An exploratory factor analysis approach in empirical study of the DigIn.Net 2 Project

Abstract

The main purpose of the current DigIn.Net 2 project (supported by DAAD, BMBF) is to promote the digital internationalization of partner universities in Germany and Ukraine. The study focuses on the effective practical application of the project of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with four Ukrainian universities. Based on the exploratory factor analysis of empirical survey data from 1063 respondents who participated in international internships “Digital Future: Blended Learning” during 2022-2023, an original compilation of key factors for successful internationalization of universities in the digital space was formulated. As the international internship was launched during the pandemic and then continued uninterrupted in the post-pandemic period and during the war, the authors had to collect and analyze valuable data from respondents in difficult times for the first time. In addition, some researchers have been involved in surveys and data processing on internationalization, but they have not applied factor analysis to this type of data. Factor analysis was conducted to reduce the sample size of the variables, group them based on correlations, and interpret the resulting factors. The principal components method was used as the extraction method, and Varimax with Kaiser normalization was used as the rotation method. Thus, a modern model of a successful internationalization strategy for each university should take into account the following factors: Global cooperation and networking, Competences and globalization of standards, Digital evolution, Funding and policy dynamics, Int‘l research initiatives.