ERAWATCH country reports 2011 : Malta

Acknowledgement: The University of Malta would like to acknowledge its gratitude to the European Commission, Joint Research Centre for their permission to upload this work on OAR@UoM. Further reuse of this document can be made, provided the source is acknowledged. This work was made available with the help of the Publications Office of the European Union, Copyright and Legal Issues Section.The main objective of the ERAWATCH Annual Country Reports is to characterise and assess the performance of national research systems and related policies in a structured manner that is comparable across countries. EW Country Reports 2011 identify the structural challenges faced by national innovation systems. They further analyse and assess the ability of the policy mix in place to consistently and efficiently tackle these challenges. The annex of the reports gives an overview of the latest national policy efforts towards the enhancement of European Research Area and further assess their efficiency to achieve the targets. These reports were originally produced in November - December 2011, focusing on policy developments over the previous twelve months. The reports were produced by the ERAWATCH Network under contract to JRC-IPTS. The analytical framework and the structure of the reports have been developed by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre (JRC-IPTS) and Directorate General for Research and Innovation with contributions from ERAWATCH Network Asblpeer-reviewe

Experiences and opportunities in teaching ukrainian students at the faculty of mining and geoengineering in AGH University of Science and Technology

The paper presents the influence of various factors on the process of internationalisation of higher education in Poland, and particularly in AGH University of Science and Technology from the perspective of the Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering. It lays out educational opportunities for learners at mining and geology study courses, and the benefits stemming therefrom for international students, including students from Ukraine. Possibilities of academic exchange were discussed and that of international cooperation, in particular with Ukraine, in order to support the potential of science and higher education in both countries. Lastly, factors were indicated in favour of taking education with AGH

Fostering cross-campus entrepreneurship – Building technology transfer within UCD to create a start-up environment

In this chapter we discuss the emergence of commercialization activity, and specifically the TTO and ILO functions, in University College Dublin (UCD). This case emphasizes (1) how a public university has sought to encourage commercialization activity and the organizational structures developed to support commercialization; (2) how, over a period of twenty years, the TTO and ILO functions and commercialization activity evolved in the absence of what might be considered many of the university attributes, such as high levels of funded research, typically associated with high levels of commercialization; (3) how policies aimed at encouraging the commercialization of university research were embedded within a broader industrial development strategy associated with both attracting inward FDI (foreign direct investment) and developing indigenous entrepreneurial activity in emerging sectors; and (4) how a new president in a traditional public university has sought to emphasize the contribution the university makes to economic development as a means for engaging in a significant restructuring of the university and the adoption of policies that seek to maximize research activity, in particular in emerging sectors such as biotechnology and ICT, to develop external linkages with industry, and to promote commercialization

Education alignment

This essay reviews recent developments in embedding data management and curation skills into information technology, library and information science, and research-based postgraduate courses in various national contexts. The essay also investigates means of joining up formal education with professional development training opportunities more coherently. The potential for using professional internships as a means of improving communication and understanding between disciplines is also explored. A key aim of this essay is to identify what level of complementarity is needed across various disciplines to most effectively and efficiently support the entire data curation lifecycle

Europe as unlikely immigrant destination: location choice for internationally mobile students in India

This paper examines how country-specific factors in receiving countries influence a highly skilled migrant’s choice between several possible locations. While continental European countries recognize that attracting migrants is a key component of their economic strategies, it is unclear to what extent these immigration policies result in European countries performing better in the global competition for the skilled. Surveys of prospective migrants in India show that while European countries appear to be relatively attractive for educational purposes, European countries are not perceived as favourably for long-term stays. Relative to migrants selecting traditional immigration countries, migrants selecting Europe as a destination typically have more skills and increased access to resources, such as existing networks abroad, higher educational level or better language skills. With fewer long-term migration initiatives to Europe, immigration policies and destination country-specific factors, opportunities to obtain citizenship and amenities of local environment become less relevant. European governments put considerable effort in integrating student migration as a part of a wider immigration strategy; however, this strategy is likely to prove ineffective if ‘probationary migrants’ do not view European countries as realistic work destinations after graduation

Re/configuring national interests in the global field of higher education : International student recruitment policies and practices in Finland and China

