Offshore education : offshore education in the wider context of internationalisation and ICT: experiences and examples from Dutch higher education

This report presents a study on offshore education conducted by a consortium of Dutch higher education researchers and commissioned by the Digital University (DU). The study explored the extent to which Dutch higher education institutions are involved in offering their educational services abroad (offshore education). After thoroughly embedding offshore education in the wider contexts of internationalisation and ICT policies, the study particularly explores the practical experiences with a number of real-life offshore activities of Dutch higher education. As a warm-up to this report, a few interesting cases are briefly touched upon below

Steadfast in versatility : the substrate of a multi-modal practice

The research is about inventing ways to produce spaces of inspiration that catalyse curiosity and generous, resilient creativity which goes beyond the local, national or regional borders, enhancing public space, while operating in the transforming context of Estonia. The work evidences certain ‘joyful’ approaches to publicness in design activity, in which the search for functional realities not only incorporates but immerses itself in and builds upon other disciplines as well as on institutional, ideological and structural processes. When practice’s activities propagate through a multiplicity of expressions (simultaneous drawing, model-making, installations, construction supervision, texts, and so on), the set of ‘devices’ with, upon and within which the designer operates could be called the practice’s substratum (substrate). The research poses a question that to evolve a practice, is it necessary to transform its structure, purpose or agenda, or is it a question of how to renew its substrate? A closer look at an existing practice reveals how a practice’s substratum might shift in response to a contextual change. A multi-modal versatile practice bears within it the capacity to facilitate (positive) or to resist (negative) societal change. The research points to the potential for some specific open-ended ‘protocols’ to emerge from the observations offered

EU–originated MOOCs, with focus on multi- and single-institution platforms

No abstract available

A quantitative perspective on ethics in large team science

The gradual crowding out of singleton and small team science by large team endeavors is challenging key features of research culture. It is therefore important for the future of scientific practice to reflect upon the individual scientist's ethical responsibilities within teams. To facilitate this reflection we show labor force trends in the US revealing a skewed growth in academic ranks and increased levels of competition for promotion within the system; we analyze teaming trends across disciplines and national borders demonstrating why it is becoming difficult to distribute credit and to avoid conflicts of interest; and we use more than a century of Nobel prize data to show how science is outgrowing its old institutions of singleton awards. Of particular concern within the large team environment is the weakening of the mentor-mentee relation, which undermines the cultivation of virtue ethics across scientific generations. These trends and emerging organizational complexities call for a universal set of behavioral norms that transcend team heterogeneity and hierarchy. To this end, our expository analysis provides a survey of ethical issues in team settings to inform science ethics education and science policy.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Keywords: team ethics; team management; team evaluation; science of scienc

Researcher Mobility Workshop Report: Researcher mobility among APEC economies

There is growing acknowledgement around the world that contemporary research is increasingly – and needs to be – international. In a globalised world common problems can only be solved through the sharing of expertise and pooling of resources. At the same time, research developments are critical in stimulating economic growth in knowledge economies. Ensuring that researchers can access best practice through international research collaboration is essential in facilitating innovation. Policies and structures can go a long way to supporting increased international research collaboration. Online communication technologies have become a vital part of researcher mobility, enabling researchers to unite in conducting collaborative research across the world. It is inevitable that policy makers may regard communication developments as taking the place of physical researcher mobility and hence reducing the cost involved. Research indicates, however, that face-to-face interaction remains vital in successful research collaborations, particularly at the early stage of projects and when multi-disciplinary approaches are required1. This is due to the role of face-to-face interaction in creating trust between researchers. Thus, international research collaborations are fundamentally premised on researcher mobility and, hence, researcher mobility lies at the core of efforts to enhance the quality, impact and capacity of research to inform innovation in all APEC economies. This report has been written for the APEC Researcher Mobility Workshop, held in Jakarta in December 2015. Chapters 1 to 7 were prepared to stimulate consideration of the issues surrounding researcher mobility. They provide an overview of pertinent literature, case studies, data sets and policy of relevance to the topics that were discussed at the workshop. Chapter 8 provides a report on discussions at the workshop and identifies recommendations made by workshop participants

A Critical Policy Analysis of Internationalization in Postsecondary Education : An Ontario Case Study

Using a case study approach, I investigate a very timely and significant policy issue regarding postsecondary education. While internationalization seems to be ubiquitous in universities’ policy rhetoric and statements in the Canadian context, specifically in Ontario, it is unclear what values drive internationalization and how they influence policies and initiatives at a public university in Ontario. Relying on Easton’s approach of policy as the ‘authoritative allocation of values’ and drawing on critical policy analysis, I perceive policy as ‘the practice of values’. The critical policy approach and the centrality of values in analysis require a consideration be given not only to what values are represented, but to understanding whose values are represented and whose voices are missing in internationalization activities and related policy statements. By interrogating policy perceptions conveyed through interviews with university administrators and faculty, and reflected in policy statements and administration rhetoric, this study found the emergence and presence of two major discourses of values driving internationalization policies: liberal-academic and neoliberal-instrumental. The liberal-academic discourse is constituted by two sets of values: educational/academic and multicultural/humanitarian. The neoliberal-instrumental discourse is also comprised of two other sets: market-based and competition-based values. Moreover, the findings support there is a significant gap between the meaning of internationalization in theory and its perception in practice. From a critical point of view, internationalization is rhetorically (in theory) acknowledged as ideological components, and literally (in practice) recognized as different realistic components with some pragmatic rationales. Additionally, although participants from different administrative positions and faculties share the same values regarding the necessity of internationalization, there are significant differences between their perceptions and attitudes about the meanings, rationales, and agendas of internationalization. The study shows the gradual extension of commercial logic and market values that historically have been absent from traditional university policies in Ontario to educational initiatives and academic values. The study recommends internationalization initiatives require harmony and a dynamic balance between the two identified discourses of values. There is, therefore, an imperative need to maintain balance in the global market of internationalization and to protect academic and humanitarian values and rationales of postsecondary education

Examining key quality management issues in transnational higher education: how do global partnerships ensure academic credibility of programmes?

This thesis has explored practices of quality management for transnational higher education (TNE) across a University’s partnerships in Singapore, Sri Lanka and the UK. The need for this research was identified as I observed that colleagues in diverse regions at partnerships viewed quality management of programmes differently. These differences in opinion demanded further investigation to examine quality management practices in differing regions and were complemented using literature. Quality management practices were separated out into seven themes for investigation. These practice-led, literature-based themes were (1) strategy, (2) managing partnership expectations, (3) TNE development, (4) TNE challenges, (5) quality assurance practices, (6) culture and (7) postcolonialism. This inquiry of quality management development and practices has been conducted through literature and by interviewing regional colleagues as TNE academic practitioners. Three interviews were conducted in each country: Singapore, Sri Lanka and the UK; at strategic, tactical and operational levels respectively. These hierarchical, semi-structured interviews enabled data collection from a purposive sample of nine practitioners. Academic leaders were interviewed for strategic level considerations, programme leaders for the tactical level and operations managers for the operational level. Semi-structured interview questions were developed from the seven themes, supported by findings in the literature. Using keyword analysis, significant findings within each theme were identified as ‘units of quality’ management. These units have been organised into a framework. The framework provides a mechanism through which expectations and perceptions can be better managed and shaped for TNE. The framework can be used by TNE practitioners in any region, at any hierarchical level and at any given time in the partnership. This affords an opportunity to revise and revisit current quality management practices of TNE, with respect to time, growth and maturity of partnerships, to ensure academic programme credibility