Strategic Practices of Internationalization of Graduate Programs: Case Study in a Public University of the South of Brazil

Abstract

The strategy as social practice perspective has emerged as an alternative to the traditional research in the field of organizational strategy. In this perspective, strategy is understood as something people do in their everyday life, and not as something organizations have. The internationalization of Brazilian graduate studies is one of the main goals of the national graduate system. In this respect, the perspective of strategy as social practice can be employed to understand the microdynamics related to the internationalization strategies of graduate programs, to understand how internationalization activities are effectively implemented, and who the actors responsible for implementing them are. This study sought to understand how internationalization strategies of stricto sensu graduate programs of academic excellence, which have obtained the maximum score in CAPES 2013 Triennial Evaluation, of a federal public university are developed in everyday practice. A qualitative methodology research was carried out based on a case study conducted among programs of a public university of the south of Brazil. The results highlighted the distinctive role played by the professors in the internationalization process of graduate programs, and they showed that strategy happens routinely from the day-to-day activities of the programs of excellence studied.

Keywords

• estratégia como prática
• internacionalização
• programas de pós-graduação