Bulletin - University of Warwick Edward Oben Ako University of Maroua, Cameroon Professor Vasanthy...

BulletinNo 187 April 2016

Striking a pathDefining the responsible university

Supporting early career academics

Women leaders in HE

Contents

3 EditorialJan Thomas on the value of being amember of the ACU.

4 Defining the responsible universityDomwini D Kuupole previews some ofthe discussions at the 2016 ACUConference of University Leaders.

6 Women and leadership in highereducationWhy are there still so few female VCs?Cheryl de la Rey considers reasons andsolutions.

8 What next for the Nairobi Process?Ahead of the publication of a new report,Graham Furniss examines some of thechallenges facing early career academicsin African countries.

10 How internationalised is your university?How can you know and what can you do?Helen Spencer-Oatey and Daniel Dauberhave some suggestions.

12 The future of the doctorateAbubakar Suleiman and Obiora Eneanyaprovide a student perspective on a recentseminar.

14 The ACU: broadening horizonsReports from a selection of our recentEarly Career Academic Grant holders.

16 Noticeboard

18 HR steps upSteve Daysh looks ahead to this year’s ACUHRM Network Conference.

20 Quo vadis?Dave van Eeden on the debates abouttransforming the role of human resources.

22 Investigating the prevalence of triplenegative breast cancer in women ofAfrican ancestryJuliet Daniel reports on her research,supported by an ACU Titular Fellowship.

24 University-industry engagement: howdoes it work?Kevin Cullen shares an example ofresearch commercialisation in practice.

28 Recent publications

30 ACU membership update

31 Calendar

BulletinEditorial team: Natasha Lokhun, John Kirkland, Nick Mulhern, Joyce Achampong, Ben Prasadam-Halls

Design: Chris Monk

Printed by: TFW Printers Ltd.

The Bulletin is published by:The Association of CommonwealthUniversitiesWoburn House20-24 Tavistock SquareLondonWC1H 9HFUKTel: +44 (0)20 7380 6700Fax: +44 (0)20 7387 2655

[email protected]

The Bulletin is published for informationpurposes only and no liability is accepted for its contents by the ACU or by any contributor.While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information contained in theBulletin was correct at the time of compilation, it should not be regarded as definitive and noresponsibility is accepted for the inclusion oromission of any particular items or for the viewsexpressed therein. Opinions expressed are thoseof the authors and do not necessarily representthe views or policies of the ACU.

© The Association of CommonwealthUniversities 2016

ACU Council

Professor Jan Thomas ChairUniversity of Southern Queensland, Australia

Professor Cheryl de la Rey Vice-ChairUniversity of Pretoria, South Africa

Professor James McWha Honorary Treasurerformerly University of Rwanda

Professor Edward Oben AkoUniversity of Maroua, Cameroon

Professor Vasanthy ArasaratnamUniversity of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Professor David AtkinsonMacEwan University, Canada

Professor Arun Diwaker Nath BajpaiHimachal Pradesh University, India

Professor Rahamon A BelloUniversity of Lagos, Nigeria

Professor Paul BoyleUniversity of Leicester, UK

Professor Amit ChakmaWestern University, Canada

Professor Rajesh ChandraUniversity of the South Pacific, Fiji

Professor Dato’ Mohd Amin JalaludinUniversity of Malaya, Malaysia

Professor Romeela MoheeUniversity of Mauritius

Professor Md Mahbubar RahmanBangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman AgriculturalUniversity, Bangladesh

Professor Idris RaiState University of Zanzibar, Tanzania

Professor Ranbir SinghNational Law University, Delhi, India

Professor Christina SladeBath Spa University, UK

This publication has been printed on paper from 100% renewable and controllable sources.

April 2016 Bulletin 3

he presidents of modern univ er -sities are continually needing tomake decisions about organis at -ional priorities – prioritisingoppor tunities with a view to

optimising the degree to which resources areused to support their particular organisationalmission. It is natural, therefore, for presidentsto ask ‘What is the value of being a memberof the ACU?’

There are very good reasons for Common -wealth universities to join the ACU. In fact, it isparticularly critical for universities from themore developed nations to become members.Here’s why.

As the oldest international universitynetwork in the world, the ACU has beenserving its members for more than 100 years.Membership is available to all recogniseduniversities within the Commonwealth, andmembership is consistently increasing.

Global connectivity is now an essential partof any industry, never more so than for highereducation. Staff and student mobility – provid -ing an authentic international educationalexperience and exploiting the opportunitiesthat arise from working across differentcultures through education – is as importantas the more traditional international collab -orations which drive the research endeavour.

International mobility is at the heart ofACU activity. The ACU has found new andinnovative ways to help staff and students atuniversities across the world increase theirinternational exposure. Through grants, schemes,scholarships, networks, and conferences, theACU provides a myriad of credible and vibrantopportunities for all.

We are all familiar with the degree towhich strong partnerships with like-mindedinstitutions are more often than not initiatedthrough personal relationships (colleagues

researching a common area, for example) andfed by mutual interest and benefit in edu -cation, research, or both. Internationalnetworks such as the ACU provide exposureand opportunities for engagement and morethat cannot be foreseen without participation.

I’ve heard it argued on occasion that thenotion of the Commonwealth of Nations isassociated with colonialism, and as such isinappropriate as a basis for forming closerelationships. I reject such ideas as failing toappreciate the potential that the Common -wealth provides. The distinctive character ofour membership – the Commonwealth’s 53diverse member nations cover one in four ofthe world’s total population, and developedalongside developing countries – createsopportunities unlikely to be found throughother networks.

Through the diversity run common threadsthat support collaboration and partnerships.The European origins of modern universitiesand all the values inherent in our missions arewell displayed throughout the Common -wealth. These nations are united in their sharedvalues of democracy, human rights, and therule of law – providing the ideal basis forbuilding meaningful and lasting relationships.A common heritage, language, and elementsof culture also ensure familiarity and an ease ofworking together. Moreover, the emergingeconomies within the Commonwealth providenew and exciting opportunities for mutuallybeneficial partnerships with universities frommore developed nations.

