Academic literature on the topic 'Universities and HEIs'

The analysis of higher education (HE) inRussiafocuses on the complicated issues of the relationships between higher education institutions (HEIs) and provincial cities. The authors characterize different typologies of Russian HEIs and cities. It is suggested to distinguish between the HEIs related to the core of HE, semi-periphery, and to the periphery. The situation of peripheral HEIs that are located mainly in provincial cities seems to be the most complicated. Recently, about 300 HEIs and more than 800 branches of universities, a significant part of which belongs to the peripheral group, ceased to exist autonomously. Today the fate of some other provincial HEIs is yet to be defined. Meanwhile, the future of the young people is also tied to the HEIs’s destiny as well as the future of the cities’ population, where they are located. The analysis of the materials based on the authors’ empirical research conducted in the Ural Federal District (UFD) revealed that the elimination of autonomous universities, their transformation into branches and weakening in such a way of the HE in the medium, big and even large cities of the Russian province lead to stagnation and depression of these cities. One of the main factors of this situation is the mass educational migration of young people. The study discusses certain ideas for positive solution of these problems regarding the relationship of provincial Russian universities and cities, which could lead to their preservation and development.

The trend of growing interest in project management as a tool to improve the competitiveness of organisations refers in full extent to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), which due to their educational function should ensure the advanced implementation of project management in the management processes of their own activities. The state policy in the field of project management promotion defines new challenges for effective management and for the education sector. The large-scale modernization of public administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan based on project management, in turn, poses the task of modernizing the management systems of HEIs. In addition, the changed conditions of the geopolitical situation dictate the necessity of applying modern management technologies. The purpose of the research is to study the peculiarities of project management development in HEIs in Kazakhstan. General scientific methods – analysis, synthesis, generalization are used as research methods. The results of the study contribute to the study of aspects of project management implementation and the development of technology of project management implementation in HEIs. For a comprehensive study of the subject of research, it is important to systematize the elements affecting the functioning of HEIs in Kazakhstan, in two planes: internal and external. In order to solve this issue, the external and internal factors of project management development in HEIs of Kazakhstan are formulated, the generalization of experience on interaction with HEIs of Union of Project Managers of the Republic of Kazakhstan is presented, the experience of Kazakh National Agrarian Research University is highlighted. The tasks for HEIs, the main directions of interaction between the universities and the professional project community are determined. The identification of external and internal factors affecting the activities of HEIs in Kazakhstan will allow adjusting the objectives of the university development.

This study investigated the entrepreneurship practices (EPs) of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Region IV-A, Philippines. This descriptive-quantitative research used an adapted questionnaire which was based on the HEInnovate framework for entrepreneurial universities covering the eight dimensions. The data were gathered from 137 business educators who were affiliated with HEIs located in the five provinces of Region IV-A. Findings revealed that HEIs in the region are in their transformative stage of becoming entrepreneurial universities subject to improvements in five HEInnovate framework dimensions for entrepreneurial universities. Moreover, the study also proved that profile indicators utilized in the study are not factors for the variation of EPs among the subject-HEIs. The roadmap strategy proposed by the researchers is recommended to serve as a guide for the subject-HEIs in drawing up their plans and programs in their journey to become entrepreneurial universities.

Public communication has become more important to higher education institutions (HEIs), with many HEIs using social media to communicate with stakeholders. However, scholarship on the subject is scarce and mainly based on single-platform studies and small datasets. Therefore, we conducted a cross-platform study to examine the communication of all Swiss HEIs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The results were based on two datasets: an automated analysis on data for all Swiss HEIs (<em>n</em> = 42) and their social media accounts from 2004 to 2021 (337,232 posts from 207 accounts), and a manual content analysis on 1,500 posts per platform. By including all HEIs in one country, this study allowed for a comparison of the results by HEI type: universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and research universities. Results show that, in recent years, HEI communication increased on Instagram, but not on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter was used the most by research universities, while most Instagram and Facebook posts were from universities of applied sciences. Universities of teacher education were least active across all platforms. The content of communication across all HEI types was primarily self-referential. Our analysis of how well HEIs used the affordances of social media communication relative to hypertextuality and multimodality revealed a generally high level of adaption. Moreover, our data showed no substantial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on posting activities and engagement with social media posts by HEIs for the two first years of the pandemic.

The paper intends to investigate the social role of higher education institutions (HEIs) under knowledge society. As knowledge becomes the main asset and driver of social-economic transformations in the 21st century, HEIs are positioned as centres where knowledge is generated, accumulated, disseminated and applied. With emergence of knowledge society, university mission “to contribute to the public good” is becoming more visible and tangible in HEIs’ operations. Responding to community needs or societal demand, HEIs will liaise and/or compete domestically and internationally with other state and non-state actors: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), authorities, interest groups, local communities. Both competition and cooperation may produce win-win effect, or end up with win-lose or lose-lose result.Case study method will be used to research different cooperation patterns between HEIs and other actors. In more detail, relationship between HEIs and NGOs will be explored to test the hypothesis that NGOs, who have been leaders in societal change over the last three - four decades, are losing primacy to HEIs. We will examine the social role of HEIs and their cooperation with civil society in situation of emergency, when societal demand for knowledge, expertise and response to crisis is high. In detail, we intend to look at Mariupol State University – a HEI with strong community ties and reputation of a civic university – in order to examine its community service and interaction with municipal knowledge hubs during hybrid war unleashed in 2014. Therefore, the aim of this research paper is to investigate whether and how under knowledge society the social role of HEIs changes in emergency situations and outline their possible contribution to problem-solving in cooperation with other partners, first of all NGOs. Key words: higher education institutions, non-state actors, non-governmental organizations, knowledge hub, knowledge economy.

The aim of this article was to provide evidence pertaining to cloud computing (CC) adoption in education, namely higher education institutions (HEIs) or Universities. A systematic literature review (SLR) of empirical studies exploring the current CC adoption levels in HEIs and the benefits and challenges for using CC in HEIs was performed. A total of 20 papers were included in the SLR. It was discovered that a number of universities have a keen interest in using CC in their institution, and the evidence indicates a high level of successful CC adoption in the HEIs reviewed in the SLR. In conclusion, the SLR identified a clear literature gap in this research area: there exists limited empirical studies focusing on CC utilisation in HEIs.

Abstract This contribution focuses on the EU, national and institutional practices of HEIs’ third mission regulation with a particular attention to the experiences of Ukrainian HEIs, which they developed in response to the challenges caused by the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is argued that currently the regulatory frameworks for the third mission are more established at the intra-institutional level about ensuring the entrepreneurial aspects of the HEIs engagement, whereas the third mission social engagement models still remain on margins of the university life.

AbstractThis article examines the effect of location on the development of new universities. The study was conducted in seven new higher education institutions (HEIs) established in India during 1996–2008. I collected the data by conducting semi-structured interviews with 73 faculty members in the HEIs and from official documents, media reports and opinion pieces about the HEIs. Using the conceptual framework of path dependency, I investigated the tensions and challenges faced by the HEIs in their initial years. I find the placement of the HEIs in their respective locations to be a contingent event that can make the development of HEIs path dependent. I find that the initial conditions and decisions of the HEIs were influenced by the location and led to reactive sequential events in their initial years with effects that were hard to shake off, making their development path dependent. I show that having to develop their infrastructure and constrained by resources, the HEIs started their academic programmes first, followed by their research activities, and outreach and regional engagement.

