International Academic Cooperation Research Articles

International Cooperation through Academic Projects: Are There Any Future Prospects?

Today, international academic cooperation of universities is going through a tough period due to political and economic challenges. The authors consider the main causes of this and show how the situation could be improved through the development of local academic programs, such as LEADER Project. This joint educational project, focused on entrepreneurship and management skills, is arranged by Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario (Canada). The program has 11 years of positive experience at Baikal State University in Irkutsk and it has proved to be successful and viable. The article provides analysis of the projects strengths and the main components of its success. Attention is also drawn to the specific features and potential advantages of using the case method as a modern teaching procedure, as well as to the innovative format of the project and its mutually beneficial character. The authors analyze the results of a feedback survey of the participants and instructors in order to find out their takeaways from the project, its possible drawbacks and future development prospects. The key conclusions refer to the importance of retaining international academic contacts.

3I index: A new method to examine the competitiveness of countries’ international publication productivity

This study proposes a new method called the 3I index to examine the competitiveness of countries’ international publication productivity with indicators in three dimensions: International participation, International impact, and International leadership. Using the data (1996–2014) from the Scopus database in the communication field, we rank each country by its competitiveness score. The results reveal a polarized structure of competitiveness among all countries: The United States occupies the leading position with the highest score, Western European countries are in dominant positions with high scores, and marginalized countries (mostly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America) have lower levels of competitiveness. However, emerging countries, particularly Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), recently have achieved great progress in international participations and impacts, that are expected to change the imbalance in international competitiveness in the near future. The regression analysis suggests that countries’ economic growth status (Gross Domestic Product) and human resources (total population) have significant impacts on the competitiveness of their international publication productivity. Finally, the authors suggest that both BRICS and developed countries should increase their governments' supports to help third-world countries participate international academic cooperation.

Design, Development and Evaluation of Academic Oral English Curriculum Reform

The postgraduate students’ oral English proficiency has long been considered to be unsatisfactory in tailoring ever-increasing global engagement and international academic cooperation. Numerous Chinese universities are currently undergoing English curriculum reform for enhancing postgraduate students’ pragmatic communicative capacity especially in involving in global professional interaction and articulating at international academic settings. To assess the effect of the curriculum innovation, a 670-postgraduate-student questionnaire was surveyed at Southeast University to evaluate its pilot reform encompassing teaching, learning and assessment, namely, “Collaborative Teaching Mode and Interactive Learning Model”, “Major-related Teaching Content” and “Formative Assessment System Integrated in Summative Assessment System”. The data showcases that the teaching content merged by Simulated International Conference on major-relevant themes has been popularly acknowledged by students. The Sino-foreign collaborative teaching mode and multiple interactive learning model have proven to boost students’ enthusiasm and confidence in improving oral English proficiency. The formative assessment system can significantly propel teamwork spirit and arouse students’ earnest to practice oral English. The research provides viable modes for oral English curriculum reform in Chinese tertiary educational institutions.

Foreign students in cross-cultural space of the University

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the problems of international academic cooperation Asia-Pacific countries and Russia. The dynamics of statistical analyses charting the inflow of foreign students to universities involved examining the leaders of Russia and the Far East according to the “5–100” project to increase competitiveness among leading Russian universities at leading research and educational centers. We describe the main characteristics of the concept of student exchange, the main problems and difficulties faced by foreign students in the learning process in a multicultural educational space of the host institution. A historical summary is undertaken regarding the understanding of researchers of different scientific orientations of the definitions of “intercultural communication”, “language barriers” and their classification. Recommendations in order to avoid language barriers in a multicultural environment of the University are offered. Refs. 25. Figs 4. Tables 2.

