Dynamics of higher education research collaboration and regional integration in Northeast Asia: a study of the A3 Foresight Program

Christopher D Hammond

doi:10.1007/s10734-019-00363-x

Abstract

This study investigated scientific research collaborations among universities in Northeast Asia and sought to conceptualize how they might influence, and be influenced by, broader processes of regional integration in economic, political, and societal arenas. To investigate these dynamics, a program for regional collaboration initiated jointly by the governments of China, Japan, and South Korea was taken as a case study. Co-authored publication outputs, annual project reports, and interviews with program participants at Japanese universities were analyzed using selected theories from the field of International Relations. The interviews explored the ideas researchers had about the potential for the indirect effects of collaborations to spill over into other arenas, and the barriers faced which impeded regional cooperation. The findings suggest that while a number of barriers exist, the program has contributed to ongoing knowledge production and regional collaboration, societal integration, and the cultivation of a generation of regionally-networked young researchers.

Highlights

For the past two centuries, the majority of the contributions to knowledge in science and technology (S&T) have come from the West, with the USA assuming the leadership role for much of the twentieth century
Higher Education (2019) 78:653–668 substantial investment being provided to universities to improve both the quality and quantity of research-based knowledge outputs, higher education institutions (HEIs) in Northeast Asia1 are playing an important role in this global shift
A Btop-down^ program for regional collaboration initiated by the governments of China, Japan, and Korea (CJK) is taken as a case study, and a range of data are analyzed with the aim of uncovering the dynamics between Higher education (HE) cross-border collaborative research and broader processes of regional integration and cooperation in Northeast Asia

Summary

Introduction

For the past two centuries, the majority of the contributions to knowledge in science and technology (S&T) have come from the West, with the USA assuming the leadership role for much of the twentieth century. In addition to the rise in knowledge production, the Asian region has seen a dramatic increase in regional cross-border collaborative research. This paper will look at developments in regional collaboration from the perspective of Japan, and place emerging trends and the ideas of actors at Japanese HEIs into the broader context of Northeast Asian international relations. A Btop-down^ program for regional collaboration initiated by the governments of China, Japan, and Korea (CJK) is taken as a case study, and a range of data are analyzed with the aim of uncovering the dynamics between HE cross-border collaborative research and broader processes of regional integration and cooperation in Northeast Asia. The paper first introduces the global and regional higher education contexts in which the growth of cross-border research collaboration is taking place

Objectives

Results

Conclusion