Purpose The integration of sustainability is more matured in the corporate sector. However, the topic received less attention in higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, this study aims to conceptualize an integration framework and proposes sustainability integration and implementation index in the HEIs. Design/methodology/approach The index was developed from previous literature. For the implementation of the index, three universities were selected. The required data collected from websites, internal documents and interviews with the high officials of these universities. Findings Sample universities have somehow inclination toward the broad agenda of sustainable development, but still, they lack integration, implementation and reporting of their sustainable practices. Moreover, the departments have positive and practical intent toward sustainability especially regarding the environment, designing curriculum, teaching, research activities and volunteerism. However, in assessment, the social and economic contributions of these universities revealed to be somewhat mild. The findings also evidenced heterogeneity among the sample institutions to follow the said agenda which reflects a lack of awareness and policy or a centralized or regulatory push from the top. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to three universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Hence, in the future, the framework and index may be tested in other universities of the country or region. Nevertheless, the study carries theoretical significance in the literature of sustainability. Practical implications The study has practical implications for academia, regulatory bodies and universities to integrate, implement and report sustainability in HEIs. Originality/value The study proposes and validates the sustainability integration and implementation index in HEIs. The index is unique and has originality or value particularly for HEIs of the developing countries.

Purpose: This paper focuses on CSR education in the Higher Education Institutions. It analyzes current approaches to this education and the enhancements already deployed in the international perspective. The main aim is to conceptualize on CSRS education forms within the context of technology-oriented HEIs and propose the model for this education. This model has also been partially verified using the cases of four technical universities. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses qualitative and quantitative research methods. The literature review is applied to trace HEIs’ educational and organizational CSR commitment methods. Based on this review, we proposed a model of CSRS education in HEIs. Using this model, we checked to what extent its elements are used in four technical universities from: Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland. For this purpose, educational programs at universities were analyzed. We also confronted the activity of these universities with the students’ knowledge about CSRS. The results of the survey conducted among 3,424 students from these universities contributed to elaborating on this aspect. Findings: The results confirm that students are ignorant of CSR, even those studying at business faculties. What is surprising, even those students who are business owners do not demonstrate a high level of knowledge about CSR. Universities, on the other hand, do not offer the possibility of eliminating this ignorance. Meanwhile, we believe they can do so not only through the standing-alone CSRS education but also by including CSR in other courses and by giving a good example. Research limitations/implications: Due to language barriers, the submitted model was only partially verified at selected universities. We are also aware that the described situation may be one-sided as the four cases presented in this study are homogeneous, as they represent technical universities, so only one profile among a variety of universities’ profiles (technical versus humanities versus economic). Moreover, the conducted research covered students and universities from Central and Eastern Europe, which might also have an impact on the obtained results. Originality/value: Bearing in mind the current level of implementation of education in the area of CSR and the results of the research carried out, we propose a model of education that includes three pillars: a good example of a university (socially responsible university), responsible managers education (RME) and raising awareness among students of non-business faculties (ASR). At the same time, we indicated a large gap between the educational needs in the area of CSRS and the offer of four technical universities.

Ces dernières décennies, l'étude de l'innovation dans un contexte géographique a suscité un intérêt croissant parmi les chercheurs, entraînant des développements théoriques et empiriques majeurs. Une perspective importante soutient que la concentration régionale des acteurs et des activités favorise les interactions, les échanges de connaissances et l'innovation. Les économies d'agglomérations et la proximité géographique sont considérées comme des facteurs essentiels pour l'innovation. Bien que cette perspective ne se concentre pas sur les espaces urbains, elle souligne l'importance des environnements denses et agglomérés pour l'innovation. Par conséquent, l'étude de l'innovation dans les espaces périphériques est négligée, créant un biais urbain dans les études menées en économie géographique.Ce travail vise à approfondir la compréhension du rôle de l'espace pour l'innovation au-delà de la perspective d'agglomération. A travers quatre chapitres, il se concentre sur les espaces périphériques et étudie leurs relations avec l'innovation et le développement régional.Sur le plan théorique, ce travail adopte un cadre original en combinant deux champs de la littérature rarement associés jusqu'à présent : celui des innovative peripheries et celui des bases de connaissances différenciées. Il propose une analyse plus large des concepts d'innovation et de périphérie. La littérature sur les innovative peripheries encourage à dépasser la dichotomie centre-périphérie pour appréhender le concept de périphérie. Elle met en lumière divers facteurs géographiques, économiques, démographiques et de connaissances pour définir ces espaces. Parallèlement, en identifiant trois bases de connaissances pertinentes pour l'innovation, synthétique, analytique et symbolique, l'approche des bases de connaissances différenciées permet de mieux comprendre comment le contexte local influence la création de connaissances. Nous les considérons comme des préconditions à différents types d'innovation.Sur le plan empirique, ce travail s'appuie sur une démarche quantitative. Il se distingue par la création d'une base de données originale regroupant des informations détaillées sur les connaissances et les caractéristiques socio-économiques des espaces périphériques et urbains en France. En complément des approches traditionnelles basées sur les données de brevets ou les dépenses de R&D, nous proposons de mesurer les connaissances en utilisant des données de profession des salariés. Cette base de données offre une granularité fine à l'échelon des Etablissements Publics de Coopération Intercommunale (EPCI) et une couverture exhaustive des territoires étudiés sur la période 2015-2019, totalisant 1231 observations. Elle est exploitée à travers des études économétriques tenant compte de l'influence des contextes spécifiques.Dans cette thèse, nous discutons dans le chapitre 1 les théories, concepts et travaux principaux portant sur le rôle de l'espace pour l'innovation. Cela permet de définir le positionnement du travail d'un point de vue théorique et empirique. Dans le chapitre 2, nous proposons d'enrichir la compréhension de la géographie de l'innovation en étudiant la concentration des connaissances dans les EPCI français. Puis, nous explorons la relation entre les économies d'agglomération et les activités d'innovation dans les régions. Dans le chapitre 3, nous cherchons à mieux comprendre l'effet de cette dotation en connaissances sur la productivité de divers types de territoires. Dans le chapitre 4, nous nous concentrons sur l'un des principaux moteurs de création de connaissances en région, les universités. Nous étudions leur relation différenciée avec le développement économique selon les régions et les types de territoires.Dans l'ensemble, ce travail cherche à doter les décideurs publics d'outils de diagnostic et d'élaboration de politiques d'innovation adaptés aux divers contextes urbains et périphériques
In the last decades, there has been a growing interest among researchers in studying the geography of innovation, leading to significant theoretical and empirical developments. One key perspective argues that the concentration of actors and activities within regions promotes interactions, knowledge exchange, and innovation. Agglomeration economies and geographical proximity are seen as crucial for innovation. While this perspective does not exclusively focus on urban areas, it underscores the importance of dense and clustered environments in fostering innovation. Consequently, the study of innovation in peripheral areas has been overlooked, resulting in an urban bias within economic geography research.This work aims to deepen our understanding of the role of space in innovation beyond agglomeration. Across four chapters, it concentrates on peripheral areas, and examines their relationships with innovation and regional development.Theoretically, this work proposes an original framework by combining two fields of literature that have rarely been connected before: innovative peripheries and differentiated knowledge bases. It broadens the analysis of innovation and periphery concepts. The literature on innovative peripheries advocates moving beyond the center-periphery dichotomy to grasp the concept of periphery. It highlights various geographical, economic, demographic, and knowledge factors in defining these areas. Meanwhile, by identifying three innovation-related knowledge bases - synthetic, analytical, and symbolic - the differentiated knowledge bases approach helps us better understand how the local context shapes knowledge creation. We consider these knowledge bases as preconditions for different types of innovation.Empirically, this work relies on a quantitative approach. We built a unique dataset containing detailed information on knowledge and socio-economic characteristics of peripheral and urban areas in France. In addition to traditional approaches based on patent data or R&D expenditures, we propose measuring knowledge using occupational data. This dataset, at a fine geographical scale, at the EPCI level, consists of 1,231 observations over the period 2015-2019. We exploit it through econometric studies that considers the influence of specific contexts.Chapter 1 of this thesis delves into the main theories, concepts, and studies regarding the role of space in innovation, laying the theoretical and empirical background for this work. Chapter 2 aims to enhance our understanding of the geography of innovation by studying knowledge concentration within French EPCIs. Then, we investigate the relationship between agglomeration economies and innovation activities in various regions. In chapter 3, we seek to better understand how this knowledge endowment affect the productivity of diverse types of territories. In chapter 4, we focus on universities, one of the main drivers of knowledge creation in regions, studying their differentiated relationship with economic development across regions and types of territories.Overall, this work aims to provide policymakers with diagnostic tools and recommendations for place-based innovation policies targeting the complexity of both urban and peripheral areas

