International Academic Collaboration Research Articles

Market entry dynamic framework for higher education internationalisation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine higher education (HE) internationalisation in terms of international recruitment and academic collaboration, with a focus on market entry strategies and programme delivery methods, and to define an education‐specific dynamic framework.Design/methodology/approach – A single university was chosen as the case study and 20 interviewees participated in this qualitative research. Content analysis, critical discourse analysis and categorisation of meaning are adopted as data analysis strategies.Findings – The dynamic framework is constructed based on the analysis of both commercial internationalisation and HE internationalisation. It presents the relationship between these two areas, and creates an education‐specific pattern of HE internationalisation, including modes of entry, programme delivery methods and potential areas of further development.Research limitations/implications – The dynamic framework contributes to rich understanding of internationa...

Perceptions of German Prison Officials While Visiting American Correctional Facilities

In June 2007, a group of 15 prison psychologists, social workers, wardens, and correctional administrators from across Germany visited the northeast United States for the purpose of conducting tours of various kinds of correctional facilities. The trip was organized through a collaborative effort from the authors over a period of 2 years. This article describes the correctional facilities visited and observations made by the Germans during their correctional facility tours and will focus on the similarities and differences between the German and American correctional systems. The article clearly reflects how international academic collaborations can provide a variety of benefits for those willing to physically venture beyond boarders.

Colaboración Académica Internacional en Tecnologías de la Información y Docencia Virtual

The founding and development of an international academic collaboration program on information technology and virtual teaching between the University of La Serena in Chile and the University of Vigo in Spain is described and analyzed. The project is financed by the International Development Cooperation Spanish Agency (AECID) within the Interuniversity Cooperation Program between Spain and Ibero America. The project, aimed to improve engineering teaching, is being developed under a general collaboration agreement signed by both universities and that has been active for some years. The tasks done until now are discussed, but most important is that such tasks are analyzed with a long term perspective. The steps that will follow in this project are also defined and the importance of these actions in the formation of the engineers of the XXI century is highlighted.

To VoIP or not to VoIP, is this really the question now?

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) based telephony has been around for few years, but it is only owing to the widespread availability of broadband access, presence of multitude of VoIP service providers and the appearance of inexpensive VoIP gateway adapters that this technology became interesting for the mainstream academic users, especially those coming from the poorer, developing or transitional countries where a lack of competition on the telephony markets invariably leads to inflated call rates. The example of our medical school demonstrates that with the installation of only one VoIP gateway unit, a significant decrease in the cost of long distance telephony can be achieved, fostering in the process international academic communication and research collaboration with health professionals from around the world.

Comparative physiology in China 1984–2007

We briefly summarize the history of the rise of comparative physiology in China, the research work focused on by domestic and international counterparts in the field of comparative physiology of China, and international academic exchange and collaboration during this period. We also introduce some of the interesting model systems used in past and current research. This paper is based on documents in historical materials such as the proceedings of the 1st (August 1988) to 6th (October, 2007) Comparative Physiology Academic Session of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences, collected physiological works in commemoration academic papers of the 70th (1926–1999) and 80th anniversary of the Chinese Association for Physiological Sciences (1926–2006), CBP and the Physiology History of China, and the authors' own research experience.

Knowledge transfer in international educational collaboration programme

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the literature of international development strategy of high education and examine what is happening currently in terms of education collaboration between the UK and China and attempt to address various challenges in capacity building through knowledge transfer.Design/methodology/approachTheoretical analysis supported by observation and interviews.FindingsThe study has identified that there are a certain number of elements, which are crucial to the success of international educational collaboration, of which, the appropriateness and effectiveness of knowledge transfer/knowledge sharing is vital to the capacity building of higher educational institutions. The study examines on‐going Sino‐British education collaboration programme and fuelled the debate concerning knowledge transfer/knowledge sharing in high education between the developed and developing countries.Originality/valueBased on a comprehensive examination and analysis of the process of knowledge transfer/knowledge sharing in a Sino‐British educational collaboration programme, this study emphasizes the significance of incorporating both cultural and organisational factors that play a role in the whole process. This paper describes the process of knowledge transfer between foreign and Chinese faculties when they work together on academic collaboration project in China. Furthermore, the paper addresses the appropriateness and effectiveness of knowledge transfer/knowledge sharing during the implementation of the international academic collaboration programme.

Considering Diversity: Multivoicedness in International Academic Collaboration

International collaboration projects in academic work can be considered boundary-crossing projects with learning potential. Contrary to perceiving diversity as a barrier for understanding, we depart from dialogical arguments in perceiving ambiguity and diversity as continuous resources for meaning enrichment. Here, we report a study of an international academic project to gain more insight into how this resource is exploited. Using Bakhtin’s theory, negotiation processes are analysed and explained by distinguishing voices stemming from different socio-cultural backgrounds. Project members did not explore fully the voices being expressed in their negotiation processes and therefore did not come to face their differences. We conclude that diversity should neither be seen as an obstacle for understanding, nor be presupposed as a resource for meaning generation. Rather, diversity should be actively worked on by group members in collaboration, starting by perceiving each other as real ‘others’ and receiving arguments initially as not understood.

International Master's Program in health technology assessment and management: Assessment of the first edition (2001–2003)

Despite a clear call for greater input from health technology assessment (HTA) in the areas of clinical practice and policy making, there are currently very few formal training programs. The objectives of our Consortium were to (i) develop a master's level program in HTA, (ii) test its content with a group of Canadian and European students, and (iii) evaluate the Program's strengths and weaknesses. This study presents the results of our evaluation of the first edition of the Master's Program (2001--2003). The evaluation relied on (i) a self-administered student questionnaire for each course (n = 142), (ii) interviews with students (n = 10), and (iii) interviews with internship supervisors (n = 5). A vast majority of students were satisfied with the course content and particularly appreciated the exercises and materials presented in an intensive format. However, they needed more systematic feedback from faculty members and recommended increasing the methodology content. The six key characteristics of the program are (i) flexible format adapted to the needs of skilled professionals, (ii) continuous interaction between HTA users and producers, (iii) international academic and professional collaboration, (iv) partnership with HTA agencies, (v) global approach to evidence-based methods and practices, and (vi) multidisciplinary approach. Despite the numerous organizational barriers inherent to creating an international program and several areas for improvement in the Program itself, the Ulysses Project was successful in attaining its objectives. Because there is a growing need for human resources with special training in HTA, further efforts need to be devoted to strengthening the international research capacity in HTA.