Lisa ZAMBERLAN

Abstract: As international partnerships, mobility programmes, and global engagement portfolios grow in scale and complexity, many international offices are struggling to balance operational demands with meaningful relationship building. Fragmented systems, duplicated processes, siloed information, and reliance on informal institutional memory often create significant transactional overheads that limit strategic collaboration, partnership stewardship, and trust-based engagement, while there are increasing expectations on universities and global offices to manage risk amid evolving geopolitical landscapes. In an era increasingly shaped by AI and digital transformation, the challenge is no longer simply about adopting new technologies, but about designing systems that strengthen rather than diminish the human dimension of internationalisation. This session brings together international engagement leaders to explore the evolving role of data and digital infrastructure in supporting strategic partnership development and management. Moving beyond technology implementation alone, the discussion will also examine questions around organisational culture, governance and the importance of data in internationalisation Panellists will share practical challenges and emerging approaches to reducing administrative workload and risk oversight while enabling more intentional relationship centred collaboration across institutions. Participants will gain insights into how digital infrastructure can strengthen trust, preserve institutional knowledge, and support human-centred internationalisation. Learning objectives: Participants will be able to: 1. Recognise the operational inefficiencies and structural challenges that limit meaningful international partnership engagement. 2. Reframe data collection and management, and digital infrastructure as strategic enablers of trust, collaboration, and relationship-centred internationalisation. 3. Gain practical insights into navigating governance, stakeholder adoption, and institutional knowledge in complex university environments. 4. Explore how institutions can balance AI, automation, and operational efficiency while preserving authentic human connection and partnership stewardship. 5. Discover emerging approaches to reducing administrative inefficiencies, improving partnership visibility, and creating capacity for deeper, more strategic global engagement. Target audience: International office leaders, global partnership, university administrators, digital transformation teams, and higher education professionals interested in internationalisation strategy, CRM-system enabled operations, partnership stewardship, organisational change, and human-centred engagement in the AI era.