630 Abstract There is an increase in the number of students travelling outside of their home country for the purpose of high- er education. This suggests a need for the higher education sector to be global provider in knowledge creation and talent development. Internationalisation serves as a challenge and opportunity for the higher education sec- tor to increase their capacity and position themselves better globally, in order to claim a share of the growing international education market. In line with the increase of international student enrolment for the past 5 years, Malaysia has placed internationalization as one of key thrusts in transforming its higher education. To be able to compete with other higher education providers, the Malaysian higher education institutions should place focus in the provision of quality academic programmes, international students’ support services as well as international stu- dents’ social and community engagement. Such focus enables Malaysia to achieve its aim of becoming an interna- tional education hub by 2020, with a targeted 200,000 international student enrollment into the country. This paper aims at understanding internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia and provides insights into the Malaysian higher education’s response towards the increasing trend of international student mobility. Key words: Internationalisation, higher education, Malaysia. Introduction There is an increase in the number of students travelling outside of their home country for the purpose of high- er education. More than 3.3 million students went mobile in 2008, recording a 10.7% increase in international student intake as compared to 2007 (OECD, 2010). The increase is largely attributed to the growing demand in international education by post-secondary students, as organizations are looking forward at recruiting global- minded graduates with intercultural skills and competencies. The movement of students, cross-border, benefits the governments as the higher education sector becomes an economic export and opportunity in human resource development, strategic alliance, socio-cultural development and understanding (Knight, 2006). The increasing international student mobility suggests a need for the higher education sector to be global provider in knowledge creation and talent development. The higher education institutions (HEIs) are required to revise their interactions and relationships with various stakeholders as the interconnections and interdependen- cies are globalised and diversified. Institutions not only need to fulfill national social and economic expectations, they also face obligations from the international education sector in providing services that are beneficial and rel- evant towards development and sustainability of economies and societies globally. The pursuit to be ‘world class university’, especially among emerging and established institutions enable post-secondary students to have the best options of higher education, thus encouraging the increasing trend in cross-border education globally. Responding Towards Increasing International Student Enrolment in Malaysia Mohd Ismail bin Abdul Aziz, Ho Chin Siong, Lee Chew Tin, Masputeriah Hamzah, Doria Abdullah Office of International Affairs, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Uluslararas› Yüksekö¤retim Kongresi: Yeni Yönelifller ve Sorunlar (UYK-2011) 27-29 May›s 2011, ‹stanbul; 1. Cilt / Bölüm VII / Sayfa 630-637