This thesis charts and analyses student protest in Australia from 1985 to 2006. This period saw an epochal change in Australian universities, with student numbers increasing significantly and tertiary education itself becoming increasingly neoliberal and commodified. Taking issue with the common romanticisation of the Sixties as the defining era of student protest, I argue that students continued to mobilise against the imposition of fees and the process of commodification. Mass rallies and occupations occurred across the continent, and students from metropolitan and regional universities, domestic and overseas backgrounds all engaged in protest. Activism served as a school of dissent, politicising and radicalising those involved beyond the university. At its best, protest even provided a glimpse into an alternate world, where student radicals ‘lived and breathed’ activism and ‘full on fucking direct democracy’ could function, if only momentarily.

Construction is an investment intensive industry which has been notoriouslyknown to be cost and time ineffective. Further, the construction industry isknown to be the world’s largest resource utilizer and the largest polluter.Hence sustainability in construction is necessary.Since Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) are one of the most importantstakeholders in construction, this research aims to determine the sustainabilityaspects taught in Swedish construction programmes. On comparing the aimsand outcomes of all construction courses to the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs), this research found that Swedish constructioneducation programmes lack political and social sustainability in theirconstruction curricula. Further, this research investigates the challenges toimparting sustainability education due to present research andpedagogical/teaching methods. Data to investigate the results was collectedthrough interviews with programme directors from various SwedishUniversities.The findings of this research show a connection between practical application,research and traditional education. Further, the factors affecting research andpedagogy are also inter-related and convoluted. A large cause and effectnetwork arising due to the interplay of the factors is addressed in thediscussions section. This thesis finds that sustainable development inconstruction requires development of sustainability evaluation methods as wellas combined efforts from various stakeholders and professions.

Dissertation presented for a Masters Degree in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities and School of Social Sciences, at the University of the Witwatersrand. 17 September 2014
The manufacturing sector contributed to growth in the 20th century, which ultimately enhanced capabilities related to machinery and plants. However, towards the end of the 20th century, the manufacturing sector became less prominent as a catalyst for growth as the economy became increasingly bit-driven. A bit-driven or knowledge economy characterises the 21st century, where economic growth is created through the expansion of ideas and the enhancement of human capabilities (Evans, 2007). In order to analyse the requirements of economic growth in the 21st century, I relied on the New Growth theory and the capability approach of Amartya Sen. The capability approach reviews state policies in terms of its impact on developing its citizens’ capabilities, for instance, the ability to choose amongst Information and Communications Technology (ICT) courses at universities (Sen, 1990: 49). South Africa has several policies in place which acknowledge the importance of a knowledge-based economy. It has also referred to the efforts of the African National Congress (ANC) to build a Developmental State (DS). This research examined several policies aimed at creating a 21st century DS and asks whether they enhance the capabilities of citizens to partake in the knowledge economy. This paper looked at development during the industrialisation period (specifically after World War II). Here, economic growth was propelled through manufacturing. I drew on specific countries’ experiences such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, which were 20th century DSs. However, as the 21st century approached, the industrial revolution was replaced with a knowledge-based economy (KBE). The 20th and 21st century DSs are linked in that the manufacturing sector in the latter DS needs the services sector as a catalyst for job creation and economic growth. Therefore the manufacturing industry needs to diversify to include the services sector (Zalk, 2014).