In this dissertation, internationalisation policy changes in Finland and China are studied, with a particular focus on international student recruitment. The main objective is to understand how policy change is constructed in policy texts and how recruitment policies are communicated to prospective international students. Internationalisation policy documents and websites targeted at international students serve as the primary data sources analysed through content, rhetorical and Bacchi’s ‘what’s the problem presented to be’ analyses. Once a rather marginalized activity, internationalisation policies in higher education have turned into a key policy field. For both Finland and China, internationalisation policies have played a significant national role by supporting wider societal opportunities and developing a higher education system. Since the end of the 1980s, Finland has become more open to the West, sending students abroad for international short-term study experiences. As part of the opening up policy introduced by Deng Xiaoping, China also developed a strategy to send their students abroad for degree studies. Later, these export strategies are accompanied with internationalising home campuses that included recruiting international students. Within a global context, these two countries can be considered non-traditional destinations for studying abroad. As a comparative approach, I follow the contrasting contexts approach to interpret and understand the phenomenon in their contexts rather than striving for generalisation. The higher education systems in Finland and China demonstrate significant differences. Finland is a Nordic welfare state with no tuition fees (with the exception of students outside the EU and EEA countries) and a small-scale lowhierarchical higher education system. China portrays itself as a socialist market economy that has a hierarchical, large-scale higher education system with tuition fees for both Chinese and international students. Both countries contribute to funding higher education and employ policy instruments to steer their policy objectives. This dissertation consists of four articles and a summary. This study shows that the internationalisation policy in higher education is built on a strong national interest that is reconfigured with time (from 1980s to 2010s). Developed jointly with broader socio-economic openings, both countries have developed their internationalisation policies to resemble the characteristics of their higher education systems. Moreover, Finland has transitioned to reorient its internationalization policies, which is in contrast with some of the underlining principles in which the system is embedded. In the Finnish case, internationalisation policy is comprehensively and rather openly conducted to target all its higher education institutions through national steering mechanisms including laws, policies, funding, and evaluations. The rationalisation for international student recruitment is a combination of reasons that relate to and support each other. These include skilled immigration, commercial interest, status, and internationalisation at home. The introduction of tuition fees for international students and the commercialisation discourse used in policy documents shows that international education and students are detached in higher education policy. In Finnish policy documents, rhetorical choices used to support the changes in policy have shifted from the crisis rhetoric to emphasising opportunities connected to inward international student mobility. This study identified three phases in the development of international degree programmes in Finland: 1) inauguration of international programmes (late 1980s to late 1990s), 2) structural reform and legislative steering (from the early 2000s to the early 2010s) and 3) towards commercialization and privatization (late 2000s–). These phases denote incremental change from marginal activity of the international programmes to the focus of commercial interest that is embedded in its historical contexts. In China, the internationalisation policy terrain is more sensitive and less open to the global audience. National rationales for recruiting international students relate to soft power policies and the development of world-class universities, which are supported with scholarship programmes. In this study, the embeddedness of international student recruitment strategies in practice was analysed with websites targeting prospective students for both Finnish and Chinese campuses. The analysis shows that national strategies in Finland are communicated to applicants by referring to working opportunities after graduation or with commercial orientation showcasing fee structures and scholarships. Chinese websites rely on culturally constructed representations. In addition, websites construct holistic study choices that reinforce nationally embedded choice. To support decision making, websites (particularly private ones) employ devices to highlight distinctions and affirmations between different choices. In this study, I argue that nationally crafted internationalisation policies are embedded in national interests. Both policies and