Summer Universities in the Context of Higher Education Internationalization

The article deals with summer universities as one of the wide-spread forms of higher education internationalization used for enhancing intercultural competence of students. The major strategies of university internationalization in regards to risks and challenges of current political instability are discussed. Two case studies of summer university programs are represented. The article answers the research questions if participation in summer university programs influences the students' perception of internationalization in general and their own role in this process; if summer university experience and what activities in particular influence the intercultural competence. The data was collected using a questionnaire and the reflection tool MAX. The respondents were 36 students from Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Sweden, and USA with different level of previous international experience. The authors offer guidelines on using the summer universities format based on research results with consideration to different group of participants. Research results could be used for strategic and operation plans of higher education institutions.