Resumo alargado: No cumprimento da sua missão a UNESCO teve, desde a sua criação em 1945, como uma das suas preocupações colocar a qualidade da educação na base do desenvolvimento, abordando-a através de uma visão holística como meio para a promoção da paz, da erradicação da pobreza e como impulsionadora do desenvolvimento e do diálogo intercultural. A educação é um pré-requisito para promover alterações comportamentais e fornecer as competências para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (DS) na medida em que permite a igualdade de oportunidades entre classes, géneros, e crenças ainda que o conceito de Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (EDS), que nasceu após a Conferência de Joanesburgo em 2002, deva ser enquadrado a nível local e temporal. A recomendação da adoção da Década das Nações Unidas da Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (UN DEDS) 2005-2014, tem por objetivo integrar, num quadro temporal definido os princípios, os valores e as práticas do DS a todos os aspetos da educação e da aprendizagem. Uma boa parte destas responsabilidades recai sobre as Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), que têm assim uma acrescida responsabilidade moral na consciencialização, no alargamento do conhecimento, e no desenvolvimento das competências e dos valores de um futuro sustentável e justo. O papel que as IES podem desempenhar na educação integrada para a EDS é um dos grandes desafios na transição para um futuro mais sustentável. Para tal, espera-se das IES que, na sequência do caminho que têm vindo a trilhar, continuem a assumir o seu papel central na mudança de paradigma de forma a permitir às gerações atuais e futuras viverem de modo mais saudável e em harmonia e respeito com a Terra, que tem recursos finitos e limites biofísicos que têm sido demonstrados de forma evidente e incontornável. Dados assentarem nos três pilares do “triângulo do conhecimento”: Ensino, Investigação e Inovação, as IES são, neste quadro, absolutamente fundamentais. Muitas Declarações e Compromissos foram assinados. A assinatura e comprometimento dos líderes das IES, tornando-as verdadeiros catalisadores do DS, são consideradas um sinal promotor da sustentabilidade, como se constata através de diversas Declarações pré-DEDS 2005-2014: Talloires (1990), Halifax (1992), Quioto (1993), Swansea (1993), Copernicus (CO-operation Programme in Europe for Research on Nature and Industry through Coordinated University Studies) (1994), Global Higher Education for Sustainability Partnership (GHESP) (2000), Luneburgo (2001) e Barcelona (2004). A Declaração de Talloires, de 1990, foi o primeiro ato oficial de compromisso do ensino superior com o DS para que este se assuma como agente de mudança na incorporação e disseminação da sustentabilidade. Em 1994, a Declaração Copernicus, assinada por 196 universidades, foi entendida como o compromisso da gestão de topo das IES com o DS com vista a preservar o ambiente e à promoção do DS. É importante conhecer-se o perfil e nível de compromisso das universidades em todo o mundo, em particular na Europa, continente onde se encontram as mais antigas instituições, e tendo em conta o seu papel como líder nas estratégias e políticas de implementação da sustentabilidade no ensino superior. Não existe atualmente em Portugal um estudo sistemático que permita conhecer o perfil das IES, em particular das universidades públicas, e identificar pistas e boas práticas para a sua melhor implementação. Este facto leva a questionar de que forma e em que termos foi integrada a sustentabilidade nas estratégias institucionais no ensino superior universitário em Portugal, nomeadamente nos planos, programas e políticas do Governo e do Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) e nas estratégias e práticas das Instituições de Ensino Superior Universitário Público (IESUP) como balanço da DESD 2005-2014. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi avaliar de que forma a sustentabilidade foi integrada nas Instituições de Ensino Superior Universitário (IESU) público em Portugal, através das suas estratégias institucionais, no âmbito dos objetivos da UN DEDS 2005-2014. Os objetivos específicos, que estão organizados por ordem cronológica e de forma a responder ao objetivo geral, foram: (i) Avaliar a integração da sustentabilidade nos planos, programas e políticas do Governo português e do MCTES; (ii) Avaliar a integração da sustentabilidade nas estratégias e políticas das catorze IESUP na perspetiva de alguns dos atores chave com impacto no processo de decisão; (iii) Analisar as ações e as (boas) práticas nas IESUP onde tenha sido identificada a aplicação de estratégias, políticas para a sustentabilidade com vista a avaliar e definir um perfil do país; e (iv) Propor um modelo de inclusão de melhorias de sustentabilidade (think tank de iniciativas) nas estratégias e políticas das IESUP, com vista a aumentar, transferir o conhecimento e partilhar as (melhores) práticas integradas entre as Instituições de ensino superior portuguesas. Esta investigação segue um desenho de investigação baseado no estudo sobre as catorze universidades públicas em Portugal, de acordo com uma abordagem maioritariamente dedutiva (onde se recorreu em parte à Grounded-Theory), com métodos mistos, embora maioritariamente qualitativos, utilizando análise de documentação (dados secundários) e entrevistas semiestruturadas (dados primários). Como primeiro passo, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura e reflexão crítica sobre diversos documentos de origem governamental e do Ministério (MCTES) recolhidos e organizados cronologicamente. Para a análise de conteúdo foi utilizada o software NVivo, cujo objetivo foi avaliar se nos programas e políticas do Governo em geral e, especificamente, do MCTES, a sustentabilidade foi integrada nas universidades públicas, e em caso afirmativo, de que forma, em particular durante a DEDS 2005-2014. Seguidamente, realizou-se um estudo exploratório de acordo com uma abordagem qualitativa através de entrevistas semiestruturadas com atores chave com impacto no processo de decisão de implementação da sustentabilidade nas universidades públicas portuguesas. Esta fase visou obter mais informação sobre planos, políticas e programas não acessíveis ou não tornados públicos, que de outra forma estariam fora do nosso alcance, bem como obter indicações relativamente às barreiras sobre a implementação da EDS nas universidades públicas. Na terceira fase procedeu-se à análise, ao nível de cada uma das instituições, do conteúdo de planos estratégicos, planos e relatórios de atividades e relatórios de sustentabilidade (PEs, PAs, RAs e RSs, respetivamente) das catorze IES, o que foi essencial na avaliação de uma primeira definição do perfil do País no que respeita à implementação da sustentabilidade no sector da educação superior. Por último, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas (ainda que na primeira parte do guião a entrevista indiciasse uma entrevista estruturada) aos atores com papel relevante na integração da sustentabilidade em cada uma das universidades. O objetivo foi o de listar as diferentes ações implementadas, bem como de que forma se ultrapassaram as barreiras, quer durante a UN DEDS 2005-2014 quer na atualidade (2018), e ainda conhecer os desafios que se anteveem para as universidades. Foram, igualmente, discutidas iniciativas e boas práticas por parte de quase todas as IES. Verificou-se assim que, ao longo da DEDS 2005-2014, houve alguma insuficiência quer de orientações estratégicas quer de políticas nacionais respeitantes à implementação da EDS no ensino superior emanadas quer do Governo quer do Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior. Estes resultados decorrem quer da análise de documentos quer das entrevistas a atores chave. Ainda que o Programa Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Portugal tenha sido um bom exemplo de compromisso político e estratégico de aplicação de sustentabilidade no ensino superior, com a criação de Mestrados (MSc) e Doutoramentos (PhD), este focou-se maioritariamente na área da energia. O mesmo se pode dizer do programa de Eficiência Energética na Administração Pública (Eco.AP), um outro bom exemplo do envolvimento Ministerial, cujo papel é o de avaliar e implementar medidas para melhorar e reduzir o consumo energético nas universidades. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que a UN DESD 2005-2014 não foi considerada em si mesma uma motivação para a incorporação da sustentabilidade nas universidades, tal como a assinatura de declarações formais não foram nem condição necessária nem suficiente para tal. Foram as Universidades, por sua iniciativa, que protagonizaram o seu próprio movimento de implementação, tendo sido possível recolher no seu conjunto bons exemplos e iniciativas. Da análise de documentação das universidades públicas portuguesas no período da DEDS 2005-2014, constata-se que estas integraram a sustentabilidade nas suas políticas e estratégias principalmente através das dimensões “operações no campus”, “alcance e colaboração” e “DS através de experiências no campus”, através de múltiplas e diferentes ações, algumas delas não circunscritas a uma única universidade. Quando, para efeitos desta investigação, se procedeu à realização de entrevistas aos atores com papel relevante na temática da sustentabilidade nas universidades públicas e se questionou quer o período da década quer o ano de 2018, as dimensões que surgem como relevantes na integração da sustentabilidade, e sem alteração entre momentos, são: (i) “operações no campus”, (ii) “educação”, (iii)“alcance e colaboração”, (iv) “investigação” e, só depois, (v) “DS através de experiências no campus”. As ações das universidades relacionadas com a EDS mostram que as ações relacionadas com EDS foram realizadas de forma “isolada” e não de forma integrada de acordo com a “whole institution approach” da Organização das Nações Unidas. Realce-se a exceção de parcerias no DS, nos projetos de investigação, publicações, colaboração em projetos de desenvolvimento sustentado (DS) e financiamento para a investigação. Foi, ainda, possível conhecer as (melhores) práticas nas universidades públicas onde, apesar de existirem áreas chave onde as IES, não obstante barreiras como a falta de recursos financeiros e humanos e da falta de enquadramento de políticas governamentais, enfrentaram os desafios no âmbito da sustentabilidade. Através deste estudo foi possível chegar a uma definição de perfil do País para a implementação da sustentabilidade no sector da educação superior, em particular nas universidades públicas, sendo proposta uma plataforma de diálogo e partilha - Sustainability4U - com vista a potenciar a aprendizagem do tema no seio da comunidade das IES. Esta plataforma Sustainability4U é uma proposta de iniciativas para ampliar e transferir o conhecimento, bem como para partilhar as (melhores) práticas integradas entre as IES portuguesas, sejam elas universidades ou politécnicos. Os desafios à implementação do DS estão relacionados com iniciativas: (i) ao nível governamental e institucional, como sejam um maior financiamento e uma maior regulamentação governamental, mas também com (ii) iniciativas ao nível das próprias IES. São necessárias estratégias para a implementação do DS nos planos institucionais, na criação de um gabinete dedicado à EDS nas universidades ou nas faculdades onde tal estrutura não exista e na criação de competências transversais em DS acessíveis a todos os estudantes, através de disciplinas e/ou cursos para promover a transdisciplinaridade. O propósito é que o DS seja parte integrante da cultura da universidade e crie um fator multiplicador na instituição e na sociedade não só a longo prazo, como também no futuro próximo. Em 2018 foi criada a “Rede Campus Sustentável” entre os membros da comunidade das IES (universidades e politécnicos) com vista à partilha de conhecimento e experiências, mas igualmente para levar a gestão de topo a assinar uma carta de compromisso baseada na Declaração de Copernicus e na Estratégia Nacional para a Educação Ambiental (ENEA). Esta Iniciativa mostra não só um compromisso da comunidade académica portuguesa como um bom exemplo de uma abordagem “bottom-up”. O compromisso para a implementação de políticas públicas nas universidades é crítico para que o processo seja efetivo no que respeita à EDS inclusivo. Consequentemente, há uma necessidade premente de alterar o paradigma nas universidades portuguesas e ainda debelar alguns obstáculos. * * * Este estudo apresenta algumas limitações, nomeadamente o escasso número e qualidade de documentos originários de fontes Governamentais e Ministeriais ou mesmo da Sociedade Civil (capítulo 1) aplicáveis à temática (DESD 2005-2014). Poder-se-á considerar que este facto denota uma falta de compromisso por parte das instituições governamentais face à EDS. No entanto, nada se pode referir com acuidade sobre a representatividade da amostra dado que, apesar dos elevados esforços desenvolvidos, e ainda que não tenham recolhido mais documentos, eles poderiam existir e não estar disponíveis e/ou alcance dos investigadores. No que concerne às perceções dos atores chave (capítulo 2) face à implementação da EDS o estudo poderia ter sido enriquecido com a opinião do Ministro da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Secretários de Estado e de pelo menos mais um responsável do Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas (CRUP), nomeadamente o líder de 2010 a 2014. No entanto, tal não foi possível em tempo útil, apesar dos melhores esforços. A amostra por ser de conveniência não permite que os resultados sejam generalizados para o sistema de ensino superior português, não só devido ao escasso número de entrevistados (sete de uma amostra de quinze), mas também devido à sua natureza (provenientes do governo, academia e sociedade civil). No entanto, o objetivo das entrevistas com atores chave serviu para confirmar a análise prévia de documentos oficiais e cada entrevista foi muito completa, permitindo aproximação à saturação de informação, o que significa que informação adicional recolhida forneceria eventualmente poucos dados novos. Para o período em causa (2005-2014), as principais universidades publicaram toda a documentação necessária para tratamento e análise (capítulo 3). Ainda assim, teria sido importante aceder a um maior número de documentos publicados ou disponíveis, relativamente a algumas universidades. Para tal, foram envidados esforços para obter informação adicional quer através dos websites, quer por contacto direto com os técnicos e/ou centros de documentação. O método por convite direto da entrevista forneceu boas respostas (capítulo 4), mas (em alguns casos) pode não ter sido entrevistada a pessoa ideal no sentido de ser aquela com o maior conhecimento dos esforços de implementação da sustentabilidade e/ou de atividades na sua instituição. O guião de entrevista foi desenvolvido para ser compreendido por todos os respondentes e cobrir um largo espectro de temas. No entanto, pode ser difícil para um entrevistado ter um conhecimento adequado e suficiente de todos os tópicos e temas em causa. Pretende-se em desenvolvimentos futuros pôr em prática a plataforma Sustainability4U, não só entre as IES portuguesas, mas igualmente a nível europeu e internacional, baseado no estudo de caso de país do sul da Europa, Portugal. Regiões ou perfis semelhantes podem aprender com esta experiência, ganhando experiência com a forma como os obstáculos foram ultrapassados. O conhecimento do perfil detalhado das Universidades pode ser ainda alargado a todas as IES em Portugal.
Worldwide higher education institutions have the responsibility to implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in its multiple ways. The aim of this research is to assess how ESD was integrated into universities in Portugal through their policies and strategies within the framework of the goals of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014 (UN DESD 2005-2014). Despite some recent studies, this is an underexplored research field in Portugal. This research was mainly based on a qualitative approach and a detailed content analysis method regarding policies, plans and programmes either from the Government or the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (MCTES) as well as universities´ plans and reports through the decade 2005-2014. Semi structured interviews were conducted to the government bodies and major key actors in the Portuguese universities, i.e., from Portuguese University Council of Rectors (CRUP), as well as, with each sustainability relevant role actor at each university. Results showed that ESD implementation at universities in Portugal is still in its early stages of development and that there is an insufficiency of national integrated strategies or policies. Public Portuguese universities have their own strategies or policies on ESD, leading them to progress with several timely initiatives and practices that resulted from their proactiveness and rhythm rather than from governmental commission. Except for some actions concerning outreach and collaboration, research or education, these initiatives seem to have been taken in isolation from each other and were not holistically integrated, despite some pro-active sustainability implementation actions and best practices. Nevertheless, universities face barriers and challenges in implementing SD that need to be expanded, namely in the promotion of student and staff sustainability awareness, as well as in the development of transdisciplinary courses for students. This study intends to define a country profile of ESD implementation in universities and to show how to move forward through the proposal of the platform Sustainability4U1 where a think tank of initiatives is put forward. Future investigation will be undertaken as the platform Sustainability4U may be used as a support to widen transfer of knowledge and sharing of (best) practices not only between Portuguese universities, but also at European and international levels based on Portugal´s case study. Similar regions or profiles may learn from this experience, gaining from the way the barriers were overcome.

