scholarly journals On the ‘Innovative University’. A few Challenging Reflections

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. S114-S123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan De Groof

‘Progress is shaped by the ability to question, to criticize and to enquire. Ensuring progress is one of the responsibilities of Academia’. Could there be any future for non-conformist, heterodox, non-marketable knowledge, next to transforming truth value into the market truth value of knowledge, as was the tendency over the last decades? And what will be its impact upon criteria of excellence? The enjoyment of academic freedom requires the autonomy of the university. European countries have witnessed exciting developments in achieving a common space of convergence in higher education and research. But to encourage creativity there is definitely a need for more differentiation among universities, rather than uniformity. Autonomy is that degree of self-governance necessary for effective decision-making by universities in relation to their academic profile, work and standards. However, self-governance must be consistent with systems of public accountability. Universities must show that they are responding to the needs of society and they must perform according to standards of excellence and creativity in teaching and research. However, the balance, if there is any, has to be questioned. Should a shift of the role of the State be envisaged and should different types of governance be developed in order to counter the statement that academic freedom of higher education staff has decreased? Does a new relationship between government and university require the establishment of a modest set of ‘principles of good governance’ to reduce the overdetailed university regulations? And how to ensure that the search for creativity will also strengthen academic integrity? These questions are decisive for the future mission of the University.

Author(s):  
Holden Thorp ◽  
Buck Goldstein

The role of faculty forms the heart of the university in terms of its scholarship, patient care, and teaching. It is important that the university and the faculty rededicate themselves to outstanding teaching; the erosion of teaching by tenured faculty is contributing to the strain in the relationship with the public. Tenure, academic freedom, and shared governance are all indispensable concepts in the functioning of a great university that are mysterious to those outside the academy. Communicating the importance of these concepts is a critical need for higher education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annina Lattu ◽  
Yuzhuo Cai

Universities are increasingly engaged in marketization and are also expected to transform into more sustainable institutions and be change-agents pushing forward the movement of sustainable development. This article introduces an analytical framework originated by Hahn et al. (2015) for understanding tensions concerning corporate sustainability to the context of the Finnish university system in order to answer the following questions: What are the tensions relating to Finnish universities’ social and economic sustainability, and what strategies might universities use to cope with these tensions? Through analyzing interviews with university managers and officials from the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland, we find that Hahn et al.’s framework is generally applicable in analyzing tensions of sustainability in universities, and we identify six tensions relating to the sustainability of Finnish universities. The tensions are related to (1) academic leadership and management legitimacy, (2) regional political tensions and university profiling, (3) political power over the university system, (4) changing academic work and profession, (5) academic autonomy and the role of the state, and (6) the future role of the university institution. Moreover, the article discusses issues regarding how to adapt the framework of corporate sustainability to the context of higher education.


Author(s):  
Manoj K. Sharma ◽  
Manpreet Kaur

<em>Knowledge management is the process of retrieving, protecting, using and managing the available knowledge. It has gained huge importance in the Business world especially in the corporate sector. It is recognized tool for the effective decision making and attaining competitive advantage. As the educational institutions hold the prime responsibility of effective creation and successful dissemination of the knowledge, it is viewed that the knowledge management practices have greater application to the educational institutions. The objective of the paper is to understand the process, application and role of knowledge management in educational institutions. The paper tries to explore the review of literature on the knowledge management in general and its application to institutes of higher education in particular. </em>


Author(s):  
Dascha Düring

Chinese and Western universities can only be expected to collaborate in a mutually enriching manner when there exists a shared understanding of the nature and role of the university itself. This chapter aims to contribute to our grasp on the normative dimension to the question of how the university is regarded in the Chinese and Western hemispheres by analyzing Confucian and Kantian views on the role of the scholar in society. Both philosophical traditions consider speaking truth to power to be one of the central tasks of the scholar—not necessarily because those yielding political power are wrong, but because they are human, and so should be counterbalanced by the scholarly community in order to safeguard the hermeneutic openness of the intellectual climate within society. And both thus stress that any viable view on the university nature and role must endorse an unconditional respect for academic freedom in research and higher education.


