23 Jul 2026, Danubius Hotel, Budapest, Hungary
Venue: Danubius Hotel, Budapest, Hungary
Reimagining Internationalisation in Education: Storytelling, Equity, and Global Partnerships for Inclusive and Meaningful Development
Professor Alison Buckler, The Open University, UK
Abstract
As education institutions navigate an increasingly interconnected yet unequal world, the concept of internationalisation is being re-examined. Traditionally associated with student mobility, institutional rankings, and cross-border expansion, internationalisation is now challenged to deliver more inclusive, equitable, and context-sensitive outcomes – particularly for communities in low-resource settings.
This keynote reframes internationalisation as a relational, human-centred process grounded in equity, capability, and lived experience. Drawing on research and practice from across the world, it explores how storytelling – as both epistemology and methodology – can reshape how institutions design partnerships, support educator development, promote inclusion, and engage with diverse learning communities.
The keynote will highlight examples from collaborative, multi-country initiatives focused on teacher education, girls’ education, and community-based learning, demonstrating how, through stories and storytelling, more reciprocal and sustainable forms of engagement can be imagined and pursued. Ultimately, the session invites institutions, policymakers, and researchers to reimagine the story of internationalisation.
Short Bio
Alison Buckler is a Professor of International Education at the Open University in the UK, where she is also Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Development (CSGD).
Alison’s research focuses on education and educator development. She has led and co-led projects in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Sudan, South Africa, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the UK. Key themes in her work – both empirically and in relation to research design – are inclusion, collaboration and storytelling.
Alison has worked with and advised Ministries and NGOs including Plan International, World Vision, Save the Children, the Learning Generation Initiative, and the UK’s Teacher Development Agency. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee for the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) for more than a decade, holding positions including Ordinary Member (2015-2018), Secretary (2018-2020) and Vice-Chair (2020-2024). She was elected as BAICE’s Chair in 2024 and is also the current Chair of the Editorial Board for BAICE’s journal Compare.