Responding to the vision of the information society: first steps towards a national virtual university.

Executive Summary 1. There is confusion, both in academic circles and the public more generally, about the definition of a virtual university. Hence in considering such an option, it is worth looking more fundamentally at the contexts for higher education, and the functions of a National Virtual University equipped to meet the needs of the 21st Century. 2. The increase in the use of ICT has caused a radical increase in demand for higher education globally, and increased access to higher education via the use of ICT. New suppliers in the form of private and corporate universities, now compete with universities in their home countries, and increasingly, overseas. 3. Although demands for higher education are growing rapidly, analysis of the new and changing demands on universities at local, national and international levels, within an increasingly global knowledge market, indicates that the role of a National Virtual University will be much broader than that of an existing university. Moreover, a NVU will need to successfully compete in an environment which is growing in competitiveness and complexity as corporate universities start to operate, but will have to do so with greater efficiency and lower funding. 4. The socio-economic environment in Finland is characterised by an internationally high (and growing) involvement with information and communication technologies in all spheres of life. Within this fast developing Information Society, there is a high need for increasing skills levels and retraining, especially with respect to ICT. However, like elsewhere in Europe, the use of technology for collaborative teaching in Universities and for promoting joint research with industry, is comparatively underexploited, although the existing higher education platform, provides a useful structure which could adapt to, and benefit from, the establishment of a National Virtual University. 5. The rationale for incorporating the use of new technologies in higher education by building a National Virtual University is well-established. Such a development would require a quantum leap in the design and development of a new learning method. However, in addition to educational benefits, the NVU would aid the creation of a knowledge based economy, the promotion of social cohesion, the protection of the existing Finnish university system, and the preservation of national language and culture. 6. The experience of previous virtual university ventures in the USA demonstrates that collaborative ventures, based on existing providers and reliant on reengineering of existing teaching and learning practices, are unlikely to be successful, even where they are well financed. A National Virtual University can be constructed with varying degrees of functionality, but where it covers all ranges of university activities (teaching, research and technology transfer), and is well-linked to the local community, the cost of development will be high but the returns on expenditure will be greatest. 7. A project of this size, complexity, cost and importance will only succeed in maximising its potential as a collaborative venture, if it involves all stakeholder groups in discussing its form, as consensus on the form of the NVU will be critical in ensuring the success of its implementation

Going Global: The Challenges for Knowledge-based Economies

The present volume aims to provide a comprehensive and systemic overview of the challenges that going global poses to knowledge based economies. Its focus is four-fold. 1) Firstly, it investigates why companies, especially high-tech firms, go global, i.e. which are the drivers that push companies to locate – R&D facilities in particular – elsewhere than in the home country. The analysis of the competitive advantages that enterprises seek in the host countries also includes the new techno-economic geography that emerges. Attention is devoted to the time frame of these phenomena and to features such as the development stage of the home and host country, the characteristics of both firms and industries, and the Product Life Cycle of the latter. 2) Secondly, it analyses the impact that the various corporate relocation phenomena might have on intellectual capital, innovative output and the labour market, and growth and development. (Re)locating in fact impacts on knowledge creation, exploitation – including the use of IPRs – , absorption, circulation and spillovers. In turn, these play a fundamental role in shaping the productivity, competitiveness, and ultimately growth and development of both enterprises and countries. 3) Thirdly, it addresses the questions of if and to what extent the current and prospective global dynamics call for new types of governance. Such a need arises if different policy domains have to converge towards common strategic welfare enhancing objectives. Attention is also devoted to the various policies put in place by small open economies that ‘go global’, such as Finland. 4) Fourthly, it addresses the sustainability aspects of going global by investigating how to better share the social, economical and ecological benefits and responsibilities arising from globalisation, technological change, and innovation. It analyses the impact that globalisation and the knowledge-based paradigm might have on both developed and developing countries.R&D, innovation, outsourcing, offshoring, knowledge spillovers

Valid knowledge: The economy and the academy

The future of Western universities as public institutions is the subject of extensive continuing debate, underpinned by the issue of what constitutes valid knowledge. Where in the past only prepositional knowledge codified by academics was considered valid, in the new economy enabled by information and communications technology, the procedural knowledge of expertise has become a key commodity, and the acquisition of this expertise is increasingly seen as a priority by intending university students. Universities have traditionally proved adaptable to changing circumstances, but there is little evidence to date of their success in accommodating to the scale and unprecedented pace of change of the Knowledge Economy or to the new vocationally-oriented demands of their course clients. And in addition to these external factors, internal ones are now at work. Recent developments in eLearning have enabled the infiltration of commercial providers who are cherry-picking the most lucrative subject areas. The prospect is of a fracturing higher education system, with the less adaptable universities consigned to a shrinking public-funded sector supporting less vocationally saleable courses, and the more enterprising universities developing commercial partnerships in eLearning and knowledge transfer. This paper analyses pressures upon universities, their attempts to adapt to changing circumstances, and the institutional transformations which may result. It is concluded that a diversity of partnerships will emerge for the capture and transfer of knowledge, combining expertise from the economy with the conceptual frameworks of the academy