ACU membership fees are based on theHuman Development Index (HDI) category ofthe relevant country and the income of theinstitution. This ensures that benefits can beaccessed by all. At their highest, they amountto a few thousand British pounds per year. Thepractical return on investment for member

institutions, should they take up theadvantages, is very high.

For me though, there is a rationale formembership that transcends simple econ -omics. While universities need to operate aslarge multinational businesses in the 21stcentury, they remain unique civic institutionsthat are fundamental for democracy toflourish. Their role in educating citizens forfuture workforce needs is obvious. Lessobvious is the role they play in generalcapability development across the population –ensuring that citizens are educated, informed,and able to exercise their rights.

Among the fundamentals of a modernuniversity are the immutable characteristics ofacademic freedom and collegiality. Academicsunderstand the benefit of cooperation andcollaboration. In a global world, all universitiesmust maintain their vision beyond the horizonof international business relationships andpreserve open collegial discussion. Universitieshave a responsibility to foster the principles ofthe academy and to actively protect it insituations where it might be under threat.

Active membership and participation in theACU by all the nations that form this uniquecollective will enhance all participatinguniversities and their respective countries. Itshould not simply be considered as an‘international development’ exercise but ratheras a foundation for our fundamental role insupporting human development.

Shifting sands in the geopolitical landscapesuggest that these roles are required now morethan ever. ■

Professor Jan Thomas is Vice-Chancellorof the University of SouthernQueensland, Australia, and Chair of theACU Council.

Editorial

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4 Bulletin April 2016

Defining the responsible universityDomwini D Kuupole looks ahead to some of the discussions at this year’s ACU Conference ofUniversity Leaders.

orldwide, universities play acrucial role in bridging theskills gap in society, add -ressing policy initiativesthrough knowledge building

and innovative thinking, and continuallyevolving to respond to complex national andglobal issues.

There is an ongoing debate about therelevance of university curricula in emergingsocieties, especially those in sub-SaharanAfrica. This debate is at two broad levels. First,there are those who argue that universities indeveloping countries are not producinggraduates who can fit into the existing system.This group points to the growing issue ofgraduate unemployment in countries such asGhana. On the other hand, the secondargument is that universities provide skills andknow-how which are consumed by individ -uals and institutions at local and internationallevels, as well as training which leads to thequalitative transformation of society. While thefirst group’s concerns give us food for thought,it ignores a number of factors, particularly thetransforming role of higher education, whichhas in-built long-term manifestation. I sharethe view of the second group.

It is within the context of the secondargument that the theme for this year’s ACUConference of University Leaders – ‘Definingthe responsible university: society, impact andgrowth’ – should be placed. The themereminds us of the need and the opportunity toarticulate the collective roles and respon -sibilities of institutions of higher learning todevelopment. The role of the responsibleuniversity can be looked at in many differentways, from producing socially-minded grad -uates to creating research with impact, fromengaging with our communities to ensuringaccess through scholarships and equitableadmission policies.

Impacting societyThe modern university has three broad areasthat are core to its mandate: teaching, research,and community engagement (outreach). Inthe case of the University of Cape Coast(UCC), the institution was established in 1962with a defined mandate: to train teachers andother educationists for the ‘new Ghana’. Overthe years, UCC has trained and continues to

train professionals at all levels for the nationaleducational system of the country – from pre-school through to postgraduate studies, fromeducational leadership to teaching andlearning techniques. The contribution ofuniversities to society cannot go unrecognised– whether it be the training of teachers,administrators, lawyers, or public servants,nations would not continue to grow anddevelop without higher education.

What does the world need from graduatestoday? How can we as educators ensure thatwe are giving graduates the solid foundationthey need to tackle global challenges head-on?Developing individuals who are skilled notonly in their chosen field, but also morewidely, produces responsible graduates whoare the knowledge workers of tomorrow whilebeing ethically, socially, and environmentallyresponsible. Volunteering and leadershipprogrammes coupled with building socialenterprises provide opportunities for studentsto develop into the well-rounded and worldlycitizens our countries need now and into thefuture.

Strategic partnershipsIn recent times, universities have also embracedthe concept of responsibility through makingthemselves more open to strategic partnershipswith business and industry. In December 2015,after over two years of careful planning, UCC

started a pilot project to run a commercial fuelstation in partnership with the Ghana OilCompany. To ensure the efficient running ofthis and other initiatives, including water anddetergent processing units, the university hasincorp orated a limited company (UCCEnterprises Ltd).

Universities are now keener than ever tobuild links that foster the spirit of collab -oration between academia and industry.Industry can offer academics a different wayof thinking, providing valuable insight as wellas creating opportunities that would nototherwise exist. There is also a need for moreentrepreneurial thinking within universities,and partnerships with business can help buildthis capacity. The more actively engagedacademics, civil servants, and industry leadersare in developing graduates for the world ofwork and entrepreneurship, the more fruitfula society can become.

The fundamental role of universities indelivering highly-skilled graduates has notchanged, but the world we are preparing themfor has. As in many countries, universities inGhana were established to provide leadershipin nation building. The modern university canno longer see itself as the bastion ofknowledge or an ivory tower. Responsibleuniversities work to develop and engage futuretalent, build effective partnerships, play a rolein promoting tolerance and peace, and usescholarship programmes strategically.

We are very excited to welcome you toGhana in July 2016 to discuss whatuniversities are doing and what they shouldcontinue to do to develop our nations and thepeople within them. While you are here, weentreat you all to bask in the sun and thewarmth of the people of Ghana. Akwaaba!Maraba!Welcome! ■

Professor Domwini D Kuupole is Vice-Chancellor of the University of CapeCoast, and Chairman of the LocalOrganising Committee for the 2016 ACUConference of University Leaders.

