Post on 17-Dec-2014
description
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
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
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’
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)
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
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
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
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)
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
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”
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
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?