FAUBAI 2025: Towards Equitable and Sustainable Partnerships
The IAU was pleased to have taken part in the 2025 FAUBAI – the Brazilian Association for International Education Conference held in Brazil. The event gathered higher education leaders, scholars, and internationalization professionals from across Latin America and around the world to reflect on the evolving role of international education in addressing shared global challenges.
IAU Secretary General Dr. Hilligje van’t Land delivered a keynote address titled “Building Equitable and Sustainable Partnerships,” focusing on two key questions that shaped the session’s forward-looking dialogue:
How can universities build partnerships for an equitable and sustainable future—partnerships that address global challenges at every level, grounded in equity, inclusion, excellence, interculturality, and interdisciplinarity?
How can such partnerships ensure the sustainability of the higher education sector—and, in turn, help higher education more effectively serve society as a whole?
Her address invited participants to critically reflect on the transformative power of higher education and the need to align institutional strategies with the principles of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr. van’t Land emphasized that international partnerships must be more than transactional; they must be deeply rooted in mutual respect, shared values, and a commitment to building resilient, inclusive, and socially engaged education systems.
The keynote was followed by a lively discussion that affirmed the relevance of these issues in a rapidly changing global context. Participants engaged in a collective reimagining of what sustainable and equitable international collaboration can look like—particularly in the Global South and within post-pandemic recovery frameworks.
In addition to the keynote, Dr. van’t Land chaired the FAUBAI Presidents’ Day, a special high-level session designed to foster dialogue among university rectors and leadership. The session featured insights from:
Sara López Selga, who shared European models for international collaboration, including the European Universities Alliances and The Guild–SARUA partnership as examples of regionally anchored initiatives working toward global goals;
Dr. Samia Chasi from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, who introduced opportunities emerging through African networks and partnerships while calling for a critical approach to global goal-setting and its regional resonance;
Denise Hills Pires de Carvalho and Rui Oppermann of CAPES, who provided an overview of current Brazilian government funding schemes to support academic partnerships and research collaboration.
The session highlighted shared priorities and reinforced the importance of international partnerships that are co-constructed, long-term, and responsive to local as well as global needs.
The IAU’s commitment to strengthening internationalization as a means to promote the global common good was also represented in the closing plenary session, The Global Dialogue, where Giorgio Marinoni, IAU Manager for Higher Education and Internationalization, joined other international speakers for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of internationalization.
Moderated by Dalmo Mandelli, FAUBAI Vice-President, the session brought together perspectives from across the globe, with contributions from:
Dr. Samia Chasi, IEASA (South Africa)
Sara López Selga, EAIE (Europe)
Renata Archanjo, FAUBAI (Brazil)
Dr. Matías Marin, RCI–ASCUN (Colombia)
Together, the panellists reflected on key trends, tensions, and opportunities in international higher education, from decolonising curricula and institutional partnerships, to ensuring that internationalization efforts are inclusive, ethical, and impactful.
The IAU is proud to have contributed to this dynamic global exchange and continues to advocate for internationalization approaches that are equitable, context-sensitive, and deeply aligned with the public mission of higher education.