Confirmed speakers include:● The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland,

Commonwealth Secretary-General● Kofi Annan, Chair of the Kofi Annan

Foundation, former Secretary-Generalof the United Nations, and NobelPeace Prize laureate

● HE John Dramani Mahama, Presidentof Ghana

● Dr Vianne Timmons, President andVice-Chancellor of the University ofRegina, Canada

● Professor Furqan Qamar, SecretaryGeneral of the Association of IndianUniversities

● Helen Pennant, Director of theCambridge Commonwealth, Europeanand International Trust, UK

W

Hosted in partnership with Vice-Chancellors’ Ghana

Sponsored by

ACU Conference of University Leaders

Defining the responsible university:

society, impact and growth

27-29 July 2016Pre-conference: 26 July 2016

Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana

www.acu.ac.uk/ghana-2016

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espite significant increases in theparticipation of women in formalemployment around the world,women are still under-representedin positions of power, resp on sib -

ility, and leadership. Higher education showsthe same trend, yet women’s participation rateshave increased significantly at all educationlevels, and in many countries there is a strongupward trend of female professors, and in someinstances also deputy vice-chancellors. So, is itjust a matter of time before we see greaternumbers of women at the helm of universities?Regrettably, this would not seem to be the case.

While on a trip to Australia in 2010, Ipicked up a copy of a publication called CampusReview, which reported that in 2004 11 ofAustralia’s 39 vice-chancellors were women,but by 2010 there were only seven female VCs.Surely a backwards step? Shortly after my trip,

I was interviewed by a South African journalist,who remarked that South Africa seems not tobe able to progress beyond four female VCs. Sixyears later, South Africa now has three femaleVCs, despite the number of universitiesincreasing from 23 to 26. Australia does notappear to have improved much either, with tenof the current 39 VCs being women. So, what’sthe problem?

After decades of research, it is evident thatgender equity policies are necessary butinsufficient to achieve full equality for women,as the barriers are multidimensional andintersect in complex ways. More recent linesof research enquiry, focusing on culture andthe micro-politics of everyday life, areilluminating some of the complexities. Studieson gender and leadership are especiallyrelevant to the issue of the low number ofwomen in vice-chancellor positions.

In current times, when universities aregrappling with a growing number of pressuresand those at the top are facing criticisms aboutincreasing corporatisation, performanceorientation, rising costs, and the like, oneoften hears calls for good leadership. It is astatement that typically evokes easy consensus.After all, how can one not want goodleadership?

The characteristics associated with goodleadership are traits and behaviours typicallyassociated with masculinity. In the vastliterature on leadership, the topic is oftentreated in a gender-blind way. Searches forstudies on gender and leadership reveal thatwhen gender is considered, the tendency hasbeen to focus overwhelmingly on women.Considerable attention has been given to thequestion of whether women display differentleadership behaviours and styles in comp -

Women and leadership in highereducationWomen are increasingly represented in education and the workforce, so why do inequalities persist atleadership level? Cheryl de la Rey shares her experiences as a female vice-chancellor.

DA breakout session at the ACU ‘Women, gender and leadership in higher education’ training of trainers workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013


arison to men. What is implicit in the researchon women and leadership is that the point ofdeparture marks female leaders as differentfrom a norm, which is defined by theleadership behaviours of men.

One of the consequences is that recruit -ment and selection processes, often unin -tentionally and implicitly (due to unconsciousbiases), are likely to favour those who displaythe forms of masculinity (assertive indiv -idualism, certainty, and firmness) that complywith dominant notions of good leadership.Among women in leadership positions, almostall can report experiences of being confrontedwith stereotypes. From my personal exper -ience, there have been times when I havetravelled with a male colleague, and othershave initially assumed that he is the VC.

These assumptions about good leadershipmean female leaders have to navigate acomplex set of contradictions. On the onehand, there is an expectation that women aregoing to represent a different leadership style:more participatory, cooperative, and empathic.Yet, at the same time we can be judged as toosoft, and not firm enough – and those womenwho do demonstrate strong assertivebehaviour tend to face criticism for being toomuch like men in the position. These genderedexpectations are manifested in terms such as‘Queen Bee’ and popular media discussionsabout topics such as women bosses.

Biographical research has illuminated anumber of the more subtle, everyday genderbiases that shape women’s careers. Many seniorfemale academics, deans, and deputy VCsindicate that they would not want VC jobs asthey are too managerial, administrative, andpolitical. The career narratives of womenworking in academia reveal that the process ofcareer advancement is often experienced as astruggle that has to be fought alone. ‘You haveto fight your own battles’ is a sentimentreflected in many accounts. And those womenwho do apply for management and leadershippositions are often said to be ‘brave enough toapply’. The competitive and sometimes publicselection processes can serve as a disincentivefor women, since being openly competitiveand ambitious are not seen as flatteringfeminine characteristics.

The job of a VC is complex, and demandson one’s time and energy are boundless. Thereis little time left for family, domesticresponsibilities, or recreation. In most cultures,women still bear the main responsibility fororganising the household, but the VC role isbased on the assumption of someone being

available at home to take care of domestic andfamily responsibilities.

Children, relationship status, and familyresponsibilities have a disproportionate impacton women’s careers, but not always in directlinear ways. For example, having youngchildren is not always a relevant factor; it canbe teenage children who require a great deal ofattention, or ageing parents who require careand support.

The job of a VC in the 21st century entailsat least ten hours a day at the office, plusnumerous after-hours events and dinners, aswell as an expectation that you will be availableover weekends. The nature of a VC’s job isincreasingly open-ended, encompassingactivities such as stakeholder relations, fund -raising, lobbying, and so on. Furthermore, theinternationalisation of universities in aglobalised world has expanded the range ofskills required, overall job remit, and travelrequirements. Moreover, in highly politicisedcontexts such as South Africa, it frequentlyinvolves dealing with protests by workers andstudents.

