IAU 2015 Internationalization of Higher Education: Moving Beyond Mobility

IAU 2015 Internationalization of Higher Education: moving beyond mobility

Quality Enhancement Trough Networking Prof.Dr. Gülsün Sağlamer Istanbul Technical University

29 October 2015 IAU2015-Siena

1 Content o In the first part of the presentation after a short introduction, three questions will be discussed; o Do HE&R Networks play important roles in internationalization? o Do HE&R Networks motivate HE Institutions for quality improvement? o What is the impact of networking on quality enhancement? o In the second part, HE&R networks and consortia that specifically address quality will be analysed with a special reference to EUA Institutional Evaluation Programme together with other related networks and consortia. o Conclusions will be the last part of the presentation.

2 Introduction

• Higher education faces many complex, interconnected and all- encompassing fundamental questions in an environment where uncertainty plays a major role. • Under the forces of globalisation Universities have to compete worldwide and establish cross-border relationships strengthen their roles both at home and abroad. • These developments have gained momentum in recent decades and have put a great deal of pressure on universities to internationalise themselves. • There is a great need for reform and continuous improvement in institutions of higher education but universities are responding these rapidly changing conditions in different ways

3 Challenges for Universities

Individual institutions of higher education may choose to be active players in worldwide efforts to reformulate the functions and strategies of higher education

………..or they may be content with implementing received wisdom from best practices around the world,

but some may choose to resist change entirely by preserving their existing mode of operation

CHANGE Saglamer/Karakullukcu 2004.

4 Internationalization-Change

What is the impact of internationalisation on universities? Does it force them to change themselves? The best answer to these questions was given by Memduh Karakullukcu (2012):

“The significance of internationalisation stems from its impact on facilitating and forcing broader change, allowing experimentation and cross-pollination of higher education practices across countries. The impact is more about creating new mechanisms, models and combinations in higher education than about sheer numbers.

Internationalisation is a key agent of change and not the change itself”.

5 Change…. How?

What are the main questions to be discussed if a university is trying to develop strategies for making substantial changes to internationalise its all actions and activites ?

•Does University truly embrace the culture of change? •Does University have access to high calibre human resources? •Does University able to remove internal constraints and control external ones?

6 Key Agent for Change.....How?

What are the instruments emerged for cultivating internationalisation across countries, continents and the World? There are many Higher Education networks and academic consortia all around the world that support internationalization in all its aspects, facilitate partnerships, create opportunities for universities to interact with each other to enhance their quality in teaching-research-service to society activities.

Networking

7 Power of Networks? o Being a member of a reputable higher education and research network provides a considerable boost for a university seeking to be globally known and increase its visibility in the areas in which the university would like to expand its reach. o Research policy-makers nowadays talk about the power of networks and their contributions to internationalisation and the development of research opportunities of universities (EIRMA President:Leopold demiddeleer’s Speech at EUA-RPWG Meeting, 7th March, 2013). o Values, quality, vision and mission, aims of institutions are the main denominators for joining such networks. o The quality, reputation, achievements and impacts of networks all play important roles in the membership size of these HE&R networks.

Do HE&R Networks play important roles in internationalization?

(OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education, “Approaches to Internationalisation and Their Implications for Strategic Management and Institutional Practice”, (2012)

In a section on Internationalisation and International Networks, the authors briefly focus on several important features of networking in higher education: “Networks can be defined by geography or other criteria. They may focus on a single issue, such as collaborative research or a range of issues of shared interest. These might include: networking opportunities; facilitating exchanges between staff; student exchanges; joint graduate programmes; exchanging best practice and materials; participating in one another’s conferences; inviting one another to participate in major initiatives”. It is clear that almost all aspects of university networks promote internationalisation and building trust among member universities for further collaboration.

Do HE&R Networks play important roles in internationalization?

Europe has several very powerful higher education and research networks that have visibility beyond Europe. EAIE is one of the most powerful European networks. For years, many universities have had very close relationships with EAIE, which has a specific mission that focuses on internationalisation. Its annual conferences and exhibitions attract educators and researchers from all over the world and participant numbers for these activities have reached thousands in recent years. The organisation provides many membership services as part of its mission and is rapidly becoming the most attractive platform for the internationalisation of higher education not only at European level but also at global level.

10 EAIE-2015 WORKSHOPS - 18

• Networking secrets to maximise your potential • Networking is a powerful way of building professional relationships and an integral part of attending professional events, but truly effectual networking takes skill and practice. If you’re interested in cultivating new contacts, fostering potential partnerships and/or sharing information with your peers at this conference, then this workshop is for you. We’ll teach you to identify what it is you want to accomplish in your networking, clearly articulate your goals and determine how best to achieve them. This interactive workshop, particularly useful for newcomers to the EAIE Conference, will demonstrate strategies that will help you get the most out of your networking efforts at this year’s conference and beyond.

Pick up useful strategies for doing your homework before (and after) a professional event – Learn how to clearly represent yourself to others – Practice identifying, articulating and meeting your networking objectives – Become a more efficient and productive networker • Chair • Peter Kerrigan, DAAD, USA • Speakers • Peter Kerrigan, DAAD, USA; Christopher Medalis, EducationUSA, USA

Do HE&R Networks motivate HE Institutions for quality improvement?