MCom (Business Information Systems)
Department of Business Information Systems
The aim of this research study is to propose an e-learning framework to deliver a guideline for the adoption of e-learning considering all major determinants such as technical, operational, organisational, cultural and socio-economical domains, in the setting of rural-based higher educational institutions. E-learning is a process which has arisen from ICT advancement, and it is coordinated together with the education programs at many universities. In South African tertiary institutions, the adoption rate for e-learning is higher in urban-based higher education institutions and colleges and lower in rural-based higher education institutions. Even though with the supposed capacity that e-learning provides, the bigger part of the e-learning approach in rural-based higher education institutions does not achieve their potential. This study focuses on identifying factors which impact the adoption of e-learning at rural-based, higher education institutions and its challenges. A case study approach is undertaken, using mixed methods for collection of data from the respondents based on e-learning adoption at student, educator and institutional level. The study identified the factors which influence the adoption of e-learning in rural-based HEIs. Eventually, the researcher proposed an e-learning framework which contributes to the e-learning adoption in rural-based HEIs, by establishing a guide for these institutions for enhanced planning, development and implementation tool for e-learning adoption using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model. The study identified that the e-learning usage and perception was lower in rural-based HEIs as compared to urban-based HEIs, and performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are all major factors which influence the adoption of e-learning.
NRF