‘Unliveable lives’ is the term used by LouiseMorley in her latest research on gender andhigher education. Indeed, countless womenand men have remarked that they would notlike my job as VC, especially in the wake ofnational student protests for free universityeducation. But it is important to acknowledgethat individual choices are made within

contexts that either facilitate or constrain thesechoices, and there is ample evidence thatspecific gender-related factors exist thatconvince many women that a VC’s job is not adesirable choice.

What is to be done to change the statusquo?

As the more recent qualitative research hasshown, women and leadership in highereducation is a complex, multidimensionalissue, and so a multipronged approach isrequired to solve it, incorporating a range ofinterventions to address the many facets ofgender bias both within and outside theuniversity. Universities are embedded in largersocietal contexts, and this means that changingorganisational practices and processes willrequire concerted attention over a sustainedperiod, accompanied by external societalchanges in gender-related expectations.

Despite these powerful societal influences,universities can endeavour to identify many ofthe unsaid rules and informal practices thatcontinue to inhibit women moving intoleadership roles, and then resolve to changethem. Furthermore, those of us who occupythese positions can contribute to change bytalking about our experiences – not only thechallenges we have faced, but also the sense ofachievement and fulfilment that can bederived from being in charge of a university.Leading a university provides a uniqueopportunity to influence the lives of futuregenerations of professionals and leaders. ■

Professor Cheryl de la Rey is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Universityof Pretoria, South Africa.

Women and leadershipin higher

education is acomplex,

multidimensionalissue, and so amultipronged

approach is requiredto solve it,

incorporating a rangeof interventions toaddress the many

facets of gender biasboth within and

outside the university.


What next for the Nairobi Process?In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the needs of early career researchers and theirrole in higher education in Africa. From the start of his career in 1970s Nigeria, Graham Furnissshares his journey and why he believes there is reason to be hopeful for the future.

s a young lecturer in the 1970s, I was a founding member of anewly-established department atthe University of Maiduguri inNigeria. Moving to a new job at

the well-resourced and well-established Schoolof Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) inLondon meant leaving all this behind. In theyears that followed, I kept in touch with manycolleagues and, as the years went by, I becameincreasingly alarmed at what was happeningto them and their universities. The effects ofausterity were so severe that salaries were notbeing paid and colleagues had to turn totrading and taxi driving to make ends meet;libraries were not acquiring books, publishingappeared to collapse, and retiring staff werenot being replaced. National and internationaldevelopment efforts were focused mainly onprimary education – higher education wasbeing left to sink or swim, but mostly sink, itappeared. I visited Nigeria many times over theensuing years, and I saw time and again theheroic efforts of staff to cope with vastnumbers of students, despite dwindlingresources.

Twenty years later, in 2005, I found myselfPresident of the African Studies Association ofthe UK during the two years in which theCommission for Africa’s final report waspublished, the New Partnership for AfricanDevelopment (NEPAD) was founded, and anAfrican renaissance was being mooted.

At that time, in another forum, a keydiscussion was taking place about how to fundresearch partnerships between scholars in theUK and in African countries. The Africa Panelof the British Academy (BA) wanted a betterunderstanding of what blockages andimpediments to doing good research werefaced by academics in African universities.Many of us had anecdotal evidence from ourown experience – I talked about thecircumstances of my former colleagues inNigeria – but it was clear that we needed tohear what colleagues currently working inAfrican universities had to say, if we were toreally understand the issues. This is whatspurred the BA to turn to the ACU and ask ifthey would be interested in finding out more.

Through its substantial networks in Africa,the ACU began to elicit common themes and

commentaries from a wide spectrum ofpeople across many African universities. A meeting was then held in 2008 in Nairobi,Kenya, to bring together those who hadwritten in with their views and experiences ofresearch activity and cultures in a variety ofAfrican universities. The outcome of thosediscussions was The Nairobi Report: Frameworks forAfrica-UK Research Collaboration in the Social Sciencesand Humanities, jointly published by the BA andthe ACU in 2009.

A key theme to emerge from this reportcentred on the critical importance of investingin individuals, particularly early careerresearchers. Time and again, the discussioncame back to the issue of early careerresearchers and the unique problems that theyface. The debate didn’t finish there. PaschalMihyo, the then Executive Secretary of theOrganisation for Social Science Research inEast Africa (OSSREA) and a prime mover in thedebates at the Nairobi meeting, coined theterm ‘The Nairobi Process’ to describe not justthe report, but also the ongoing debate aroundthe strengthening of research capacity acrossAfrica – a debate in which many organisationsand donor agencies had been involved.

The focus upon early career researchers hasnot abated, and was taken forward in a secondstudy and ensuing discussion, which waspublished in 2011. Titled Foundations for the Future:Supporting the early careers of African researchers, itexamined a range of issues that affect anysuccessful research career trajectory:● Establishing connections with research

communities ● Getting cited in international publications● Designing and securing funding for new

post-PhD projects● Obtaining seed-corn funding● Being willing and able to support junior

colleagues● Ensuring that there is a supportive

institutional context in which early careerresearchers are helped by more seniorcolleagues

Following the publication of Foundations for theFuture, it became apparent that the issues raisedby the Nairobi Process were making their wayinto, or being separately addressed by, new andamended staff development programmes in

various places. This led to the most recentstudy, due to be published in April 2016,which asks: what has been the experience ofaddressing some of these issues in practice?What has worked and what hasn’t? And whatcan we learn from current practice?

Responding to these questions, The nextgeneration: Ideas and experiences in African researchersupport, retains the focus on early careerresearchers, but looks more closely at existingpractice within African institutions andinternational programmes supporting earlycareer researchers across sub-Saharan Africa. Inparticular, it highlights two targeted inter -ventions, both of which have integrated thefindings of the first two reports into theirdesign and objectives, by combining invest -ment in the development of individualresearchers with strengthening institutionalresearcher development frameworks.