The Role of English in International Publishing

This article reflects on the evolution of the English language as a common global communications medium for science and for academic writing. The shared use of a common language in academic publishing speeds up the exchange of ideas and more rapidly brings new work and insights to a global professional audience. In turn, this advances the reputation of researchers, authors, universities and national institutions. All languages and writing systems (scripts or alphabets) evolve over time. English is a European language which has evolved in the Roman alphabet over 1500 years into its recognisable modern form. For reasons which seem to be founded primarily in its relatively simple grammatical structure, alphabet and fault tolerance, English has evolved into the language of choice for international communication, between peoples with a wide variety of mother tongues and writing scripts. Its utility has advanced rapidly with digital technology and the Internet. Russian researchers, authors, institutions and publishers who wish to secure international recognition for their work should consider co-publication in English, as it is then more likely to be read, quoted, cited and re-broadcast to a global audience. Greater transparency of academic output across the major international citation systems in this common language may in turn be a major stimulus to raising global academic standards, and to greater international academic cooperation.

The academic mobility of Lithuanian students: trends, experiences and challenges

The international academic cooperation between higher education institutions and the encouragement of academic mobility have become one of the priorities of Lithuania’s higher education policy, consistently with the European Bologna process and the Lithuania Progress Strategy 2030 approved by Lithuanian Government in 2012. Lithuanian higher education institutions encounter the challenge to promote student mobility with the aim to develop students’ cultural awareness, transferable competences and, most importantly, to strengthen students’ employability. The student mobility strategies, accordingly, have to emphasize the study quality as defined in the document Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. As the official statistical data reveals quite steady growth in outgoing student numbers in Lithuania, the mobility rate is still insufficient. The paper aims to explore the empirical findings on the experiences of outgoing students with the focus on their intentions for educational mobility, their expectations, and the factors influencing their satisfaction with study quality. Methods: statistical analysis, descriptive and factor analysis using SPSS 19.0 version. The empirical findings highlighted that the majority of respondents are satisfied with their academic mobility in foreign countries. Teaching quality, career prospects, increased employability possibilities, learning – oriented environment and the organization of study process were listed as the main elements that effect students’ satisfaction on studies and internship. The analysis of statistical data and empirical study results implied the discussion on the challenges for Lithuanian higher education for promoting high quality student mobility. Keywords: mobility ; academic mobility ; students ; higher education institutions ; Lithuania.

Central America: The Value of International Academic Cooperation

This article reviews the state of scientific research and development in Central America and emphasizes the contribution of international academic cooperation. Challenges to developing scientific and technological capacity in the region include educational quality and completion rates, inadequate research funding, minimal institutionalization and language barriers. Certain collaborative cross-border university- and research institute-led initiatives are beginning to counter these obstacles and produce significant results. These programs offer hopeful models for Central America and other developing regions.

International Higher Education Cooperation in Hospitality, Tourism and Food Studies: An Experience Conducted by the Taylor’s Toulouse University Center in Malaysia

AbstractThis paper narrates the story of the international university cooperation between a French state university, University Toulouse - Jean Jaurès and more precisely, the Higher Institute of Tourism, Hospitality and Food Studies (ISTHIA) and a private university, namely Taylor’s University and more precisely, theSchool of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Artslocated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We first describe the five stages in the development of the partnership from 1986 to date with a focus on the major evolutions in both institutions and then review the current activities (joint degrees, research, exchange programs and continuing education) conducted under the aegis of the Taylor’s Toulouse University Center since 2009. We outline the paradigms underlying the design of such an international academic cooperation by using this experience as a reference. Lastly, we suggest socio-anthropological models of collective initiatives to describe and account for the rationale of action by the two partners. This paper encapsulates the nature of international academic cooperation and offers food for thought to envisage other cooperation schemes in different cultural environments.

