore, the aim was to determine the treatment of mobility and student exchange programs and the ways of recognizing acquired qualifications abroad.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper opted for a research study by conducting questionnaires that were divided into questions of elimination, questions of qualification and questions of the main survey. A total of 2,822 final year students were surveyed, as well as 386 representatives of the management of public universities. Within the paper, 25 different SWOT analyses of internationalization were performed by public universities, ministries and state/regional agencies, which was the basis for the SWOT analysis of the internationalization of B&H public higher education. The data were supplemented with a qualitative analysis of the obtained results compared with the International Association of Universities (IAU) and European Association for International Education (EAIE) research, as well as an overview of the most significant achievements in the field of internationalization of higher education.

Findings

The paper provides empirical results on the barriers of students to study abroad, the existence of strategies and indicators for internationalization, the benefits of internationalization, internal and external drivers of internationalization and the potential risks of internationalization. These empirical results for B&H were compared with complementary IAUs and EAIE research and provided the basis for SWOT analysis of internationalization, development of institutional internationalization strategies and indicators, B&H recognition model, new criteria for accreditation with emphasis on internationalization and criteria for assessing internationalization. The paper suggests that virtual mobility and internationalization at home are future logical trends of development internationalization in B&H.

Research limitations/implications

Suggestions for future research related to the examination of identified potential risks to the management of the internationalization of individual institutions, as well as to future comparisons of the new state of internationalization of higher education in B&H with current similar research in Europe and the world. Regarding the limitations in the research, it was possible that a larger number of participants participated in the survey with questionnaires, although the target set at the beginning of the survey was achieved.

Practical implications

Most of the research results are the basis for improving the practical situation in the internationalization of public higher education in B&H. The paper presents a special chapter (undertaken improvement activities) dedicated to the practical implications based on the conducted research and comparison of results. Considering that this is a preliminary work related to the internationalization of higher education, based on the researched results, the context of the internationalization of public higher education in B&H was changed by the activities described in the mentioned chapter. The contribution to these activities was given by the approved project of the European Commission (EC) “strengthening of internationalization in B&H higher education” - STINT. Also, the research results of this paper offered a comparison with the research results of research conducted by IAUs and EAIE.

Social implications

Different research groups participated in this research study: students, teachers, administration, representatives of ministries and state/regional agencies. All target groups supported the implementation of the questionnaire, the development of SWOT analyses and various reports, as well as the undertaking of various practical activities. In accordance with the research results, all these target groups were subsequently educated on issues of internationalization and recognition of qualifications. Stronger and better internationalization certainly increases the social impact on future students, higher education funders, as well as other interested stakeholders.

Originality/value

This is a preliminary study whose main goal was to review the state of internationalization and to identify the most important undertaken activities in B&H. For the higher education area in B&H, the research study is new and has undertaken internationalization activities, but on the other side, in other developed European countries, similar studies and activities are not new. For the field of higher education in B&H, this work and research results are important because they will be the basis for future internationalization activities and will also serve as a basis for future activities to be undertaken in this field. The value of this paper is significant for both internal and external stakeholders of higher education.

中文翻译：

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波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那高等教育国际化的发展和实施

目的

撰写本文的主要原因是首次对波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那（B&H）公立高等教育的国际化状况进行了系统的判定。本文旨在将国际化状态与欧洲和世界高等教育的比较研究结果进行比较，以确定 B&H 公立大学在全球化和与欧洲高等教育区 (EHEA) 的联系后的发展方向，以及确定强制纳入全球高等教育流动的未来步骤。此外，目的是确定流动和学生交流计划的处理方式以及在国外承认获得的资格的方式。

设计/方法/方法

论文选择通过问卷调查的方式进行研究，问卷分为排除问题、资格问题和主要调查问题。共调查了 2,822 名应届毕业生，以及 386 名公立大学管理层代表。在本文中，公立大学、部委和国家/地区机构对国际化进行了 25 种不同的 SWOT 分析，这是 B&H 公立高等教育国际化的 SWOT 分析的基础。与国际大学协会 (IAU) 和欧洲国际教育协会 (EAIE) 的研究相比，对所得结果进行了定性分析，补充了数据，

发现

论文从学生出国留学的障碍、国际化战略和指标的存在、国际化的好处、国际化的内外部驱动力和国际化的潜在风险等方面提供了实证结果。这些 B&H 的实证结果与互补的 IAU 和 EAIE 研究进行了比较，为国际化的 SWOT 分析、制度国际化战略和指标的制定、B&H 认可模型、以国际化为重点的新认证标准和评估国际化的标准提供了基础。论文认为，国内虚拟流动性和国际化是未来B&H国际化发展的逻辑趋势。

研究限制/影响

对未来研究的建议涉及检查已识别的单个机构国际化管理的潜在风险，以及未来将 B&H 高等教育国际化的新状态与欧洲和世界当前类似研究的未来比较。由于研究的局限性，尽管达到了调查开始时设定的目标，但仍有可能有更多的参与者通过问卷调查参与了调查。

实际影响

大部分的研究成果是改善B&H公立高等教育国际化的实际情况的基础。本文提出了一个专门章节（进行的改进活动），专门介绍基于所进行的研究和结果比较的实际意义。考虑到这是与高等教育国际化相关的前期工作，根据研究结果，上述章节所述的活动改变了B&H公立高等教育国际化的背景。对这些活动的贡献是由欧盟委员会 (EC) 批准的“加强 B&H 高等教育的国际化”项目 - STINT 提供的。还，

社会影响

不同的研究小组参与了这项研究：学生、教师、行政部门、部委和国家/地区机构的代表。所有目标群体都支持问卷的实施、SWOT 分析和各种报告的开发以及各种实践活动的开展。根据研究结果，所有这些目标群体随后都接受了国际化和资格认可问题的教育。更强更好的国际化肯定会增加对未来学生、高等教育资助者以及其他感兴趣的利益相关者的社会影响。

原创性/价值

这是一项初步研究，其主要目标是审查国际化状态并确定 B&H 开展的最重要的活动。对于B&H的高等教育领域来说，研究性研究是新兴的，已经开展了国际化活动，但另一方面，在欧洲其他发达国家，类似的研究和活动也并不新鲜。对于B&H高等教育领域，这项工作和研究成果很重要，因为它们将成为未来国际化活动的基础，也将作为未来在该领域开展活动的基础。本文的价值对高等教育的内部和外部利益相关者都具有重要意义。