Global Perspectives in Higher Education: Thilla Sivakumaran - June 2025

Written by Thilla Sivakumaran, Texas State University

1. How has internationalisation shaped your institution's strategic vision over the past five years, and what specific initiatives have proven most successful?

Prior to my arrival in early 2023, there was no internationalization strategy at the campus, which is why we created the TXST Global division. Since then, we have tried to become very intentional with including internationalization in the strategic vision, mostly focusing on growth of international students here and growth of students going abroad. For the international students, what I have found most successful is the onboarding of international recruiting agents from different parts of the world. TXST went from having only four to almost fifty within a year and because of that, from fall 2023 to fall 2024, we saw a 60% increase in students enrolled. For the education abroad side, we set up a model we call Summer Hubs, which is essentially a TXST classroom abroad, which provides a more affordable study abroad experience, in some cases, to students. Then, of course, to help with internationalization as a whole, we expanded university partnerships and working to identify key academic models and partnerships.

2. What do you see as the greatest opportunity for international collaboration in higher education today, and how is your institution positioned to capitalise on it?

As of right now, the biggest opportunity is setting up partnerships with universities abroad where students can take our degree there. They essentially get an American degree without having to leave the comfort of their own home. We actively are working with partners from all over the world to set these up. 

3. In your view, what is the most significant challenge facing international higher education partnerships, and what approaches have you found effective in addressing it?

There are two big hurdles when it comes to setting up international partnerships. The first is curriculum differences, especially the lack of general education in other countries. For these, you have to be very creative within the degree plan mapping, while staying within the policies of both institutions still, and you have to find partners on campus who are highly motivated to make this work. Programs with high elective hours also see a lot more success. Finances are another challenge. Most countries wanting to do a partnership want a discount for their students to come here or some sort of special incentive. While we cannot do that, that is where we recommend the model mentioned in question two.

4. How do you balance the economic incentives of international student recruitment with broader academic and cultural exchange goals in your institution's internationalisation strategy?

 While, we do have a big focus on bringing international students to our university and growing our on-campus population, we also try to equal that out by giving students a chance to go abroad as well. The hubs and faculty lead programs we run make it affordable for our students to go abroad and gives them the cultural exchange that they need.

5.Looking ahead to the next decade, what emerging trends or shifts in global higher education do you believe will most dramatically reshape the landscape of international partnerships and student mobility?

I believe the biggest shift will be how to offer a degree with a foreign university in a collaborative and innovative model. Mostly, how to use online and onsite delivery of degrees in partnership with foreign universities. Essentially, rather than try to bring students all the time to America, we would like to figure out how to take our degree there.  

6. How important do you believe TNE will be to development of quality higher education globally.

That is hard to answer with the shifting of political landscape and economy.