Water Doctoral Network of Engineering and Management

The lack of highly qualified labour force in the Vietnamese water and environmental sector as well as the problems in the mutual admission of doctoral students between German and Vietnamese Universities have motivated the Institute of Environmental Engineering and Management (IEEM) at the University of Witten/Herdecke to initiate the Water Doctoral Network (WDN). This network shall not be limited to tuition and conferral of doctorates in water sciences, engineering and economics, but serve as nursery for new, innovative research potentials and projects within the international academic co-operation. Applied learning and research, rather than basic research and pure science, are the main focuses of this project.
 Sự thiếu hụt lực lượng lao động chất lượng cao trong lĩnh vực nước và môi trường ở Việt Nam cũng như các vấn đề trong việc tiếp nhận nghiên cứu sinh tiến sỹ giữa các trường Đại học củaĐức và Việt Nam đã tạo động lực để Viện Kỹ thuật và Quản lý Môi trường (IEEM) của trường Đại học Witten/Herdecke đề xuấtmạng lưới đào tạo Tiến sỹ nghiên cứu về ngành nước (WDN). Mạng lưới này không chỉ giới hạn ở việc giảng dạy và cấp bằng tiến sĩ trong lĩnh khoa học, kinh tế và kỹ thuật về ngành nước, mà nó như là vườn ươm đối với các dự án và tiềm năng nghiên cứu sáng tạo mới trong hợp tác hàn lâm quốc tế. Học tập và nghiên cứu ứng dụng thực tế là các trọng tâm chính của dự án này chứ không đơn thuần là nghiên cứu cơ bản và khoa học thuần túy.

Russia as an irritant factor for the political elite of the Baltics in the context of election campaigns of 2010—2011: an expert perspective

In the late 2010 — early 2011 a number of important electoral events took place in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. On October 2, 2010 Latvia held the elections to the Sejm, on February 27, 2011 the elections to local selfgovernment of Lithuania were completed, on March 7, 2011 Estonia finished the elections of deputies of the Parliament. Each electoral campaign deserved separate discussion panel in I. Kant Baltic Federal University with the participation of leading political scientists, historians, public and governmental figures from these countries. «Round table» discussions and further review provide valuable empirical data to analyze the current agenda among the experts of the Baltic States. A special interest is drawn to political assessment of the Russian presence as a factor of electoral activities of political elites in the Baltic countries. The general framework for the international expert discussions was set by A. Klemeshev, Rector of BFU, who denoted the timely relevance of country studies for Russia and the urgent necessity for Kaliningrad to open a research center to the study of the Baltic States. Strengthening of the international academic cooperation should become an important step for better understanding the specifics of development of the former Baltic republics. Elections for the Seim of Latvia actualized in political science the question of the grounds of the existing political system. A view that the political system in Latvia was based to a considerable, if not a major extent

International academic cooperation on international relations in the interwar period: the International Studies Conference

AbstractBased on considerable archival research in Switzerland and France, this article considers the creation of specialised institutions and centres for scientific research, discussion and information on international questions after the First World War. It analyses the origins and development of the International Studies Conference from 1928 until 1946, and it pays particular attention to the institutional setting provided by the ISC. With the help of an international questionnaire of the League of Nations from the early 1930s the article also discusses the university teaching of IR in the US, Great Britain and on the European continent in the interwar period, and it looks at some of the institutional settings, especially academic institutions (departments, chairs, schools and so on), that were available at the time.

Ceremony in Context: The Edinburgh University Tercentenary, 1884

Edinburgh introduced Britain to the university centenary, an established form of celebration in continental Europe. The ceremonies in 1884 can be seen in the framework of the late nineteenth-century ‘invention of tradition’. Such events usually asserted the links of the university with national and local communities and with the state. The Edinburgh celebrations marked the opening of a new medical school, after a public appeal which itself strengthened relations with graduates and wealthy donors. The city council, local professional bodies, and the student community all played a prominent part in the events of 1884, which were a significant episode in the development of student representation. Analysis of the speeches given on the occasion suggests that the university sought to promote the image of a great medical and scientific university, with the emphasis on teaching and professional training rather than research, for the ideal of the ‘Humboldtian’ research university was still a novelty in Britain. Tercentenary rhetoric also expressed such themes as international academic cooperation , embodied in the presence of leading scientists and scholars, the harmony of religion and science, and a liberal protestant view of the rise of freedom of thought. The tercentenary coincided with impending legislation on Scottish universities, which encouraged assertions of the public character of these institutions, and of the nation's distinct cultural identity. One striking aspect, however, was the absence of women from the formal proceedings, and failure to acknowledge the then current issue of women's admission to higher education.