One of the central case studies explored inThe next generation is the Climate ImpactsResearch Capacity and Leadership Enhance -ment (CIRCLE) programme. Funded by theUK Department for International Development(DFID) and managed by the ACU in partner -ship with the African Academy of Science,CIRCLE provides one-year research fellowshipsto early career African researchers working inthe field of climate change. It is an intra-African programme, with fellows hosted byAfrican universities. While initially conceivedexclusively as a fellowship programme, theACU drew on the recommendations emergingfrom the Nairobi Process to make the case forstrengthening the participating institutions’capacity to support their researchers.

A similar rationale also underpinned thedevelopment of the second case study: theStructured Training for African Researchers(STARS) programme. In addition, the reportwas able to draw on institutional best practicein researcher support, highlighting examplesfrom the Universities of Cape Town, Ibadan,and South Africa. The focus on existingprogrammes of activity within Africa providesthe latest report with valuable empirical datathat moves the Nairobi Process forward froman abstract debate to one that is based uponexperience and informed recommendations.

The next generation considers a range of earlycareer issues, such as mentoring, networking,

A


experience of an active research culture, careerdevelopment, publishing in internationaljournals, and so on. It emphasises the imp -ortance of contextualising researcher supportprogrammes, establishing the processes andstructures necessary to demonstrate their valueand ensure their relevance and sustainability,identifying key areas of priority for researchersupport, and developing strategies formaximising limited resources.

In preparation for the report, a workshopwas held in Johannesburg, South Africa, withrepresentatives from research managementoffices across Africa and a number of earlycareer researchers. This forum provided usefulfeedback from experienced professionals withan understanding of researcher developmentin Africa and its associated challenges.Importantly, they were able to contribute toand endorse the recommendations that appearin the report. Overall, The next generation reportmakes 16 recommendations in the followingareas:● Knowing and shaping your context

Defining who constitutes an early careerresearcher, and understanding existing

provision and the institution’s priorities.● Institutional structure and resources

Ensuring there are dedicated and well-trained staff to support researcher develop -ment, and institutional frameworks thatrecognise and promote researchers’ careerprogression, as well as adequate monitor -ing and evaluation of existing provision.

● Priorities for researcher supportIncluding developing systematic mentoringprogrammes for early career staff,allocating dedicated time for research, andproviding training in both hard and softresearch skills.

● Maximising resourcesMaking the most of existing resources,whether through the use of online trainingand resources, capitalising on networks andcentres of excellence, or incorporatingresearch development into fundingproposals.

The report will again be jointly published bythe BA and the ACU, and will be a furthercontribution to finding ‘African answers toAfrican problems’, as the Commission for

Africa put it some ten years ago. For someonewhose academic career started in a Nigerianuniversity, and whose research has alwaysbenefited from the advice and support ofNigerian colleagues, the prospect of recon -struction and advancement for subjects anddisciplines that seemed to see nothing butdecline for so long is one which cannot cometoo soon. So, as I reach retirement, I take thegreatest pleasure in seeing the prospect of anew generation emerging who will, I am sure,be able to benefit from many of the things thatI took so much for granted as I began my owncareer. ■

Professor Graham Furniss FBA OBE isProfessor Emeritus of African LanguageLiterature at SOAS, University of London,UK. He is also Chair of the BritishAcademy’s Africa Panel, and Deputy Chairof the Commonwealth ScholarshipCommission in the UK.

www.acu.ac.uk/nairobi-process

CIRCLE fellows at a workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, in February 2016


n January 2016, the Times HigherEducation (THE) published its latestrankings of the world’s ‘mostinternational universities’. Theresults are based on their ‘inter -

national outlook indicator’, which takes intoaccount each institution’s proportion ofinternational staff, proportion of internationalstudents, and proportion of research paperspublished with at least one co-author fromanother country.

A number of comments have been postedon the THE website, many of which are criticalof the methodology used to calculate therankings. Some point to the impact of size ofcountry, others question whether academicsfrom neighbouring countries/regions (e.g.Germans in Austria; Mainland Chinese inHong Kong) really make a university moreinternational. There are reservations aboutwhether the findings necessarily correlate with‘bestness’, yet Phil Baty, Editor of the THEWorld University Rankings, maintains that,while they are not a proxy for excellence, theydo help people gain a deeper understandingof the global higher education landscape.

Debates such as this raise some fund a -mental questions. What are the goals of inter -nationalisation? How can we best measurelevels of internationalisation? How can weapply any insights we obtain? We explore theseissues in this article, taking students and theirgrowth and development as our particularfocus.

What are the goals of internationalisation?University leaders and staff may have a rangeof goals for internationalisation, both organ -isational and structural, and two of the mostcommon relate to international student recruit -ment and level of student mobility. Looking atexamples from the UK, the University ofEdinburgh states in its internationalisationstrategy that it wishes to recruit a further 1000non-EU international students within threeyears, and the University of Nottinghamidentifies an increase in the percentage of

students on some form of outward mobilityas one of its success measures.

Clearly, these are important initiatives, yet,as a recent British Council reports point out,they are inadequate in themselves:

‘Simply having a diverse student body does notmean the education or even the campus is global innature. What comes as an essential part of a globaleducation is the inclusion of international studentsin communities and classes. Integration of allstudents is an elemental factor in the expandingconcept of internationalisation.’

This suggests that diversity is not an end initself, but rather is merely the foundation forpromoting integrated communities andoffering a global education. Having a diversepopulation is an important prerequisite forreaping these benefits, but it does not in itselfensure that they will be achieved. In otherwords, the mere existence of a diversifiedstudent body does not necessarily lead tointeraction nor to the development of globalskills. It is only a vital first step in an inter -nationalisation trajectory, as shown in Figure 1.

