Country Differences in the Internationalization of Higher Education – How can Countries Lagging behind Diminish the Gap

This paper looks at the internationalization of higher education in a number of countries with the final purpose to make proposals for the acceleration of the higher education internationalization process of the countries that lag behind. It does that by first placing conceptually higher education in the context of globalization at world level and looking at a general level at the different components of the internationalization process in higher education. Than a review of internationalization of higher education at world level is done, with emphasis on mobility flows and the identification of the main country players. Few country examples with positive experiences in the process of higher education internationalization are discussed and than Romania as a country that is lagging behind is also analyzed. In the final section, the paper presents proposals related to how Romania as a country that at present lags behind others, can try to further develop the internationalization of its higher education