Historically, the role of professionals specialized in occupational health and safety (OHS) has emerged from the need to protect employers working in major risk industries such as nuclear plants and large-scale chemical industries in Europe. More recently, a few studies highlighted that the range of activities linked to safety management responsibilities includes monitor and prepare reports, inspection and auditing, regulatory compliance, emergency response, incident investigation, hazard and risk assessment, and training. Additionally, there are some supplementary non-safety related duties, such as including environmental responsibility. Considering that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) are a major burden worldwide, adding up to 1.3 billion cases, more than 100 million years loss of disability-adjusted life years and that such disorders are common causes of disability and sick leave, this topic is highly relevant to OHS professionals. In EU Member States for which data are available, a large majority of all workers report complaints related to musculoskeletal disorders as their most serious work-related health problems. The percentage of workers reporting such complaints as their most serious health problem ranges from 40 % in Luxembourg to 70 % in Czech Republic and Finland. Furthermore, more than half of workers with musculoskeletal disorders reported taking time off work in a 12-month period. In the EU, 26 % of workers with musculoskeletal long-lasting disorders, that is lasting over 3 months, combined with other health problems report more than 8 days of absence per year. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have a key role in disseminating and increasing accessibility to the most up-to-date evidence available regarding the impact and management of musculoskeletal disorders, to facilitate translation of knowledge to implementation in practice. This way, the Knowledge Alliance Prevent4Work for Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders has elaborated this document with the most recent and relevant knowledge within the topic. HEI that offer courses within OHS as well as graduation and post-graduation courses for health professionals that work within the area, may benefit from the recommendations presented here.

This chapter details the further intellectual work needed to transform Burke into ‘the founder of modern conservatism’. Crucially, it was from the 1890s that Burke’s thought began to be systematized into a more rigorous ‘political theory’, especially within the universities. The historical and biographical scholarship written during the first three-quarters of the century was superseded by more abstract expositions of Burke’s thought. A political philosophy of ‘conservatism’ was extracted from Burke’s corpus that is indistinguishable from the version of ‘Burkean conservatism’ still in use today. The chapter continues by documenting the increasing Conservative appropriation of Burke after 1885. For Burke to truly become a founder of conservatism it was necessary for political Conservative Unionists to see themselves as his intellectual heirs. Taken together, political and academic constructions of C/conservatism ensured Burke’s centrality not only as the originator of conservatism as a political philosophy, but as a proto-political Conservative.

AbstractMonetizing assets of higher education institutions (HEIs) includes virtually all that a HEI can work with to improve itself. This perspective represents a newer, broader (still slightly controversial) view of assets that includes people

AbstractSocial media has nowadays become an important driver for sharing information, knowledge, and marketing promotion, used by enterprises and universities around the world. After COVID-19 crisis businesses and organizations have accelerated procedures for the implementation of new technologies. This research aims to shed light and to add to the existing literature in regard to the Greek case and the implementation of social media in Higher education. This study investigates Greek Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) students’ actual use of social media for educational purposes. The research questions are the following: What is the higher education students’ use of social networks for educational purposes in the classroom? How can universities integrate social media as an important tool to ameliorate their curriculum and knowledge sharing? A structured questionnaire was sent to a convenient sample of forty-eight students from Greek universities and a focus group with three students from a Greek university was created to support this research. This consists a pilot study research which is part of a broader study and preliminary results illustrate that at the moment there is little or no use of social networks for educational and creative purposes in Greek HEIs, although students believe that media and technology in general can help the education process. Understanding why and how social media can be integrated in the classroom might become a key competitive advantage for universities in the future. When using social networks for educational purposes and also for sharing information and promotion, universities can significantly improve their research opportunities, profit, academic and organizational arrangement.

Abstract Overarching strategies at the European level underline the importance of mobility, thus promoting the higher education offer should be among the key topics that dominate the internationalization agenda in Romania, in the context of a highly competitive market worldwide. The paper highlights the disconnect between the internationalization strategies of Romanian universities and concrete measures undertaken to promote their educational offer. The paper includes a short analysis of how HEIs promote their study offer internationally, using three Romanian universities as case studies. Starting from a review of institutional internationalization strategies, strategic plans for institutional development and methods and instruments used to promote their educational offer, the article also includes the analysis and conclusions of a questionnaire, highlighting the most popular promotional mechanisms used to attract international students. Conclusions show that HEIs perceive as the most effective promotional tools, i.e. the English website, word of mouth, participation at International Education Fairs, promotion via other portals. Despite international trends, social media is still not deemed essential to advertise their educational offer to international students.

AbstractUniversities and higher education institutions (HEIs) have always been key actors in society. Their capacity for knowledge production, their constant enquiry into new possibilities of approaching reality and its problems, and their critical thinking have always been highly valued by society. Universities have always accompanied society in its development and will continue doing so. They are a public good and a social right. Society requires a safe space where the freedom to think and freedom of speech exist to reflect on and serve society’s needs. This is why society has granted universities the autonomy to organize and govern themselves, with the sole condition being that universities commit to giving back to society the results of the knowledge they generate.

AbstractTimes of high dynamic and growing new knowledge demand for entrepreneurial education and university engagement. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have established intensive knowledge and resources about entrepreneurial education and relating activities and formats over the last years. As smaller companies (SMEs) are increasingly experimenting with entrepreneurship, they seem to struggle with setting up entrepreneurial activities within their established corporate strategy and innovation structures. It is beneficial for them to collaborate with higher education institutions to minimize the risk and uncertainty associated with implementing entrepreneurship education (EE) and catch up with larger corporates. Further, research lacks a systematic characterization of EE activities in those companies and classification of collaboration formats. Therefore, this study uses qualitative research methods to analyze data from interviews conducted with two German SMEs. Our study contributes to a better understanding of EE in SME and respective HEI collaborations by (1) characterizing EE in SME and SME-HEI collaboration based on attributes and collaboration types defined by their locus of collaboration and intensity of knowledge inflow and (2) identifying differences among EE in SME and HEI. We provide implications to practice—corporate and university EE initiatives—for a more effective design and implementation of EE in SMEs and the SME-HEI collaborations themselves.

