Concept of an organizational model for multilateral academic cooperation : in the context of the development of a European higher education area

Abstract

Having sparse experience on the international level, higher education institutions (HEI) increasingly demand solutions for the „how to do“ of successful international activities. Current discussions on subjects such as „education as commodity“, „elite-institutions versus public universities“, and „national or international focusing“ demonstrate the need for definitions and frameworks for the HE internationalization process. Expert opinion on HE development leans towards international cooperation and cross-border bundling of competencies. It is assumed that HEI will cooperate with one another internationally, each institution forming many such bonds. In the coming years either existing bilateral contracts will be enlarged to include new projects, or new partnerships will be formed. Rising cooperation of HEI on international level and the building of “excellence clusters” in HE, as requested by politics, take an initiative and situational course without plot and scientific foundation. To consolidate the necessary international collaboration at a stable level, the establishment and use of international procedures for multilateral cooperation is necessary. This aspect of current development in the HE sector is the subject of this thesis. The central question of this thesis is the following: „What are the internal and external success factors influencing multilateral academic cooperation, and how should a framework for this kind of international cooperation be designed in order to facilitate for HEI the approach to multilateral academic cooperation?“. With this orientation, the thesis addresses decision-makers in the HE sector, players in HE development, and the international public interested in HE internationalization. The practical relevance of the thesis is visible in public discussions on HE development, the ongoing Bologna Process reforming the HE sector, and in the rise of HE research as a new field of research. A focus of the thesis is put on the necessity of structural changes between partner institutions and through this, on the development of new models for management and administration of international alliances. Necessity for restructuring of financial foundation of HEI is discussed as well, in order to reach uncoupling of financial support and authority in issue directives. Thus, the developed concept ensures increased creative power and self-determination of HEI and cooperative arrangements. Organizational theory and internationalization management are well known and discussed in literature and research, and organizational models for internationalization of companies are manifold. How HEI in Germany and in European countries are organized and how they are going to change in the future is defined to a large extent. The thesis contributes the missing link between these two aspects. It proposes how the organizational model of international HE cooperation could look like, in order to best deal with competitive international markets and to efficiently cooperate with international partners. The approach of this thesis, combining the findings of organizational theories and international management was chosen for two reasons. First of all, globalization of products and markets affects the educational sector in a fundamental way. Controversial discussion about societal and economic influence of this development concerns the HEI directly and needs to be taken into account when developing their new management systems. The pressure coming from globalizing educational markets forces management of HEI to constantly think about allocation of resources, distribution of competencies, and location questions. These practical reflections require theoretical models as a back-up to provide an indication as to how to deal with this changing situation and which enable adaptation and individual planning. Secondly, the new institutional economics and other economic theories reveal indications for international management problems that were not taken into account by HE management in the past. Cross-border economic activities can be analyzed by these economic theories in a very practically oriented way and, combined with approaches on internationalization, the organization economics offer new insights and solutions to a changing educational sector. In order to handle multilateral academic cooperation in a target-oriented manner and efficiently, and thus establish successful networks, HEI have to develop legal and organizational frameworks for such cooperation. Otherwise, networking in HE will always be hindered by legal and cultural barriers and development of trustful cooperation will remain impossible. The thesis deals with this problem and, starting from the current situation of research and practice, establishes a framework for multilateral academic cooperation. One concept is presented which is suitable and adaptable for all kinds of HEI and which encompasses major aspects of multilateral academic cooperation