Exploring Academic Mobility Experiences of Russian University Faculty Members

Absztrakt

The paper outlines findings of an exploratory research that investigates international academic mobility experiences of faculty members in Russian universities as part of higher education institutions’ internationalization efforts. The study aims to get an in-depth understanding of academic staff’s motivation, personal expectations and the perceived outcomes of the mobility experience, as well as its influence on teaching and research activities after the mobility period. The study refers to the university context as an ecosystem and discovers the relations between the system levels as a meaningful part of the faculty mobility experience. Ten faculty members employed in different Russian universities were interviewed about their experience of academic mobility abroad. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study allowed to identify and examine 3 dimensions of academic mobility in the Russian context from the perspective of university faculty: (1) personal motivation and benefits of the participating faculty members on the microlevel of the university ecosystem; (2) institutional support and barriers that occur during the preparation and mobility process that reflect the interactions between the micro- and meso-levels of the ecosystem; (3) effects of completed academic mobility on further professional performance of the faculty members, both research and teaching.