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Globalisation has accelerated the pace of internationalisation of higher education worldwide, including  in the South Asian region, India and Nepal. The globalised market requires graduates to have international, foreign language and intercultural skills to communicate with int’l clients. Higher education institutions (HEIs) plays a critical role in preparing and facilitating a skilled, knowledge workforce, they are placing more importance on internationalisation. However, SA, home to a 25% of the world’s population & a youthful region with more than 600 million people under 18, has failed to respond to the demand on IoHE. The poor internationalisation practices in the region may jeopardise the socio-economic development by unfulfilling the preparation of students’ employability & limiting the int’l profile of the HEIs. MERGE has taken an endogenous approach to address the challenges. It commences with a benchmarking exercise to standardise internationalisation practice alongside 2 study visits to EU. After that, it equips 366 people (incl. non-consortium partners) via 6 trainings and 6 English courses to develop strategic goals for both IROs and institutions until 2025. Meanwhile, 5 national activities will be organised to promote IROs’ services, e.g. 6 mobility weeks and 6 video filmed. To enhance the student mobility services, 1 guideline will be developed which can be adapted by 6 PC HEIs and other HEIs. A 45-member regional network will be established to encourage regional cooperation and integration. To increase MERGE exposure on the international platform, 2 international conferences will be organised to stimulate cooperation and dialogue. The sustainability and long-term impact of MERGE is ensured by enhanced institutional capacity and engaging non-consortium partners.

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