Academic education plays an important role in the development of professionalism of adult educators. Given the interconnectedness of adult education with global and international developments, this international and comparative study illustrates the need for a systematic and comprehensive internationalisation of adult education programmes and the relevance of international teaching and learning settings for the development of professionalism in adult education. Based on focus group and graduate interviews of three master’s programmes with a focus on adult education at the Universities of Würzburg, Belgrade and Florence, similarities and differences in the internationalisation of the programmes are revealed and supporting factors for the development of professionalism are highlighted.