scholarly journals Flexible Pathways for Modernisation of Undergraduate Engineering Programmes by Country-Adapted Implementation of the Practice- Integrated Dual Study Model in Bulgaria and Romania

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-74
Author(s):  
Evgenia Mahler ◽  
Galina Ilieva ◽  
Radu Breaz ◽  
Petar Georgiev
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Curriculum Adaptation ◽  
Smart Specialisation

AbstractThe paper addresses the need for more flexible routes for acquiring current industry-related skills necessary to boost and sustain innovation in the sectors identified by the national strategies of Smart Specialisation and regional innovation in Bulgaria and Romania. For this purpose, regular practical phases in enterprises were integrated in the ongoing engineering curricula to accelerate the update of knowledge traditionally provided by higher education institutions. The paper presents a summary of the feasibility study conducted to identify the transferability of a county-adapted model of dual higher education in Bulgaria and Romania. Consequently, the approaches of curriculum adaptation followed by the implementing universities in both countries are briefly described. Finally, the paper discusses the outcomes and provides an outlook for future development of the dual study model in Bulgaria and Romania.

scholarly journals Sustainability Leadership in Higher Education Institutions: An Overview of Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Leal Filho ◽  
João Henrique Paulino Pires Eustachio ◽  
Adriana Cristina Ferreira Caldana ◽  
Markus Will ◽  
Amanda Lange Salvia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Sustainable Procurement ◽  
Curriculum Adaptation ◽  
Sustainability Leadership

Sustainability leadership entails the processes, which leaders, policymakers, and academics undertake in order to implement sustainable development policies and other initiatives within their organizations. It encompasses approaches, methods, and systemic solutions to solve problems and drive institutional policy towards a more sustainable organization. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) play a particularly important role, especially with regard to their institutional leadership role in promoting sustainable development. There is a paucity of research focusing on sustainability leadership in universities. In order to address this gap, this paper discussed the concept of sustainability leadership based on literature and empirical insights. The study aimed to understand the main characteristics of sustainability leaders at HEI and the main challenges they are confronted with. Secondary research questions involved gender issues and positive outcomes of sustainability leadership. The empirical component of the study consisted of an online-questionnaire survey performed among leaders (n = 50) from a set of universities in 29 countries. The sampling scheme was purposive, based on the membership in the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Program (IUSDRP). The study was explorative in nature, and the descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. Due to the purposive sampling, the participants from top management positions could be considered as experienced, and their views were assumed to be information-rich. With a self-evaluation, the respondents described their leadership style and their usual traits, with inclusive style and systemic thinking being predominant in the sample. Regarding the skills, the respondents selected the ability to innovate, to think long-term, and to manage complexity from a pre-defined set of options. Connectedness with interdisciplinarity and knowledge about organizational settings, as well as global challenges and dilemmas, were stated as important issues related to the knowledge required for being a leader. Regarding requirements for a change towards more sustainable universities’ curriculum adaptation, investments in education for sustainable development (ESD), sustainable procurement, and reporting were mentioned. The study also revealed that gender issues were taken seriously among the sampled institutions, which is an encouraging trend. Challenges seen in implementing sustainability leadership are, for instance, a lack of interest by the university administration and among some members of the academic community, as well as lack of expertise and materials or resources. Based on the empirical insights, a set of measures were listed and which may be adopted in the future, so as to allow leaders of Higher Education Institutions to enhance their sustainability performance.

scholarly journals Regional development dynamics: University-industry collaboration strategiesBölgesel kalkınma dinamikleri: Üniversite-sanayi işbirliği stratejileri

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibel Aybarç
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
International Development ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
English Summary ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
University Industry