This means that students not only need tohave the opportunity to meet and interact withpeople from different language and cultural

back grounds (through experiencing a culturallydiverse university community and/or throughstudy abroad), but they also need to takeadvantage of that opportunity. Sadly, it is perfectlypossible (and, it seems, often quite common)for both home and international students toremain in their comfort zones and experiencelittle intermixing. When that happens, theymiss out on the opportunity to learn manynew things from each other, including the‘global graduate’ skills that employers arelooking for.

How can we best measureinternationalisation?As Table 1 illustrates, the most well-knownorganisations that measure internationalisation(THE rankings, QS World rankings, and U-Multirank) all use parameters that areexclusively structural in nature. Similarly, arecent European funded project, IMPI (Indic -ators for Mapping and Profiling Inter nation -alisation, 2009–2012), has drawn up adetailed set of indicators that institutions canuse to assess their level of inter nat ionalisation,including those that help prepare students forlife and work in an intercultural andglobalising world. Once again, all the items arestructural in nature and, most likely, would

How internationalised is youruniversity? How can you know andwhat can you do?Internationalisation is a buzzword in higher education circles. But what does it actually mean inpractice? Helen Spencer-Oatey and Daniel Dauber explain their efforts to evaluate this from thestudent perspective.

I

Figure 1: Developmental stages of internationalisation

Pre-internationalisation

Structuralinternationalisation

Communityinternationalisation

Competencyinternationalisation

Culturallyhomogeneous

campus community

Culturally diversestudents and staff; limitedintercultural

interaction andintegration

Culturally diverseuniversity

community; high levels

of interculturalinteraction and

integration

Interculturallycompetent staff

and students


produce ‘more of the same’ findings as currentbenchmarks do. They are unlikely to be able tocapture the community and competencyaspects of internationalisation.

In order to transition from a policy ofdiversity to a policy of integrated diversity andglobal graduate development, it is necessaryfor universities to monitor systematically theircurrent progress towards this deeper inter -nationalisation. This entails measuring students’social and academic integration, as well as theextent to which they feel they are developingglobal skills, including growth in theirunderstanding of what this means. An increas -ing number of universities are recog nising theimportance of these features of internationalis -ation, but they are not currently captured inexisting measures.

As a result, here at the University ofWarwick, we have recently designed a tool –the Global Education Profiler (GE-P) – specif -ically to assess these elements in a systematicand reliable manner. It consists of five shortmodules, each of which serves to measurestudents’ levels of aspiration and actualexperiences of integrated diversity and globalgraduate development. By probing both aspir -ation and actual experience, it offers evaluationmeasures of both supply and demand, as wellas any gap that may exist between the two,thus providing more detail than straight -forward student satisfaction measures (seeFigure 2).

The supply and demand design reveals an

institution’s relative strengths and weaknesses,enabling them to prioritise effort and optimisetheir internationalisation endeavours. The toolallows for contextualised decisions that aremeaningful to policymakers, not only in termsof overall student satisfaction, but also withrespect to resource allocation and overallimprovement in the social viability of theirinstitution. So this brings us to the nextquestion: how can we apply the insights wegain from such measures?

How can we best promote community andcompetency internationalisation?Numerous universities have developed a rangeof initiatives to help promote integration oncampus. Of course, what works well will varyfrom context to context. Here at the Universityof Warwick, we aim not only to encourageinteraction and friendships among peoplefrom diverse cultural backgrounds, but also toproactively develop students’ global graduateskills and the ability to verbalise what thismeans in a way that is meaningful toemployers.

As an example, we have developed a three-stage intercultural training programme toaddress these needs. In stage 1 (pre-departurefor study abroad students; recent arrival forhome students), students participate in aworkshop, followed by an online course.Through the course, they engage in a range ofinteractive activities to help them becomemore interculturally sensitive, especially in

relation to communication patterns, under -lying assumptions, and their impact onrelationship building.

Then in stage 2, we focus on developingstudents’ observation, reflection and perspect -ive-taking skills. Our aim is to encourage themto pay close attention to their experiences ofdifference and to reflect on them as deeply aspossible. All students, whether abroad or athome, will experience differences of somekind, and we regard all of them as useful fordeveloping intercultural sensitivity. We use our3R tool, which supports intercultural learningthrough journaling, to help them with this.

In the final stage of our programme, whichtakes place after the students have returnedfrom abroad (or, for home students, after a fewmonths of study), students are given theopportunity to talk with each other and witha mentor about their various interculturalexperiences, and through this to draw outtheir learning. A key aim is to help themacquire the concepts and vocabulary throughwhich they can explain what they have learnedand the skills they have developed in ways thatare meaningful to others, especially employers.

Students’ feedback has been very positive,referring to the programme as ‘extremelyrewarding’ and of ‘direct relevance to gaininga job’. Nevertheless, we would like to monitorits effectiveness more systematically, includingusing tools that can measure students’ learninggain in the intercultural field – a challenge thatwe are currently working on. ■

Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey isDirector of Applied Linguistics at theUniversity of Warwick, [email protected]

Dr Daniel Dauber is Assistant Professor,Applied Linguistics at the University ofWarwick, UK.

Further readingBritish Council, Integration of international students

– a UK perspective (2014)Global Education Profiler (GE-P) –

www.globalpad.net/GE-P3-Stage Training –

www.globalpad.net/gg123Indicators for Mapping and Profiling

Internationalisation project – www.impi-project.eu

OrganisationTHE QS U-Multirank

Composition: international students ✓ ✓

Composition: international staff ✓ ✓ ✓

Composition: international diversity ✓

Incoming and outgoing student mobility ✓ ✓

International student support (religious facilities) ✓

International joint publications ✓ ✓ ✓

Table 1: Parameters for ranking internationalisation

Figure 2: Students’ perceptions of social integration (sample data)

Low High

Socialintegration

Aspiration

ExperienceGap


rom emerging pandemics to thethreats posed by radicalisationand terrorism, it is obvious thatthe world faces many challenges.As such, bright and educated

people are needed more than ever to solvethese problems. Recently, our universitieshave been graduating more and moredoctoral students in many disciplines. Nodoubt, this expansion of PhD training has ledto a substantial increase in research outputs,and novel solutions to many of thesechallenges.

