Abstract
China is widely recognized as a significant scientific partner for Western universities. Given that many Western universities are now operating in the Chinese context, this study investigates the everyday conversations in which international partnerships are collaboratively developed and implemented. In particular, it draws attention to the interpretations of the meanings attached to silence in these conversations, and how these can have unintended consequences for how these joint partnerships are accomplished. The findings come from an ethnographic case study that investigated collaboration within the context of setting up a Sino-Dutch research centre between the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and South China University of Technology (SCUT) as experienced by Dutch researchers in their interaction with their Chinese partners. The findings reveal that the Dutch researchers attached meaning to what was not said by the Chinese, interpreting it as lack of communication, resulting in judgements, uncontested trusts, and distancing that negatively influenced the achievement of common goals. Finally, the relevance of the findings is discussed for those managing communication in international academic partnerships.
Highlights
Over the last decade, China has become a global leader in science and technology (Klotzbücher, 2014; Resnik & Zeng, 2011)
The findings come from an ethnographic case study that investigated collaboration within the context of setting up a Sino-Dutch research centre between the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and South China University of Technology (SCUT) as experienced by Dutch researchers in their interaction with their Chinese partners
The findings reveal that the Dutch researchers attached meaning to what was not said by the Chinese, interpreting it as lack of communication, resulting in judgements, uncontested trusts, and distancing that negatively influenced the achievement of common goals
Summary
China has become a global leader in science and technology (Klotzbücher, 2014; Resnik & Zeng, 2011). Many European and US universities recognize China as an important academic partner and are encouraging various kinds of institutional collaboration with the country (Ennew & Fujia, 2009; Klotzbücher, 2014) These institutional partnerships generally take the form of joint research projects, collaborative research networks, branch campuses, or other kinds of large-scale projects, often under socially relevant themes such as healthcare, sustainable cities, and life sciences (Bruijn, Adriaans, Hooymans, Klasen, & Morley, 2012). Such partnerships offer opportunities to generate new research funding (Bound et al, 2013), access research facilities, attract potential PhD candidates and students, and gain a better international competitive position. Eye-catching examples of far-reaching collaboration are the opening of the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China, and Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University (Ennew & Fujia, 2009)
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