Research On The Characteristics Of Internationalization Of Chinese Research Universities From The Perspective Of Geographical And Regional Relationship

In the era of globalization,higher education（HE）internationalization is not only an important strategy for the opening of national education to the outside world and the realization of knowledge diplomacy,but also an important strategy for the construction of research universities.Making use of geographical advantages to carry out international cooperation is one path for universities to form the characteristics of international development.However,there is a lack of research on the relationship between geo-environment and the internationalization of universities.There is a series of key questions remain to be answered.What are the geographical advantages of universities? What is the impact of the geographical environment on the international development of universities? How to give full play to the geographical advantages to promote the international development of universities?This research takes Lanzhou University in the northwest China and Xiamen University in the southeast coast of China as two cases,and focus on the internationalization strategy and implementation of each universities.Through interviews with faculties and foreign students,444 questionnaires（of which 48 are foreign students）,this paper makes an in-depth analysis of teachers’ and students’ cognition and evaluation of the international development of their universities.Based on the theory of geographical relations and the motivation theory of university internationalization,this paper summarizes the geographical characteristics of the international development of the two universities from three aspects: regional factors,institutional factors and individual（group）factors of students.this paper compares the motivation,level and development model of the international development of the two universities,and discusses the influence of geo-environment on the international development of universities.First of all,regionalization is conducive to the flow of elements of higher education in the region.The regional geopolitical,economic,cultural,and academic environment constitute the "regional environment".Regional environment have an important impact on shaping the characteristics and level of international development of research universities.International development of universities has a counterproductive effect on regional economic and social development.The cooperation between China and Central Asia is the geographical advantage of the international development of Lanzhou University.China-ASEAN cooperation and the economic integration of East Asia constitute the geographical advantages of the international development of Xiamen University.Secondly,the characteristics and development paths of the international development of research universities in inland and coastal provinces have similarities and differences.The similarity lies in that the two types of universities regard neighboring countries as key cooperation objects and geo-advantageous disciplines as the key direction of international scientific research cooperation,so as to enhance the international level of local higher education.The difference lies in the objects,modes and level of HE internationalization.Xiamen University takes the road of outward-oriented” HE internationalization.Lanzhou University is attempting to use“inward-oriented” HE internationalization for development.Finally,from the perspective of students,geographical factors have a profound impact on the international flow of students.Lanzhou University has a large number of Central Asian students,while Xiamen University has the largest number of foreign students from Southeast Asia and South Asia,which is related to the low cost of studying nearby and the convenience of cultural adaptation.Students whose families are located in the eastern provinces and registered as cities show stronger mobility than those from the western provinces and rural areas.