We recently caught up with Dr. Jacqueline Priego, AssociateDean (Global Engagement) for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Portsmouth. Jacqueline is currently leading the British Council-funded project ‘TNE as capacity strengthening: Social research methods forsustainable development’, in collaboration with colleagues at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Mexico campus. As an expert on higher education in Latin American, we wanted to learn more from Dr. Priego on the current state of TNE in Latin America and potential opportunities.
We started by asking about the current TNE landscape in Latin America. Jacqueline highlighted the ‘opportunities in terms of the untapped potential of innovative approaches to curriculum design and delivery that would allow a range of TNE models to be deployed in the region. In the past ten years, increased connectivity and the working conditions during Covid enabled wider exchanges and awareness of overseas provision, mainly via COIL. There has also been a change of focus, moving slightly away from the US as the main player for exchanges with English-speaking countries.’
But, what about governments, are any taking particularly proactive approaches towards welcoming new TNE partnerships in the region? Here Dr. Priego pointed to the ‘progress in terms of mutual recognition of qualifications, for example the UK has signed agreements and treaties with Mexico (2015), Colombia (2017), Chile (2017) and Peru (2021). This is obviously a first stepin terms of quality assurance, but there's a lot to be done in terms of the regulatory environment, and national internationalisation strategies for HE are largely absent.’
Naturally, we were curious: could Latin America one day see the kind TNE growth that Dubai, or more recently, India, has seen? ‘Potentially, especially in relation to some key players and when we consider demand in
proportional terms for a given country. However, there are still barriers to engagement, including language proficiency, internal awareness and confidence in navigating regulatory frameworks, as well as recognition of TNE models as understood in the UK, as documented recently by the British Council’.
Still, the TNE opportunities are clear in Latin America, ‘Universities in Spain have a long tradition of engagement with Spanish-speaking Latin American universities, given the affinity in terms of language and their shared history. A comparable influence can be identified between Portugal and Brazil. While exchanges remain largely at the level of student and staff mobility, research, and to a lesser extent dual degrees split provision, these would be obvious connections to capitalise on for TNE.’
‘For the UK, the opportunities organised by the British Council and the Department for Business and Trade are a great source of strategic university and industry contacts, focused access to government officials, and cultural understanding. These opportunities can be used to respond to the immediate demands and interests of Latin American HEI, especially in terms of research and knowledge exchange, and build trust-based relationships that would enable the exploration of TNE arrangements in the medium term.’
Of course, challenges remain, but are by no means unsurmountable, ‘Latin America is a very welcoming region for which sustained, trust-based relationships are key for business, and these in turn require investment in terms of time and resources. Language remains a barrier on both sides, although there has been considerable progress on this, as there is increasing interest in Spanish in the UK. In addition, considerable investment is needed in TNE-focused market intelligence that accounts for affordability thresholds in the region. Finally, a coherent, context-based narrative in terms.’
Drawing our conversation to a close, we wanted to know what the TNE landscape could look like in Latin America in ten years’ time? For Jacqueline, ‘While increased awareness of opportunities can be predicted on both sides, the future of TNE endeavours will hinge on regulatory clarity, as this is one way of offsetting the risk that any TNE investment requires. In ten years, I would be surprised if no UK university has established at least one suite of validated or franchised programmes in the region.’
For the TNE Institute, the takeaway is clear: Latin America is ready for deeper TNE engagement, but success will hinge on long-term investment, cultural sensitivity, and regulatory clarity.
Many thanks to Jacqueline Priego for her time and expertise, it was an illuminating and thoughtful discussion!