Internationalising Higher Education

On the night of Saturday 2 January, Nitin Garg, an Indian Master's student, was murdered in a Melbourne suburb. This huge tragedy sent shockwaves, accusations and counteraccusations across India and Australia, involving both Prime Ministers. Yet, this is not an isolated incident, nor is it confined to Australia. Simon Marginson argues that what happened to Nitin Garg highlights
a fundamental global challenge which we have all failed to address. As education goes global, national governments grow more insular and
protectionist. Their laws and regulations stringently protect their nationals from foreign threats, but have little remit to protect the
nationals of other countries. This leaves international students in a deeply ambiguous position - and particularly so, if we see them
as 'export' rather than citizens with human rights. Countries are keen to encourage international students within their borders, but
who is responsible for their protection - the host country, their home country, institutions, the students themselves? If we encourage the
growth of global education don't we also have a responsibility to build a global system of protection? But how would that work - and can
Nitin Garg's successors afford to wait that long