But a careful look at this trend suggests agloomy outlook for the PhD holder. Publicdebate around this and other problemssurrounding the doctoral degree have beenongoing for a few years; the latest forum forsuch discussions was a one-day seminar on‘The future of the doctorate’, organised bythe ACU and hosted by the Wellcome Trust inLondon in December 2015.

Both the ACU and the Wellcome Trust arewell experienced in running programmessupporting doctoral education and developingthe skills and leadership potential ofresearchers, especially those in the early stagesof their careers. The seminar also broughttogether university representatives from acrossthe Commonwealth to share their perspectiveson how to maintain the doctorate.

Presentations summarised the historicaldevelopment of PhD training across a range ofcountries, including Canada, Mauritius,Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and the South Pacificregion. Focal areas that dominated these pres -entations and the ensuing discussions relatedmainly to institutional successes andconstraints in operating the present system ofdoctoral education. Particular attention waspaid to the limited resources available tosupport doctoral programmes, and how somegovernments and institutions, such as theNigerian government’s Tertiary Education Trust

Fund (TETFUND), were addressing thisproblem.

Funding remains an important issue indelivering PhD education, particularly indeveloping countries (from which a largerproportion of the seminar participants came).There are other issues relating to the supply,demand, and quality of PhD training, andmany of them were repeatedly mentioned atthe seminar. However, it appeared that littleattention was paid to the issues facing PhDstudents who, in our opinion, are the mostimportant stakeholders of this century-oldGerman model of academic apprenticeship.

The prospect of getting a decent job aftergraduation is probably the single mostimportant motivation for a student under -taking a PhD programme. However, one of themajor issues with the current system ofdoctoral education is the limited employmentoptions for PhD holders. Generally, PhDprogrammes seem to be biased towards

The future of the doctorateAbubakar Suleiman and Obiora Eneanya provide a student perspective on how universities can worktogether to maintain the PhD as a globally-recognised qualification.

F

Delegates at ‘The future of the doctorate’ seminar held in London, UK in December 2015


supplying manpower to academia. As a result,potential candidates who prefer other careerpathways are discouraged. Some academic jobscan be quite attractive but, as PhD enrolmenthas increased, fewer faculty positions areavailable for new PhD holders. In OECDcountries, for instance, the number of sciencePhD holders alone grew by an average of 48%from 1998 to 2008, and this trend does notseem to be slowing down.

Speakers at the ACU seminar from the UKand Canada particularly noted the proliferationof PhD programmes which, according to MarkC Taylor, has resulted in an oversupply of PhDholders with ‘a cruel fantasy of futureemployment that promotes the self-interest offaculty members at the expense of students’.Obviously, Taylor’s remarks allude to the factthat PhD holders often receive training thatenable them only to fill faculty positions, andthere are very few other jobs for graduateswho might have spent up to a decadeundertaking a PhD degree. Thus, the vastmajority of PhD holders who cannot findacademic positions are essentially destined forunending, lower-paying, and unsecuredpostdoctoral fellowships. The danger of gettinginto the postdoctoral ‘trap’ is that it furtherlimits the skillsets of postdocs to academicpositions only. This concern about dull jobprospects could discourage even the brightestcandidates from taking up PhD programmes.

What are the main causes of this problem?In developed countries, expansion of doctoraland postdoctoral education is motivated by anincreasing supply of research funding, ratherthan real demand from the job market. In thedeveloping world, countries are expandingtheir doctoral outputs because highly educatedworkers are seen as the key to economicgrowth and human development. This showsthat the problem is systemic and thataddressing it will require cooperation andcollaboration with all stakeholders.

But it is unlikely that reform will originatefrom faculty members, as they remain verycommitted to conventional approaches. Most

academics are happy to maintain the statusquo as long as they benefit from grants whichpay for PhD studentships and publicationsproduced by their PhD students. As such,students, administrators, institutions, individ -uals, and other stakeholders with vestedinterests in higher education must compel thesystem to produce quality PhDs that are wellmatched to attractive jobs in the employmentmarket.

One course of action through whichgovernments and their partners can inducechange is prioritising PhD funding only forprogrammes which are most needed foreconomic growth and development, based ontheir country’s specific development object -ives. There should be a balance acrossdisciplines, along with long-term strategies forhow to fill employment gaps in prioritisedsectors of the economy. In this regard, relevantagencies should focus on conducting periodicanalyses of employment data with a view toidentifying skills that are in short supply andmaking recommendations for governments toencourage more PhD training in those areas byway of preferential funding support.

Another pertinent course of action is topromote the establishment of PhD prog -rammes which aim to solve real-worldchallenges and embrace cross-disciplinarysystems of inquiry. This approach has thepotential to produce research outputs thatoffer realistic solutions to practical problems.More importantly, PhD supervisors would beable to work towards producing graduateswho will go on to different types of careers –in government, non-profits, and business/entrepreneurship – not just academia. On theother hand, PhD students would have theopportunity to work with supervisors fromdifferent disciplines and become competent inmanagement, communications, leadership,and other transferable skills, together with theconventional academic development of criticalthinking. In addition, multidisciplinary PhDprogrammes can be designed in ways that willallow students to undertake short placementsin a range of areas, so as to gain experienceand improve their job prospects upongraduation. A number of cross-disciplinaryprogrammes are underway in some countries.In the UK, for example, the BloomsburyColleges group, a consortium of University ofLondon colleges, operates the LondonInternational Development Centre (LIDC),which facilitates interdisciplinary research andPhD training with the aim of tackling complexproblems in international development.

