Transcript
Page 1: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

Asia Pacific Association for International Education 2010

The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

Professor Nigel Healey

Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Canterbury

Page 2: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Overview of Part I

Strategic Alliances 101 Forms of international cooperation –

Uppsala vs non-commercial Benefits and costs of each form Small or large networks? Conclusions

Page 3: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Forms of international cooperation

Uppsala sequencing model drawn from the literature on the internationalisation of business: Exporting Licensing production Joint ventures/strategic alliances Foreign direct investment

How well does higher education fit this model?

The ‘third wave’

Page 4: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

The Uppsala sequence in higher education

Exporting educational services = providing education to foreign students by teaching students on home campus or ‘pure’ distance learning’

Licensing production = licensing a foreign partner -“McDonaldization” of higher education

Third wave = offshore campuses, part– or wholly-owned by universities, for-profit providers riding third wave through acquisitions (Doha trade round)

Page 5: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

How useful is this model for explaining universities’ international cooperation?

Universities mix of public, not-for-profit and for-profit Uppsala explains the behaviour of for-profit universities

and “mixed systems” like UK, Australia and New Zealand – public universities with “private” dimensions

Does not capture other dimensions of universities’ activities in terms of mission, government policy, non-commercial goals

Excludes cooperative activities in terms of: Faculty and student exchange Joint teaching programmes Research partnerships

Page 6: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Benefits and costs of Uppsala partnership-based cooperation (1)

Franchising Benefit: income generating Cost: seen as exploitative, principal-agent problems,

misaligned strategic goals, time-limited

Third Wave Benefit: income generating, reach new student markets;

build brand internationally Cost: high risk, often built on faulty business models,

potential reputational damage

Page 7: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Benefits and costs of non-commercial partnership-based cooperation (2)

Student/faculty exchange Benefit: creates international learning opportunities Cost: expensive, may get little meaningful engagement

Dual degrees Benefit: income generating, reach new student markets;

build brand internationally Cost: high risk, misalignment of partners’ objectives,

quality assurance issues

Research partnerships Benefit: economies of scale/scope, brand/profile Costs: top-down, little real collaboration

Page 8: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Bilateral versus multilateral cooperation

Increasing economies of scale and scope

“A single thread can’t make a chord, nor a single tree a

forest” 一个线程不能引起了共鸣,也没有一棵树的森林

versus…

…increasing coordination and management costs

Parallel is between bilateral free trade agreements and

multilateral trade negotiations (eg, New Zealand – China

FTA versus WTO Doha Round)

Page 9: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Multilateral cooperation: an economist’s perspective

size of network

$ Marginal cost (coordination costs)

Marginal benefit (economies of scale)

communication technologies,

standardisation

standardisation

N*

Costs of research equipment, faculty

Page 10: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Multilateral cooperation: a management perspective

Low Economies of scale High

Low

C

oord

ina

tion

cost

s

H

igh

“Boutique” “Fast Food”

“Country Club” “Investment Bank”

Page 11: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Multilateral cooperation: a management perspective

Low Economies of scale High

Low

C

oord

inat

ion

cost

s

H

igh

LSE/NYU/HKULaureate

Astronomy

Universitas 21Socrates

UMAP

Page 12: The role of international strategic alliances in higher education: a New Zealand perspective

nige

l.hea

ley@

cant

erb

ury.

ac.

nz

Gold Coast 2010

Conclusions

The increase of international partnerships partly explained by sequential model of internationalisation…

…but range of other motives for international partnerships in terms of universities’ missions

Good partnerships can transform learning experience for students, open up new possibilities for collaborative research

Need to be managed carefully to ensure return on investment, not presidents’ vanity

Final thought: is global warming a growing threat to traditional models of international partnership?


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