In the race to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas predominance, several Middle East Countries are moving to develop “knowledge-based” economies. Higher education, particularly in technical areas, and innovation are seen as key to making that transition. New higher education institutions are being built
On Innovation Strategies: An Asian Perspective
Innovation has become the buzzword of the 21st century and even more so now after the current economic meltdown, as nations around the world have the enormous task of rebuilding their economies. It is generally agreed that innovation refers to the process of converting an idea, invention or scientific discovery …
New University Paradigms for Technological Innovation
In today’s global, knowledge-driven economy, leadership in innovation is essential to a nation’s prosperity and security. In particular, technological innovation — the transformation of new knowledge into products, processes and services of value to society — is critical to economic competitiveness, national security and an improved
Innovation strategies of European Universities in the Triangle of Education, Research and Innovation
In Europe, the first university started in Bologna in 1088 as “universitas magistrorum et scholarium”, a community of teachers and students. Its legitimacy was derived from a humanistic program; its activities consisted in providing general and professional education. As an example of the mission of a medieval university,
The Research University as Comprehensive Knowledge Enterprise
While the Glion Colloquia have brought university leaders together to exchange perspectives on an array of critical issues confronting higher education, perhaps none is more imperative to consider than the role of the research university in an innovation-driven society. Research universities are the primary source of the new knowledge and …
The Next decade, a Challenge for Technological and Societal Innovations
About 25 years ago, the world entered a period that we can call — although it is not brutal or quasi-instantaneous, but progressive — a revolution, which is rooted in political and economic, as well as scientific and technological forces. This revolution has brought increasing prosperity to the developed world …
BILDUNG and Innovation — a Contradictio in Adjecto for Today’s University Education
I do think that the terms Bildung and innovation can be contradictory, at least they express the inner conflict felt by a person, who is responsible for change in an institution — the university — and therefore for innovation and, at the same time, knows how frequently and in what …
The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Research Universities in Developing Countries
Preoccupations about university rankings reflect the general recognition that economic growth and global competitiveness are increasingly driven by knowledge and that universities play a key role in that context. Indeed, rapid advances in science and technology across a wide range of areas — from information and communication technologies
Preface to University Research for Innovation
In June 2009, university and industry leaders from around the world gathered in Glion-above-Montreux, Switzerland, at the VII Glion Colloquium to consider the role of research universities in an innovationdriven, global society. Launched in 1998 by Professors Luc Weber (University of Geneva) and Werner Hirsch (University of California),
Japanese University Reform
In order to understand the radical changes that Japanese universities have been undergoing in recent years, the observer has to keep in mind three essential facts: the demographic factor as an engine behind the changes, the ongoing political drive to a reorganization of the university management structure and the need …
Science and Technology in Brazil
Scientists in Brazil published 16,950 scientific articles in indexed journals in 2005. The country is the 17th-largest producer of science in the world. Nine out of ten of these articles were generated in public university laboratories. Scientists and engineers in business sector R&D activities created several cases of world-class competitive …
Global Success: Real World Research ‘Meets’ Global Practitioners
In this chapter we will first discuss the intensified global competition that seems to be evident between academic institutions. We will then point out two dimensions that might enhance stronger academic value creation in this emerging context. The first is more emphasis on realistic research — “real world” relevance in …
Partnering on a Global Scale
The past decade has brought tumultuous change to industry, effectively rewriting the assumptions and rules of how global business is conducted and of where to locate one’s operations and why. The advancement of information and communications technology, the ready access to a global delivery infrastructure, the pervasiveness of worldwide supply …
Has our Reach exceeded our Grasp
My purpose in this essay is to draw a distinction between being “global” and being “international”. I would like to begin, however, from a more personal perspective. For more than 40 years now I have spent a substantial portion of each year outside my own country. Like many academics, I …
Universities as Content Providers
The main mission of the University was and still is Education. Naturally, Universities are also involved in many other activities like Research, Innovation, Incubation of small companies, services, etc. Education is, however, the main goal. To achieve this goal, Universities daily produce and disseminate content using different instruments.