•HE&R networks have indirect contributions to quality enhancement of institutions by sharing best practices, exchanging experiences, building up partnerships etc. •Some networks have also certain units or programmes to help member institutions directly to improve their quality in all their activities and actions such as EUA/IEP. •Besides the HE networks and academic consortia funded by EU or other supra- national organisations that are specifically addressing quality of teaching and research also play important role in quality enhancement of universities such as OECD-IMHE.

12 Do HE&R Networks motivate HE Institutions for quality improvement? • EUA European University Association, which includes more than 850 university members and representatives of 47 National Rectors’ Conferences in its Council. • EUA has been contributing to the quality improvement of European universities through its membership services of IEP Institutional Evaluation Programme that is a member of ENQA and listed in EQAR and has been operational since 1993. • EUA/IEP has evaluated over 382 universities across Europe. • Being a member of EUA and having been in the IEP evaluation process has been a kind of prestigous status for Turkish Universities since 1999 when the first university went into the IEP process. At the moment over 40 universities have been evaluated by the IEP in Turkey.

13 What is the impact of networking on quality enhancement?

• The EUA conducts research on many aspects of higher education, such as funding streams, doctoral programs, autonomy, quaity and provides enormous amount of knowledge and experience to its members and other stakeholders. • In this respect, the EUA sets one of the best examples in Europe of an academic network. One of the surveys that the EUA completed recently is on the “Internationalisation in European Higher Education,” which aims to understand the main challenges and problems that universities face in internationalising their activities and to help universities across Europe prepare themselves for the new internationalisation strategy of the European Commission. (Internationalisation in European Higher Education: European Policies, Institutional Strategies and EUA Support, EUA, 2013).

14 What is the impact of networking on quality enhancement? • IAU is one of the leading HE network with its global reach plays an important role in motivating universities for further improvements by its membership services • IAU has over 600 members from 120 countries and also establishes partnerships with other HE networks for joint activities • It always touches important issues creating awareness on the emerging needs and development in HE&R, sharing good practices to improve the performance of its member universities…...... and all of these processes are directly and indirectly contributing the quality enhancement of universities. • IAUP is also one of the global HE networks

15 What is the impact of networking on quality enhancement?

• League of European Research Universities (LERU) is another important HE&R network leading many important actions for the quality enhancement of research universities • There are HE networks focus on certain study areas such as «engineering and technology» CESAER, SEFI, RMEI… Or …. «gender equality» EWSP (European Women Scientists Platform EWORA (European Women Rectors Association)… • Some regional networks are trying to help universities at a regional level, creating capacity for regional development UNIMED, CMU, EMUNI, GUNI, BSUN…..

16 Supra National Organisation OECD/IMHE (Institutional Management in Higher Education) has focused on quality improvement in the member universities by organizing joint projects, conferences, workshops, publications etc.

•The OECD's Higher Education Programme has established a permanent forum in which education professionals can exchange experiences and benefit from shared reflection, thought and analysis in order to address the issues that concern them.

The Programme’s work has a global reach and includes monitoring and analysing policy making; gathering data; and sharing new ideas, as well as reflecting on past experience. These activities assist members to contribute to the development of higher education internationally, nationally and locally.

•The Programme’s strategic position within the OECD provides members with a recognised international network, drawing together higher education professionals, leaders, policy makers, managers and researchers. (oecd.org)

Strategy for the Future (ITU-1996)

Designing a self-improving, adaptable institution oCreating a community of internationally networked, self-motivated stakeholders oImplementing a multi-tier structure for controlling quality oSituating the administration as the “last resort” agent of quality control and change

A Multi-Tier Strategy for Monitoring Quality Community of self-motivated high-caliber constituents is the core element of the design but monitoring quality is essential for benchmarking the results and preventing digressions at every level. (Saglamer, Karakullukcu, 2004)

18 Conclusion

HE&R Networks play crucial role in •Creating culture for change •Developing a sense of ownership of goals, values and processes of ensuring change and beyond being •Cultivating quality culture in the university, enhancing diversity but at the same time developing infrastructure for comparability, •Motivating universities for Internationalisation of all their activities by forming compact, effective, efficient and progressive network models of universities and their external partners for development, •Promoting excellence for research, teaching and service to society •Sharing good practices for Removing internal constraints for modern management and Controlling external constraints to achieve stable funding, less bureaucracy and more autonomy,

19 Thank You

20 References

• Saglamer,G., «Quality Enhancement in Turkish Higher Education», Enhancing Quality in Higher Education, Ed. Ray Land and George Gordon, pp 189-200, Routledge, 2013. • The Higher Education System in Turkey: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, 2008, EUA-IEP Report. • Saglamer, G., Karakullukcu, M., ‘ITU 1996-2004: Crafting A Design for Permanence at the Forefront of Knowledge Creation’, 17th, paper presented at IMHE General Conference, September 13-15, 2004, Paris. • Karakullukcu,M., «The Dynamics of Internationalisation in Higher Education», OECD-IMHE What Works Conference on Internationalisation for Job Creation and Economic Growth, Paris, 12-13 April 2012 . • The EUA/IEP ‘The Higher Education System in Turkey: Trends, Challenges, Opportunities’ (2008) Report in ‘A System Review Based on Seventeen Institutional Evaluation Reports’. • Internationalisation in European Higher Education: European Policies, Institutional Strategies and EUA Support, EUA, 2013. • OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education, “Approaches to Internationalisation and Their Implications for Strategic Management and Institutional Practice”, 2012.

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