AbstractGlobal university rankings have emerged as a benchmark of institutional success, setting standards for higher education policymaking and institutional practices. Nevertheless, only a marginal share of higher education institutions (HEI) are in a realistic position to be ranked as a ‘world-class’ institutions. In the European context, the global rankings have been used to highlight a performance gap between European and North American institutions. Here the focus has been on the HEIs in the top-100 positions, causing concerns over European higher education. This has also become a marker of world-class university. We analyze the strategies of 27 Northern European universities in different tiers to learn how they have adjusted to the reality of ranking. We conclude that the references to global rankings have increased between 2014 and 2018. At the same time, the references to rankings have become more implicit in nature. Nevertheless, we find that the discourse of global comparison and excellence has become more common in the strategies. There are also emerging references to the regional role of universities, which are apparent in the strategies of universities that are clearly outside the top-100 ranked institutions. However, this is also a reflection of the discourse of world-class university.

Financial stability of higher education institutions (HEIs) is achieved through the formation of a positive financial space by balancing income and expenditure. The dependence of universities on the contingent and budget funding allocated for the current year does not create the preconditions for long-term planning. However, the new paradigm of university functioning, transformation processes in HEIs, the crisis caused by Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine require a rethinking of approaches to financial planning. These processes will negatively affect budget funding, universities are forced to find other sources of funding to ensure financial stability and strategic directions of development. University management must respond quickly to challenges and implement effective financial management aimed at ensuring the financial stability of HEIs in both the current and strategic period, which determines the relevance of the chosen topic. The aim of the article is to identify challenges and opportunities for strategic funding for university planning. The research used such methods as analysis and synthesis to identify and systematize the challenges and opportunities of universities in the implementation of strategic planning; hypothesis for determining the impact of financial planning on the achievement of university strategy; a systematic approach to summarize the results of the study. The article identifies the challenges and opportunities of strategic financial planning of universities, content-filled periods of strategic financial planning in conditions of uncertainty.

The educational reform increased the autonomy of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Republic of Moldova. Normative regulation of resources by the state has turned into a performance-based and results-oriented management tool. HEIs seeks to improve the efficiency of their processes to direct more resources to improved quality and increased yield. Under these conditions, university managers need to know the state and dynamics of the managed system in order to make appropriate decisions to place the universities on top positions in the international rankings. Motivated by digitization processes, HEIs has recently been paying more attention to the development of high-performance Management Information Systems (MIS) to ensure an intelligent management of information, oriented towards strategic results. Through this paper, we want to present the state of affairs regarding the information systems in the HEIs of the Republic of Moldova and highlight what are the expectations for a MIS capable of improving the decision-making process in the HEIs to ensure national and international competitiveness.

This study examines how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in ASEAN member countries adapted to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the changes in practices and strategies implemented by HEIs to ensure educational continuity. The research methodology relies on secondary data analysis, primarily from prior research conducted by Cambodian universities. The qualitative approach focuses on analyzing systematic approaches adopted by HEIs and identifying best practices for their continuous development. The key points of the paper include the historical development of HEIs in ASEAN countries and their response to regional and global trends, the impact of COVID-19 on educational systems and the need for HEIs to adapt, the role of ASEAN organizations like the ASEAN University Network (AUN) in facilitating regional collaboration in higher education, and the future direction of ASEAN's higher education landscape as outlined in the ASEAN Higher Education Space Roadmap 2025. The study concludes that HEIs in ASEAN countries have implemented various measures to cope with the pandemic, including utilizing online learning platforms and adapting curriculum delivery methods. It emphasizes the importance of ongoing collaboration and knowledge sharing within ASEAN to ensure a resilient and sustainable higher education space in the region. Keywords: ASEAN, higher education, COVID-19, online learning, resilience

This work applies the Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) as an exploratory methodology to analize the indicators of the education´s management that belong to 32 Colombian public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) along the year 2013. The product of this work indicates that the majority of HEIs have similar structures, being different and better scored the following: La Universidad Nacional (UNAL), Antioquia (UDEA), Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), Pamplona y del Valle. Also the UDEA has a high development in extension, formation, capacity and research which is considered one of the best HEIS in the country. The university of Valle has a high degree of welfare, formation and extension, besides moderate capacities on research in comparission with the UDEA wich is superior to the rest of the HEIs. Pamplona has too a high level of formation, extension and moderate weflare, research and capacity in relation to the UNAD. It worth to mention that UNAL is the best located on extension. However, it is surpassed by other University (UDEA) because has a better development in some variables associated to research and extension. To finish, there are other HEIs with too many weaknesses on the indicators of the education´s management wich are UFPS Ocaña, Sucre and Pacifico. These universities show certain problems of research, extension and capacity, but fundamentally strong shortcomings in formation and welfare.

According to the EU 2020 strategy, one of the objectives for Romania in the field of education is that at least 40% of the population aged 30 to 34 years to complete tertiary education (university and non-university). In 2013-2014 only 23.8 % of the population is in this situation and the goal set was to reach 26.7%. Due to the fact that the number of pre-university students is estimated to decrease by 40% between 2005 and 2025, the number of traditional students is also declining. Second chance education could be considered as a solution to tackle the discrepancy between the policy goal and the real trend observed in the last few years, and eLearning appears to be an appropriate medium to encourage non-traditional students to enrol for further education and successful finish tertiary education. In Romania, only about 60% of universities are involving eLearning solutions in their current education offer. On the other hand, for the moment being, there is no Romanian HEI offering full eLearning study programs. However, there is a great diversity in Romania combining face-to-face with elements of bended learning and eLearning. Romanian universities have always been concerned with ethical aspects of their activities and many of them adopted codes of moral or ethical conduct. In some universities the principles of ethical conduct are implicit provisions of their charts or mission statements (e.g. Transilvania University of Brasov or West University of Timi?oara). As the practice of eLearning is becoming increasingly applicable in the study programs offered by Romanian universities, the ethical dimensions of the student-teacher relationship and the responsibility for the quality of learning outcomes turns into a real challenge: - Students for cheating and plagiarism attempts; - Professors for their responsibility in quality assurance of the educational resources for eLearners; - Students and professors for their co-responsibility for the quality and relevance of the eLearning outcomes. As the Romanian society perceives high corruption in individual and institutional behaviour, the ethical challenges in the field of higher education merit a closer attention. Another strong argument is offered by the frequent complaints of plagiarism in doctoral theses, which let us understand that in lower levels of higher education there are also practices against the code of ethical conduct adopted in HEIs. In this context, examples of good practice in overcoming ethical shortages in the provision of eLearning and in the evaluation of the learners should become a focus point in preparing for enhanced eLearning and blended learning (UK, etc). The purpose of this article is to analyse the status quo of the ethical challenges in the provision of eLearning by Romanian HEIs and to suggest recommendations to solve existing or potential ethical problems in the delivery of blended and or eLearning programs.

