Global models for the national research university: adoption and adaptation in Indonesia and Malaysia

Abstract

This paper analyses the way in which global university models are adopted in research universities in Indonesia and Malaysia. It first provides the global context in which these models have evolved and the processes through which they spread. How these global models interact with local policies and institutions is the topic of the empirical part of the paper. Even though the global discourse is apparent and similar in different countries, local adoption is path dependent and embedded in wider structures. This might result in dissonance and discrepancy in the implementation phase, an outcome which is inevitable, but not necessarily harmful.