websites in this study reproduce representations that serve the national rationalisations. The nationally defined internationalisation policy objectives have repercussions for the fabric of the university, international students and education alike.Kansainvälisten opiskelijoiden rekrytointipolitiikka ja käytännöt Suomessa ja Kiinassa Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkitaan kansainvälistymispolitiikan muutosta Suomessa ja Kiinassa keskittyen erityisesti kansainvälisten opiskelijoiden rekrytointiin. Päätavoitteena on ymmärtää, miten muutosta rakennetaan politiikkateksteissä ja miten rekrytointipolitiikasta kommunikoidaan mahdollisille tuleville kansainvälisille opiskelijoille. Tutkimusaineiston muodostavat kansainvälistymiseen keskittyvät politiikkatekstit ja tuleville opiskelijoille suunnatut internetsivut. Aineisto analysoidaan sisällönanalyysillä, retoriikka-analyysillä ja Bacchin ’what’s the problem presented to be’ –analyysillä. Korkeakoulujen kansainvälistymispolitiikka on siirtynyt marginaalisesta asemasta poliittiseen keskiöön. Sekä Suomelle että Kiinalle kansainvälistymispolitiikalla on ollut merkittävä kansallinen rooli tukien laajempaa yhteiskunnallista ja korkeakoulutuksen kehitystä. 1980-luvun lopusta lähtien Suomi avautui länteen lähettäen opiskelijoita lyhytkestoiseen kansainväliseen vaihtoon. Kiina on sitten Deng Xiaopingin avoimien ovien politiikan myötä osallistunut tutkinto-opiskelijoiden lähettämiseen ulkomaille. Myöhemmin opiskelijoiden lähettämisstrategia on täydentynyt kotikampusten kansainvälistämiseen mukaan lukien aktiivisen opiskelijarekrytoinnin. Globaalissa kontekstissa voidaan sanoa, että nämä maat edustavat epätyypillisiä opiskelijaliikkuvuusmaita. Tutkimuksen vertailevana lähestymistapana käytetään kontekstien vertailua, jolla pyritään yleistämisen sijaan ymmärtämään tutkittavia tapauksia. Suomen ja Kiinan korkeakoulujärjestelmät eroavat merkittävästi toisistaan. Suomi on Pohjoismainen hyvinvointivaltio, joka ei kerää lukukausimaksuja opiskelijoiltaan (lukuun ottamatta EU ja ETA maiden ulkopuolelta tulleita opiskelijoita kansainvälisissä ohjelmissa) ja jonka korkeakoulujärjestelmä on pieni ja verrattain eihierarkkinen. Kiina esittäytyy sosialistisena markkinataloutena, jolla on laaja hierarkkinen korkeakoulujärjestelmä ja lukukausimaksut opiskelijoille. Molempien maiden korkeakoulujärjestelmää tuetaan taloudellisesti ja politiikkaa ohjataan erinäisin politiikkainstrumentein. Tämä väitöskirja koostuu neljästä artikkelista ja yhteenveto-osasta. Tutkimus osoittaa, että korkeakoulujen kansainvälistymispolitiikkaa rakennetaan vahvalle kansalliselle intressille, joka on muuttunut tutkittuna ajanjaksona 1980-luvulta 2010- luvulle. Laajemman yhteiskunnallisen ja taloudellisen avautumisen myötä korkeakoulujen kansainvälistyminen on kehittynyt muistuttamaan korkeakoulujärjestelmän piirteitä. Suomi on osiltaan uudelleen orientoinut kansainvälistymispolitiikkaa, joka ei vastaa kaikkia koulutusjärjestelmään liitettyjä erityispiirteitä. Suomen tapauksessa kansainvälistymispolitiikkaa on tehty kokonaisvaltaisesti ja melko avoimesti kohdistaen politiikan kaikkiin suomalaisiin yliopistoihin kansallisilla ohjausinstrumenteilla, joita ovat lait, politiikkatavoitteet, rahoitus ja arvioinnit. Kansainvälistä opiskelijarekrytointia perustellaan monilla erilaisilla ja toisiaan tukevilla tekijöillä. Näitä ovat koulutetun työvoiman saaminen, kaupallinen intressi, maineeseen liittyvät tekijät sekä kotikansainvälistyminen. Merkittävä joskin vähitellen politiikkateksteissä tuotettu muutos liittyy lukukausimaksujen käyttöönottoon osalle opiskelijoista. Lukukausimaksujen käyttöönottoa vain osalle opiskelijoista voidaan pitää opiskelijaryhmiä erottelevana tekijänä. Suomalaisissa politiikkateksteissä kansainvälisten opiskelijoiden rekrytoinnissa muutosta tukevat retoriset valinnat ovat siirtyneet kriisin painottamisesta mahdollisuuksien korostamiseen. Tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin lisäksi kolme ajanjaksoa, jolloin kehitettiin opiskelijarekrytointia tukevia kansainvälisiä ohjelmia: 1) kansainvälisten ohjelmien perustaminen (1980-luvun lopulta 1990-luvun lopulle), 2) rakenteellinen uudistus ja lakiperusteinen ohjaus ja 3) kohti kaupallistumista ja yksityistämistä. Näissä vaiheissa rakentuu muutos kansainvälisten ohjelmien perustamisesta kaupallistumiseen, jota on tarkasteltu sen historiallisessa kontekstissa. Kiinassa kansainvälinen politiikkaympäristö on sensitiivisempi eikä kovin avoin globaalille yleisölle. Kansalliset perustelut kansainvälisten opiskelijoiden rekrytoinnille kytkeytyvät pehmeään vallankäyttöön ja maailmanluokan yliopistojen rakentamiseen. Näitä tuetaan muiden muassa laajalla stipendijärjestelmällä

Greater Philadelphia's Knowledge Industry: Leveraging the Region's Colleges and Universities in the New Economy

This report documents Greater Philadelphia's current standing as a knowledge region, compares its performance over a series of key indicators to the largest American knowledge regions, identifies activities being undertaken around the country, and offers a set of strategic recommendations for better linking the region's knowledge assets to economic development