In today’s world, with the globalization process, the mission and functions of higher education instittutions have changed within the framework of new strategies and collaboration models. In this process, the potential of higher education institutions to increase local, regional, national and international development and competitiveness has become increasingly important, especially through innovation development capabilities. Within the framework of education, research and innovation missions, universities clarify their role especially in regional development by developing cooperation models with other actors. The most effective way of transferring the knowledge -that is produced in the academic field- to the production process is ensured university-industry collaboration. This collaboration provides both using the scarce resources rationally and constituting the driving force of national and regional development. Higher education institutions reflect the physical, political, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of region. Universities must respond to the opportunities offered in the regional context by developing research agendas that reflect these characteristic. As a result, universities are the focal point of the regional innovation system. In general, universities and their collaborations bring direct, indirect and stimulated effects on the region through research, education and public service functions. This study deals with the university-industry collaboration models and their effects on regional economy. Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetGünümüz dünyasında küreselleşme süreci ile birlikte yükseköğretim kurumlarının misyon ve işlevleri, yeni stratejiler ve işbirliği modelleri çerçevesinde değişim göstermiştir. Bu süreçte yükseköğretim kurumlarının özellikle inovasyon geliştirme yetenekleri aracılığıyla yerel, bölgesel, ulusal ve uluslararası kalkınma ve rekabet gücünü arttırma potansiyeli gittikçe önem kazanmıştır. Eğitim, araştırma ve inovasyon misyonları çerçevesinde üniversiteler, diğer aktörlerle işbirliği modelleri geliştirerek, özellikle bölgesel kalkınmadaki rolünü netleştirmektedir.      Akademik alanda üretilen bilgi birikiminin üretim sürecine aktarılmasının en etkin yolu, üniversite-sanayi işbirliğinin sağlanmasıdır. Söz konusu işbirliği, hem kıt kaynakların rasyonel kullanımını sağlamakta, hem de ulusal ve bölgesel kalkınmanın itici gücünü oluşturmaktadır. Yükseköğretim kurumları, bölgenin fiziki, siyasi, sosyo-ekonomik ve kültürel karakteristiklerini yansıtmaktadır. Üniversiteler, bu karakteristikleri yansıtan araştırma gündemlerini geliştirmek suretiyle bölgesel bağlamda sunulan imkanlara yanıt vermek ve bölgesel inovasyon sisteminin odak noktası olup, süreci tetiklemek durumundadır. Genel olarak ele alındığında üniversiteler (işbirlikleri), araştırma, eğitim ve topluma yönelik kamusal hizmet fonksiyonları aracılığıyla bölge bazında doğrudan, dolaylı ve uyarılmış etkiler meydana getirmektedir. Bu çalışmada, üniversite sanayi işbirliği modelleri ile bu oluşumların bölge ekonomisi üzerindeki etkileri incelenmektedir.

scholarly journals Higher Education Institutions as Knowledge Brokers in Smart Specialisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riikka Kangas ◽  
Timo Aarrevaara
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Smart Specialisation ◽  
Knowledge Brokers ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

The effectiveness of societal interaction has become a key aspect in evaluating the success of higher education institutions (HEIs) in performing their duties. These factors have been built into institutional funding models, and the funding of research follows a similar approach. External stakeholders are now having to share in undertaking some of the functions that will define higher education institutions’ external activities, societal interaction and impact on society. The European Union’s smart specialisation strategy is such a factor. This initiative allows higher education institutions to implement policies by building regional clusters. The counterparts of higher education institutions in these clusters of smart specialisation are knowledge-intensive enterprises, high-tech service providers, educational institutions, the Arctic Smartness Specialisation Platform and other centers of expertise for smart specialisation. In this paper, we have analysed the role of higher education institutions as knowledge brokers in smart specialisation though a qualitative analysis of 20 interviews conducted during the implementation of the smart specialisation project. Our findings show that the knowledge broker role can be promoted from four perspectives: the social dimension of networks; decision-making and control; cluster building; and exchange elements. The clarification and legitimation of the role of higher education institutions as knowledge brokers in these areas would give smart specialisation more impetus to reach its goals.

scholarly journals Study of Changing Role of Leading Universities in the National Innovation Ecosystem during Transition to the University 4.0 Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-266
Author(s):  
T. G. Maximova ◽  
E. L. Bogdanova ◽  
G. M. Brovka
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The State ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
Regional Innovation ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
The University

The paper is devoted to identifying patterns of activity of Russian universities in the national innovation ecosystem. Decisions on the development of innovative activity, effective commercialization and implementation of scientific developments are substantiated in strategic documents of state development. In fact the level of innovative security of a country, the state of protection of national interests of the state from internal and external threats arising from the conditions of innovative development, depends to a large extent on the success of the implementation of scientific and development projects. The leading higher education institutions are entrusted with the task of becoming centers of regional innovation ecosystems, transforming universities into active participants of socio-economic and innovative development. Official statistics on national research universities of the Russian Federation have been used in order to identify patterns of the activity of higher education institutions in this area. An analysis of the changes in the analyzed indicators has made it possible to single out universities that implement the most promising models of scientific activity management in terms of world experience. These are primarily universities for which there is a positive relative increase in indicators of total R&D, the share of extra-budgetary funds in university income from R&D, and the share of income from R&D in total income. It has been established that the current stage of development of universities is characterized by the presence of both competitive advantages and challenges that form the features of their modernization. The response to the challenges should be the creation of a business model of the University 4.0 activity which includes new technologies, products and services that are in demand in the country.

Modes of University Governance

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoguang Shi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Power Structure ◽  
University Governance ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
General Picture ◽  
Conventional Paradigm ◽  
Discussion Topic

Issues of university governance, at both international and national levels have become a popular discussion topic in the last few decades. The paper presents a general picture of modes of university governance in China’s public higher education institutions. The paper also focuses on discussing the China way of shifting the modes from conventional paradigm to emerging paradigm in terms of power structure, roles and duties, challenges and reality and future development.

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