Sino-US relations: universities entering the age of strategic competition

This paper highlights selected historical and contemporary circumstances that situate US-China university cooperation during a significant downturn in Sino-US relations. This paper provides a brief introduction to Sino-US relations in higher education amid the threat of decoupling. There is hardly a greater issue with implications for international higher education than the potential decoupling of the academic research enterprises of China and the US. Tensions over trade and technology kicked off an age of strategic competition that is affecting cooperation between the world’s two largest economies. The deterioration in Sino-American relations is unaffordable at a time when the current pandemic, a global economic slowdown, an impending climate crisis, and the likelihood of future pandemics all demand a strengthening of cooperation across the global academy. When science and truth take a back seat to domestic politics, international cooperation can spiral downward. Universities remain crucial institutions for peace and international security. Chinese and US universities have an enormous responsibility in the midst of Sino-US tensions. A unipolar world will not return but decoupling is a race to the bottom

Financiación y gobierno de la educación superior en el sudeste asiático

Peer Reviewe

The Research-Teaching Nexus: Not merely an enduring myth

For more than a century, whether or not the research-teaching nexus exists has remained an intensely debated issue in the global academy at both the conceptual and empirical levels. Situating teaching styles within the context of teaching, conceptualizing research agendas as a dimension of research, and using academic self-efficacy as a mediator, the present study empirically investigated the research-teaching nexus. Participants were 256 academics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields from all of the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong. In the context of participating in the “Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society” (APIKS) international survey between late 2017 and early 2018, the participants responded to a short version of the Multi-Dimensional Research Agendas Inventory, a short version of the Research-Teaching Efficacy Inventory, and two scales from the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory. Results showed that academics’ research agendas statistically predicted their teaching styles – after age, gender, academic rank, and institutional ranking were considered. Furthermore,academic self-efficacy, especially research efficacy, provided a pathway from research agendas to one of the two teaching styles examined. Limitations and theoretical contributions of the research are discussed; and practical implications of the research findings are proposed for academics in STEM fields and for university senior managers.This research was funded by the General Research Fund (Grant number: 17604015) as administered by the University Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the People’s Republic of China

Global recession and higher education in eastern Asia: China, Mongolia and Vietnam

This paper presents a perspective on the capacity of colleges and universities during past and present economic shocks. The main argument is that the environment of the global recession-an Asia far more economically integrated than during past economic shocks, with more unified aspirations to be globally competitive and socially responsible-no longer delay reforms in higher education. In fact, the global recession has become an opportune time for higher education in Asia, specifically developing countries in eastern (East and Southeast) Asia, to continue reforming governance and administration, access and equity, internal and external efficiency, and regional collaboration. Economic shocks have accelerated reforms in higher education, especially those for promoting innovation in their economies, though more is needed in improving governance and access for underserved populations. This paper examines the cases of China, Mongolia, and Vietnam as examples of how the global recession and regional integration are growing forces in shaping their higher education reform and development. The paper also identifies a series of measures for increasing the resilience of higher education systems in serving poor and vulnerable populations during economic recessions. Responses to the global economic recession by nations in eastern Asia are likely to improve the global shift in economy and human capital. © 2011 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

The Road to Academic Excellence : The Making of World-Class Research Universities

For middle-income and developing countries as well as some industrial nations a major challenge for building and sustaining successful research universities is determining the mechanisms that allow those universities to participate effectively in the global knowledge network on an equal basis with the top academic institutions in the world. These research universities provide advanced education for the academic profession, policy makers, and public and private sector professionals involved in the complex, globalized economies of the 21st century. In addition to their contribution to economic development, these universities play a key societal role by serving as cultural institutions, centers for social commentary and criticism, and intellectual hubs. The positive contribution of tertiary education is increasingly recognized as not limited to middle-income and advanced countries, because it applies equally to low-income economies. Tertiary education can help these countries to become more globally competitive by developing a skilled, productive, and flexible labor force and by creating, applying, and spreading new ideas and technologies. A recent study on how to accelerate economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa spells out the crucial contribution of tertiary education in supporting this endeavor (World Bank 2008). It observes that the key for success in a globalized world increasingly lies in how effectively a country can assimilate available knowledge and build comparative advantages in areas with higher growth prospects and how it can use technology to address the most pressing environmental challenges. The main chapters of this book are nine case studies that illustrate what it takes to establish and sustain research universities and help validate the analytical model outlined above, including the paths to building research excellence

Education Impact Study: The Global Recession and the Capacity of Colleges and Universities to Serve Vulnerable Populations in Asia

This paper reviews the capacity of colleges and universities to serve poor and vulnerable populations during past and present economic shocks. The main argument is that the environment of the global recession - an Asia far more economically integrated than during past economic shocks, with more unified aspirations to be globally competitive and socially responsible - need not delay reforms in higher education. In fact, the global recession is an opportune time for higher education in the Asia and Pacific region to continue reforming governance and administration, access and equity, internal and external efficiency, and regional collaboration. This paper proposes a series of measures to increase the resilience of higher education systems in serving poor and vulnerable populations during the economic recession. These measures include: (i) tuition assistance, subsidies, and loans; (ii) information and guidance for first-generation college students on choosing appropriate programs of study; (iii) community-based vocational and technical higher education that provides jobs in a rapidly changing labor market; (iv) innovative forms of cost sharing between public and private institutions of higher education; (v) resource decisions made on the basis of performance-based objectives; (vi) intensification of philanthropic culture that provides scholarships for poor students; (vii) upgrading of research about problems confronting poor communities; and (viii) regional strategies across the Asia and Pacific region for closer instructional program collaboration among colleges and universitie