Emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, a time when many international higher education partnership activities languished or ended altogether, there is a renewed effort by global offices to build collaborations that are resilient, reciprocal, and advance each partner institution’s mission and strategic goals. The disruptions of the pandemic have highlighted the need to refocus partnership strategies and to develop a strategy if none existed previously.

Within this context, institutions have sought engagement that is truly transformational for the partnering institutions, and which includes a broad range of stakeholders within each institution, combines resources, and develops common goals. Such linkages have been referred to as strategic partnerships. Much has changed recently though, due to the pandemic and concurrent world events. There is a new level of awareness regarding social justice, climate change, political divisiveness, and war.

For senior international officers and other international education leaders, this new context is leading to a refocusing of strategic partnerships to support higher education in addressing global challenges.