2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
Kazuyuki Hashimoto ◽  
Mirian Hideco Takahashi

This study evaluated the profile of patients submitted to gastroplasty in the University Hospital of Maringá during 2008-2009. Clinical charts were analyzed to obtain clinical and laboratory data of all patients with morbid obesity submitted to gastroplasty. During the study period, 28 surgeries were performed, 57% of the patients lived in Maringá, 82% female, 40 years average age, with mean body mass index (BMI) of 46.7kg m-2. It was verified that 39% of the patients maintained an usual non-hypocaloric diet, 25% had quoted dietary reeducation, 36% were sedentary, and 29% practiced some physical activity, and remaining 1/3 of patients presented no data about lifestyle. Regarding associated pathologies, 79% were hypertensive, and 71% of patients presented fasting glucose above 100 mg dL-1, but only 12 of them had diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The hospital stay length was 4 days for 89% of the patients, and 11% had surgery complications. In this group of subjects, there was a clear preponderance of females and high prevalence of other pathologies. Identifying the profile of obese patients contributes to more effective decision-making and emphasizes the crucial role of multidisciplinary approach to health promotion and prevention of early and late complications of morbid obesity and gastroplasty.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-84
Author(s):  
Barry E. Hogan ◽  
Lane D Trotter

There has been substantial discussion, research, and debate about the role of academic freedom within higher education, primarily centered on the university model. Not as well documented or understood is the issue of academic freedom within colleges and institutes in Canada. In this paper, we examine the current state of academic freedom in colleges and institutes using a historical analysis of two Canadian provinces, British Columbia and Ontario. Beginning with an overview of academic freedom within universities, we then examine the development and evolution of colleges and institutes and discuss how or if academic freedom applies to them. We consider issues of collegiality, faculty engagement, and governance as they impact the concept and practice of academic freedom within these institutions. We also discuss the different origins, intents, roles, and governance models of universities in contrast to colleges and institutes, which are generally representative of the broader Canadian higher education landscape.  


Author(s):  
K. E. Stupak ◽  

The article deals with analyzing the main streams of the education policy in Finland, which reflect the relationship between a person and society in modern socio–economic conditions. Such policy directs the system of education to change the person and his mind himself. Finland using its education system, has long before been concerned about preparing people for the future by reforming approaches to teaching in schools and higher education institutions. As a result, it has achieved world–wide recognition and top positions in various ratings have resulted. Therefore, today there is a great interest of scientists in certain issues of education functioning in Finland. Thus, G. Androshchuk, V. Butova. I. Zhernokleeva, T. Pushkareva and others study in their works the purpose and decisive role of Finland's education policy in the development of the education system. S. Grinyuk and V. Zagvozdkin pay attention to the practical the steps of reforming the Finnish system of education. T. Drobyshevsk investigates the system of providing educational services in Finland as a sector of knowledge production. L. Volynets, P. Kukharchuk consider the principles of the state education policy of Finland. L. Smolskaya examines the role of the state policy in implementing the "Finnish phenomenon"; P. Basyliuk and Yu. Kulykova, focus attention on the study of the evolution of the system of higher education in Finland; O. Scherbak reveals peculiarities of vocational education and training.


Author(s):  
András Sajó ◽  
Renáta Uitz

This chapter examines the relationship between parliamentarism and the legislative branch. It explores the evolution of the legislative branch, leading to disillusionment with the rationalized law-making factory, a venture run by political parties beyond the reach of constitutional rules. The rise of democratically bred party rule is positioned between the forces favouring free debate versus effective decision-making in the legislature. The chapter analyses the institutional make-up and internal operations of the legislature, the role of the opposition in the legislative assembly, and explores the benefits of bicameralism for boosting the powers of the legislative branch. Finally, it looks at the law-making process and its outsourcing via delegating legislative powers to the executive.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6724
Author(s):  
Lien Thi Kim Nguyen ◽  
Tom Meng-Yen Lin ◽  
Hoang Phuong Lam

This study examines the role of student co-creation behavior in contributing to student satisfaction, perceived university image, and student positive word of mouth (WOM). Using a sample of 513 students from a Taiwanese university and conducting partial least squares structural equation modeling, the findings indicate that co-creating value is critical to student satisfaction, university image, and positive WOM. The results also show the effect of student satisfaction and university image on student positive WOM. This study confirms the pivotal role of student participation in co-creating value in enhancing satisfaction with the university experience, creating and sustaining a positive image, and building the credibility of the university. This research is particularly important to higher education institutions because it has practical implications for decision-makers, brand managers, and HE marketers who wish to improve understanding of the relationship between the university and students in the process of co-creating value and its outcomes.


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