The aim of this study is to study academic teachers’ understanding and experiences of internationalization in relation to the current efforts to internationalize Higher Education. A qualitative interview study was conducted with seven academic teachers in Higher Education from a state university and a private university in Russia with experiences from international activities. The results were analysed by reflexive methodology related to theories about globalisation, conscious critical dialogue and the need for professional development among academic teachers. A common result was the notion of different strategies of the internationalization process in different countries. A common result was also the experiences of differences in the relationship between teachers and students at the foreign universities. Another shared result among the academic teachers was the experiences of self-development and professional development. Differences between the teacher´s experiences of internationalization seemed to be due to various causes e.g. which type of academic subject they were teaching.

”Forma framtiden” var ett EU-finansierat genuspedagogiskt skol och förskoleprojekt i Norrbotten.Projektets delmål var att det skulle finnas minst enanställd genuspedagog eller motsvarande i flertalet kommuner i Norrbotten vid projekttidens utgång.Ett annat mål var att alla kommuner i Norrbottenskulle formulera kommunala och lokala handlingsplaner för det praktiska jämställdhetsarbetet i skolan.Projektet gjorde följande satsningar: enprocessutbildning för skolledare och rektorer, skapandet av ett nätverk för kommunala resurspersoner i jämställdhetsfrågor s.k. genuspedagoger samthandledning och fortbildning genom workshops och öppna föreläsningar. I anslutning till projektet genomfördes en intervjustudie medgenuspedagogerna samt en uppföljning av deras arbete några år senare. Syftet var att beskriva genuspedagogernas upplevelser avjämställdhetsarbetet i relation till deras arbetssituation.Metoden var semistrukturerade intervjuer vid två tillfällen där det långsiktiga arbetet medjämställdhet diskuterades med utgångspunkt i genuspedagogernas upplevelser av sin arbetssituation. Resultatet visar att genuspedagogernas arbetemed jämställdhet är starkt kopplat till ett personligt engagemang och upplevelse av att själva utvecklas professionellt även om den faktiskaarbetssituationen inte ger stöd för detta

The aim of this study has been to study the academic teachers’ understanding and their experiences of internationalization in relation to the current efforts to internationalize higher education. Participation in international projects, the increase of student and teacher mobility and also the strong concern of policy writing about internationalization has caused the need to know more about the acquired experiences of internationalization. What do we learn by taking part in international activities and what do we know by living ”the everyday life of internationalization”? A qualitative study was done, we interviewed seven academic teachers coming from state and private Russian universities that had experience from international activities. The results were analysed by reflexive methodology related to theories about the culture of globalisation, a conscious critical dialogue, transformative learning and a need for competence development among academic teachers.A recurring result was the notion that universities in different countries applied different strategies towards the internationalisation process. Another result was that from one international university to another not only did the relationship between students and their teachers differed but also in how they went discussing about these experiences. Another shared outcome among the academic teachers was their experiences of selfdevelopment and professional development. Differences between the teacher’s experiences of internationalization seemed to be based upon specific individual experiences of internationalization like e.g. if they had worked in international projects, taken care of student exchanges or if they themselves had worked or visited other universities in other countries. The relevance of this study to Nordic educational research is the inclusion of Russian academics from the Barents region into research about internationalization in the northern region.

The main aim of this study is to develop some deeper understanding of the experiences of intercultural meetings and intercultural communication in the process of internationalization on higher education. The theoretical approach is based on the anatomy of culture meetings which deal with the concept of culture, the relationship between time and space, the language and the influence of the situation in the current context. An intercultural project between Russian and Swedish academic teachers and students with the purpose to arouse interest in Swedish and Russian culture was used as a case study. The method was action research oriented. To analyze the case, a reflexive methodology was used including a tri-view model of intercultural communication. An extended reflective strategy with visual aids like photos was practiced. The result shows that by using extended reflections, it was easier to avoid using stereotypes and discuss sensitive or controversial topics between teachers and students, to conclude the understanding of internationalization and intercultural communication in an intercultural project increased by developing the reflective process together with extended reflections and aesthetical aids.