Who killed the International Studies Conference?

This article considers the rise and fall of the first institution of international academic cooperation on international relations, the International Studies Conference (ISC), which was established in 1928 and continued activities into the 1950s. Its formation preceded by decades the present ISA as well as the international organisation of political scientists. The demise of the ISC was a result of the failings of the ISC itself, the influence of UNESCO especially its Department of Social Sciences, and the challenge posed to the ISC by the formation of the International Political Science Association.

The Contribution of International Academic Co-operation and Exchange to the Development and Advancement of Society

The author discusses the role of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the ongoing effort to internationalize German higher education. This organization endeavours to bring a substantial number of international students and academics to Germany and to enable German students and academics to study, do research, and teach abroad. Germany is a strong partner in the ongoing Bologna Process. German universities have introduced Bachelor's and Master's degree-level course programmes and are restructuring their doctoral programmes. They are forming networks with foreign universities all over the world. DAAD spends more than €60 million a year in support of structural changes in German universities leading to increased internationalization.

International and Regional Academic Co-operation in Ameliorating and Managing Regional Conflicts

In the contemporary Mankind's world, however still troublesome, global and regional international cultural activities are generally regarded as contributing considerably to: mutual understanding and co-operation; conflict amelioration and management; and peace ultimately. Academic co-operation is one of such cultural activities, and it mat well be the one that provides incentives along these lines on more sound basis. Faced with along lasting crisis in the Southeast Europe a supplemental way is suggested for opening the roads to regional conflict management and hopefully resolution via cross-boundary academic co-operation. It is based mainly on the experience of Skopje ASE-FEE Institute. Several historical and applied system analysis considerations are explored along with a descriptive discussion of activities carried out until today attempting to implement the proposed way.

Strengthen international academic cooperation and exchanges: prospects in the 21st century: Summary of the First World Chinese Congress of Digestion

Strengthen international academic cooperation and exchanges: prospects in the 21st century: Summary of the First World Chinese Congress of Digestion

University Co-operation and Academic Recognition in Europe: The Council of Europe and the Communities

The unwary reader, confronted with this text, might make the forgivable mistake of thinking that this quote was lifted from some policy document orginating in one branch or another of the European Communities. That conclusion would probably be forgone if the reader's glance were next caught by a passage referring to 'The planned introduction in university courses of a European credit transfer system ...'. Wasn't there something on a European credit transfer system in the so far ill-starred proposal for the EC ERASMUS scheme for increasing student mobility? So there was. However, as every knowledgeable reader of the European ournal of Education will have surmised, these quotations do not originate in the European Communities but can in fact be found in the Activities Programme of the Council of Europe for the year 1986. The purpose of the present article is an attempt to present an overview of the means employed by the EC and by the Council of Europe in the field of academic mobility and recognition of qualifications and diplomas intended to achieve the goals as defined in the Activities Programme. Juxtaposing developments and initiatives supported by the EC and the Council of Europe may illustrate a seemingly increasing divergence between the opportunities available to institutions, staff and students in higher education in the countries within and without the European Communities. If developments occur in the direction of a growing disparity in the degree of involvement of European countries in their efforts towards international academic cooperation, undesirable effects on the pattern of European student and staff mobility could result. A somewhat Cassandra-like statement like this may give the impression that the author is privy to information on a number of hard facts supporting his warning. This is not the case. The statement also seems to imply that there exists a normative standard which should be achieved by the pattern of European academic mobility. This too is obviously not the case. It is, however, interesting to note that the goals set out in the proposals for the ERASMUS student mobility scheme, aiming eventually at 10% mobility within the Communities, are already turning up in national draft policy documents of at least one of the Member States of the EC. Apparently the simple fact of indicating a specific requirement that mobility has to meet is in itself sufficiently