This paper addresses the increasingly globalized higher education system and the role of multilingual knowledge and skills in internationalizing education and the university curriculum. Through examining issues around internationalization of education and curriculum in universities, this paper explores the role of multilingual knowledge and skills in contemporary global entrepreneur-style higher education within the theoretical framework of economic value and the political power of languages. It argues that curriculum design in Australian tertiary institutions has not been aligned adequately enough to meet the needs of learners, even though the Australian federal government's policy on internationalization generally points to engaging university students and academics in language learning for global and local sustainability and national security. The recently established Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU), funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), will be cited as a monumental step towards such an endeavour. The paper also stresses that the key for a university to be a globally oriented, fully-fledged and highly competitive entity lies in its strategic priority to tackle challenges posed by the tide of global literacy.
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