Fostering Responsible and Resilient Internationalisation in Higher Education
Equipping higher education staff to navigate internationalisation with resilience and integrity
What is FORTIFY?
Fostering Responsible and Resilient Internationalisation in Higher Education (FORTIFY) is an Erasmus+ funded project that aims to enhance resilience in higher education institutions (HEIs), equipping staff with the resources and tools to adapt to uncertainty and ensure sustainable, responsible internationalisation.
FORTIFY promotes ethical, values-based internationalisation — helping institutions navigate complex ethical dilemmas and build international collaborations aligned with human rights, democracy, and academic freedom. At the core of the project is a practical framework that supports HEI staff in navigating international collaboration in a complex global landscape.
What FORTIFY offers
Beyond the framework, FORTIFY delivers a set of learning modules and practical tools, including:
Webinars on European values, democracy, and human rights
A self-paced online course
A staff week on assessing partnerships in sensitive contexts
Case studies and simulations aligned with the framework
Project activities
To ground these results in everyday institutional practice, FORTIFY also includes:
Mapping existing resources on resilient internationalisation
Piloting the framework and toolbox with HEIs
Establishing a Community of Practice for peer learning
Developing policy recommendations
Developing policy recommendations
Developing policy recommendations
News
Pursuing resilient internationalisation in uncertain times
Instability is the environment in which internationalisation now takes place. How can universities build resilient partnerships while staying true to their values? Explore three key pillars of resilient internationalisation and join the conversation.
Welcome to FORTIFY
This website will be your main source for project news, updates, results, and opportunities to participate in FORTIFY activities.
Resources
Desk Research, Survey Results
These results will focus on building a strong evidence base on resilience in higher education internationalisation. Combining literature review, survey, and focus groups to identify key challenges, best practices, and ethical considerations, ultimately informing practical guidance and policy support for more resilient international partnerships in HEIs. Desk research and survey results report will be available here.
Community of Practice
This output establishes a Community of Practice to support HEIs in applying the project’s decision-making tools through shared learning and exchange. It provides a structured hub for resource sharing, peer discussions, and regular webinars, alongside clear governance guidelines and an initial activity plan to ensure ongoing engagement, capacity-building, and continuous improvement.
Flexible decision-making Framework for IROs and Policymakers
Developing practical tools to support resilient and ethical decision-making in HEI internationalisation is the core of this project. This resource will include a flexible framework, a user-friendly flowchart, and a toolbox with guidelines and resources to help international offices and policymakers assess risks, uphold values, and make informed partnership decisions across diverse contexts.
Policy Recommendations
To ensure project sustainability and sharing of know-how from the key project results, policy recommendations will be developed. Designed for IROs, internationalisation policy advisors, and other HEI decision-makers to help them develop and adapt institutional strategies tailored to HEI contexts.
Timeline
02/2026
Project Kick-off Meeting in Rotterdam, Netherlands
04/2026
Desk Research
07/2026
Survey for HEIs
11/2026
Focus Groups
01/2027
Analysis of Reports
06/2027
Framework Development
06/2028
Community of Practice and Peer Learning Network
10/2028
Policy Recom-mendations
10/2028
Final Conference in Split, Croatia