Higher education institutions (HEI) performance results depends not only on successful innovative technology transfer (TT) activities and university-industry cooperation, but also on governance funding, distributed by the priority for certain research and development (R&amp;D) fields. The purpose of this article is to propose a concept to assess the efficiency of R&amp;D funding by sector of performance in European countries. The main goal of the paper is to propose a concept to assess the efficiency of R&amp;D funding in European countries, provide insights, recommendations, and point out tendencies for the future improvement of European funding system for HEIs. Multicriteria ranking method COPRAS – an instrument for analysis and decision-making. The empirical research is based on Eurostat data for the period of 2005–2014. Expenditures on R&amp;D gives the fluent explication of European R&amp;D funding (investments) emphasizing the execution of innovation and TT activities at universities. The proposed assessment model allows comparing performance results and rank countries according the efficiency of research funding. Empirical results reveal that the comparatively higher efficiency of research expenditures is in the Northern European countries, Luxembourg and France. Latter tendency slowing to move forward and enhance performance results of HEIs, as well as countries’ economic growth.

COVID-19 has caused major disruptions in higher education systems worldwide. In Mauritius, during the 2020 and 2021 national lockdowns, local universities had to pivot to online/blended learning and emergency remote teaching. However, few higher education institutions (HEIs) in Mauritius were prepared for online learning, resorting mostly to emergency remote teaching. It was observed that there was a dearth of quality assurance guidelines and standards for Online/blended Learning, hence underlining the need to support HEIs in their transition from face-to-face to online delivery, while simultaneously upholding the quality of the programmes delivered. With funding from the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), a project was submitted jointly by the University of Mauritius and the Open University of Mauritius to help mitigate the impact of COVID‑19 on Mauritius’ higher education sector and its students, by providing short-term solutions in the form of quality assurance rubrics and an ODL handbook, so that HEIs can ensure the continuity of high-quality education with minimal disruptions during the pandemic and beyond. These tools were validated at national and institutional levels in order to capture specificities of the local context while meeting international standards (benchmarks). Based on interviews of key stakeholders, policy makers, CEOs of HEIs and the research team’s knowledge and experience in this field, a number of recommendations emerged. This paper will present the methodology, major findings, recommendations and tools developed under this project. It is also hoped that online learning becomes part and parcel of the DNA of HEIs, to build the robustness and resilience of their online learning provisions so that they can confidently face any future disruptions.

Aims: The “Establishment of a Dual Career Mentor Centre in Latvia” project, which was carried out within International University Sports Federation (FISU) framework, aimed to research the opportunity for creating a dual career mentoring centre for higher education institutions (HEIs), taking into account feedback received from student-athletes. It also aimed to compare support priorities with similar studies carried out previously. Methods: Theoretical method – study of theoretical sources. Empirical method – analysis of a dual career survey. The research comprised student-athletes from seven higher education institutions in Latvia. Results were analysed with the SPSS data processing software program. Results: Data analysis allowed the authors to conclude that student-athletes need support for the provision of sports infrastructure (n-51 before, 63%). Additionally, prior to starting studies, student-athletes need more information about study opportunities in higher education institutions in Latvia (n-61, 75%). It is confirmed by the fact that even though the information on education has mainly been sought on the internet (n-69, 88%), the respondents still could not find relevant information on dual career opportunities in any of the universities. The results suggest that HEIs promote the development of dual career education centres, which would support dual career by providing information on study programmes, universities, and opportunities to do sports at high level adapted to high-performance athletes. Therefore, the project “Establishment of a Dual Career Mentor Centre in Latvia” could be of significance for the development of dual careers in Latvia.

Education, in general, creates strong basics of sustainable development. Higher education is one of the important settings for accomplishing better education and quality of human life. Region based higher educational institutions (HEIs) have high input in regional economic development through traditional functions of teaching and research. Educational institutions acquiring graduates with relevant knowledge and skills for the labour market. The given paper examines: How Georgian regional universities enhance the graduates’ employability and workforce formation? Do the institutions encouraging university-business interactions? What are the main challenges and optimal ways of improvement? The article is using a qualitative research method with a combination of mixed research techniques by collecting and analysing other qualitative and quantitative information from national governmental reports, scientific articles, and annual statistical data. The paper draws the background information, that enhances the bed climate for recent graduates on the labour market, the unemployment and employment rate, proportion of horizontal mismatch, fields or groups of studies that students are most likely to be mismatched, its cause and effects relationship. Results show that institutions have week interaction with regional enterprises and SMEs: HEIs do not have skills anticipation strategy based on the regional business sector to avoid potential misbalance in the labour market. HEIs instead of showing initiative often take a proactive position and are looking at interactions between labour market stakeholders; they have weak interaction with public and private enterprises. Regional SMEs’ participation in creating curriculums is uncommon.

Universities are becoming entrepreneurial due to highly competitive environment, decreased government funding and external and internal pressure to generate income from research and education services. It is argued in literature that the competitiveness of higher education institutions (HEIs) will increasingly depend on their ability to operate internationally in the near future. However, the knowledge of entrepreneurial university management especially the ways to create the international presence and provide educational services cross-border is lacking and this research is contribution to filling this gap. The transition of higher education conception from public good to private good or tradable service in line with the contemporary theories and practices in international higher education have been analysed in the paper to illustrate the shift in approach to international activities of HEIs. The paper undertakes an analysis of the premises associated with the entrepreneurial model of university management, as well as analysis illustrating the growing transnational education (TNE) consumption globally and the growth of international education market as the potential venue of an entrepreneurial university.

Most of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ethiopia and Uganda are adopting e-learning to increased demand for, and to widen access to higher education. However, e-learning has not yet been fully embraced. Adoption of e-learning technologies in many universities in Ethiopia and Uganda is still ad hoc; and efforts towards full utilization of e-learning in HEIs are still undermined by many factors. This study has been conducted to explore institutional policy challenges, strategies, and reforms required to embrace all-inclusive online academic programmes. Guided by explanatory-sequential mixed design, data were collected from 765 participants using key informant interviews(KII), survey questionnaire, and documentary review methods. The study findings revealed that glitches from policy agents, mandate, purpose, publics, effectiveness, fairness, desirability, and affordability of the eLearning policies; as well as responsiveness and policy sustainability were the most critical institutional challenges to implementation of online academic programmes at Gondar and Makerere University. The study also revealed that provision of appropriate student support services, setting realistic assignments, emphasizing staff self-direction, having effective attendance policy, sharing of learning/information materials, professional development, technological, and maintenance of effective communication with students, and maintaining social presence were the key eLearning policy strategies used in implementation of online academic programmes at Makerere University. The study results further revealed that widening access to online programmes, mobilisation of adequate financial resources, engaging in national wide policy reforms, organisational restructuring, employment of adequate qualified staff, curriculum reform and entrenching online courses in the university system are key policy reforms required to embrace implementation of all-inclusive online academic programmes. Hence, it was recommended that something had to be done to: overcome institutional policy challenges; improve eLearning policy strategies used; and to effect inevitable policy reforms required to embrace implementation of all-inclusive online academic programmes at Gondar and Makerere University.