Models of technology and change in higher education: an international comparative survey on the current and future use of ICT in higher education

The aim of this study is to investigate which scenarios are emerging with respect to the use of ICT in higher education and how future developments can be predicted and strategic choices can be based on that. It seeks to answer the following questions:\ud What strategic responses do institutions make with respect to the use of ICT; Which external conditions and developments influence these choices; Which external and internal conditions and measures are taken in order to achievestrategic targets; What are the implications for technology use, teaching and learning processes and staff? \ud The study applies an international comparative methodology and is carried out in the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Australia, Finland and the USA. Data were collected through Web-based questionnaires tailored to three different response groups: decision makers, support staff and instructors. In total 693 persons responded to the questionnaire. This implies that between 20 and 50 percent of the institutions in the various countries responded (institutional data were also gathered), with the exception of the USA where the response was much lower

UNIVERSITIES AS EXPORTERS OF FINNISH EDUCATION : Experts’ perspectives

This master’s thesis investigated universities as exporters of Finnish education from the perspectives of experts. The field of Finnish education export has developed from internationalisation of education in the global world, in which a shift from a welfare society towards a competitive state has evolved. In this study, education export was defined as a knowledge-based business funded by a foreign agent. This study concluded Finnish universities as public, non-profit institutions, which exported products of education and educational knowledge that were traditionally based on equality and free of charge. The research was interested in how Finnish universities in cooperation with other agents exported Finnish education as a profitable business. In this respect, the thesis investigated how experts experienced the cooperation, given the competitive environment, by analysing opportunities, challenges, and problems in the field. Finally, Finnish education export was conceptualised from a theory-driven approach through cultural, social, economic, and symbolic capital. This qualitative research consisted of semi-structured interviews with experts of Finnish education export at four universities in Finland. The interviews were conducted during November and December in 2020, and the data was analysed with a qualitative thematic analysis. The results indicated that cooperation in Finnish education export was arranged in local, regional, and national levels both as (1) commercial profit-oriented business in joint marketing and implementations, trade fair trips, and joint companies, and (2) sharing of good practices and information in networks. Even though cooperation among national education exporters was seen important, limited resources resulted in lack of cooperative arrangements. Moderately perceived, national competition between agents was challenged by international customers. Opportunities of cooperation were increased through visibility, reputation, and risk management. High price level, bureaucratic regulations, and the dual model of the Finnish HEIs set challenges for cooperation. In Finnish education export, the cultural capital of Finnish educational knowledge and Finnishness served as the export product, which was exchanged with the economic capital of the customer. At the same time, the social capital of all parties was increased. Finnish education as an institution was seen as symbolic capital. In the thesis research, the literature and theory of education export are discussed first. Secondly, the methodology and the data of the research are introduced. Thirdly, the data collection is analysed. After that, the findings along with their implications and comparison to previous studies are critically discussed. Lastly, the main results of the study are introduced

Epistemic Communities Facing a New Type of Agora? Centres of Science, Technology and Innovation as Defining the New Research Landscape in Finland

We analyse the question of what role and positions epistemic communities have in the agora, and more specifically in the new mediating organizations that are established at the interface of the state, businesses and universities. These new organizational structures embody the present politics of knowledge that reign in national science policy globally. The new organizational structures, as potentially new agoras, also epitomize several of the changes that have taken place in the science and industry landscape of the past decades all over Europe and the world. We are interested in understanding how epistemic communities are situated vis-�-vis agora in knowledge production. The empirical example comes from Finland, where major new institutional reforms in science policy, the new strategic centres of science, technology and innovations, have been implemented to create possibilities for new knowledge creation and new product and service development. These centres of science, technology and innovations (CSTIs) were originally planned as functioning agoras, open, simultaneous and joint platforms for the state, businesses, researchers and universities. In the article we show how the organizational structure and decision making processes adopted in the CSTIs have changed the original idea of agora, thus changing also the position of epistemic communities involved. In the process, we evaluate Nowotny\'s interpretation of agora.Epistemic Communities, Agora, Science Policy, Finland, Research Landscape, STS Studies, Critical Research, Qualitative Study, Company, Power