Cyperbole,Commerce,and Internationalisation: “Desperate Hope and Desperate Fear”

Abstract

This article draws on experience working within the higher education systems of three countries in particular and on recent OECD work on e-learning and postsecondary education. It refers to the four forms of trade in services identified by GATS and explores different meanings and forms of internationalisation, especially from that perspective. The “cyperbole” of the virtual university and the global e-learning market is examined, leading to a consideration of which uses of new ICT may assist deeper forms of internationalisation and which are more superficial and essentially commercial. The article concludes with some discussion of future types of universities in a more global and virtual environment and their relationship to the four profiles proposed in the editorial of this special issue.