Among ACU members, similar models can bereplicated to promote multidisciplinary andcollaborative training in areas of mutualresearch interest, technical strength, and/ordevelopment priorities for collaboratinginstitutions/countries. These approaches havethe potential to produce a better rounded PhDgraduate prepared to take on a greater varietyof jobs. ■

ReferencesMark C Taylor, Crisis On Campus

(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010)Nature.com, ‘Nature News Special:

Future Of The PhD’, 2011http://www.nature.com/news/specials/phdfuture/index.html

Abubakar Suleiman is a 2012Commonwealth Scholar from Nigeria –he studied for a PhD in VeterinaryEpidemiology and Economics at the RoyalVeterinary College, UK.

Obiora Eneanya is a 2015Commonwealth Scholar from Nigeria –he is studying for a PhD in InfectiousDisease Epidemiology at Imperial CollegeLondon, UK.

A careful look at thetrend of expansion ofPhD training suggestsa gloomy outlook for

the PhD holder.

Students and otherstakeholders withvested interests in

higher education mustcompel the system toproduce quality PhDsthat are well matchedto attractive jobs in

the employmentmarket.


Siaw Appiah-Adu – University of GhanaThe Middle Stone Age period of Ghana hasbeen a neglected field of study, with greaterattention paid instead to the time periodsbeginning from the arrival of the Europeans.Very few researchers are focusing on areassuch as the Komaland region – an importantarchaeological region in northern Ghana.

With the help of the ACU Early CareerAcademic Grant, I was able to visit theUniversity of Liverpool, UK, to increase myunderstanding of early stone tool tech nol -ogies, palaeoenvironmental research, andmethods of reconstructing past environments.

I gained hands-on practical experience ofnew research techniques that that are essentialto the understanding of prehistoric behaviour,including high magnification, x-ray fluores -cence (XRF) used for mineralogical analysis,and techniques for analysing pollen andphytoliths (rigid microscopic structures foundin plant tissues). I also took part in anarchaeology workshop in which stone toolswere experimentally made, as well as classeson stone tool analysis, environmental science,and human evolution. In return, I presented aseminar on my research into the Komalandregion.

The visit provided vital experience in a fieldthat I have been yearning to pursue but havebeen obstructed due to of lack of expertise andfacilities at my home institution. It ignited myambition and gave me hope of pursuingfurther studies in my field of interest, with theultimate aim of filling in gaps in knowledge atmy home institution.

Dr K O L C Karunanayake – Open University of Sri LankaThe XI International Mango Symposium washeld in Darwin, Australia and attractedeminent scientists from all over the worldworking in areas relating to mango –including production, orchard management,pathology, natural defence, breeding, andmarketing. I was able to present a paper frommy PhD research on postharvest diseases andthe natural defence mechanisms of the mangofruit.

It was a great opportunity for me to gainknowledge, experience, and exposure in the

field in general and specifically in mangopathology – defences, diseases, and diseasecontrol methods – which is my field ofspeciality. The event also included a field visitto mango orchards in the northern territoryaround Darwin, which was particularlyvaluable as it highlighted good orchardmanagement practices not always followed inSri Lanka.

I was able to make mutually-beneficialconnections with academics from SouthAfrica, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and Australia.I also met and formed connections with awell-established Sri Lankan entrepreneur whohas been involved in the fruit drinks industryin Sri Lanka for over 20 years. I believe thisassociation will also be beneficial to bothparties.

The exposure, experience, and knowledgegained by participating in the symposium willundoubtedly enhance my research output andcareer development. I have already initiatednew research on alternate methods for thecontrol of mango diseases using essential oils.Although it was an idea I’d had prior to thesymposium, an academic I met at the event hasdone similar work and is now giving mehelpful advice on how to proceed.

I was able to attend solely due to financialassistance from the ACU, and I hope that thefund will continue so that others like me cangain exposure to the scientific world beyondtheir own countries.

Jessie-Lee McIsaac – Dalhousie University, Canada My Early Career Academic Grant was used tosupport my attendance at the InternationalSociety of Behavioural Nutrition and PhysicalActivity conference in Edinburgh, UK. Theconference theme was ‘Advancing behaviorchange science’ and it provided a timelyopportunity to present my research anddiscuss it with researchers from differentcountries.

My first presentation was on a studyundertaken by myself and other researchers onthe relationship between academic perform -ance and health behaviours. It looked at howschool initiatives focused on improvingstudents’ diet quality and physical activity,particularly through after school and breakfastprogrammes, may help to enhance academicscores.

Many of the researchers at my presentationwere interested in the measures we used foracademic performance and how weestablished a positive relationship with ourschool partners. My second presentationexplored this relationship with partners andthe sustainability of effective school-basedinterventions.

During my presentation and other sessions,I had the opportunity to converse with otherson the topic of sustainability, and I plan toinvestigate this issue further by building onnew and strengthened relationships forged at

The ACU: broadening horizonsThe ACU Early Career Academic Grants enable emerging academics from across the Commonwealth toattend conferences or academic meetings in other Commonwealth countries, thereby broadeningtheir horizons and developing key international contacts. Here, some of the recent recipients reporton their experiences.

Dr K O L C Karunanayake Jessie-Lee McIsaac


the conference. I also volunteered to beinvolved with the international activities of aspecial interest group looking at policy andenvironmental interventions to improve dietand physical activity, and I look forward tocontinuing to grow my professional networkin this way.

In summary, discussing my researchalongside the emerging research trendspresented at the conference has contributed tomy personal and professional growth as anearly career researcher and expanded mypotential network within the global researchcommunity.

Joseph Okonkwo Chinedu and Ogechukwu Ebere Okafor – University of Port Harcourt, NigeriaOur grants gave us the opportunity to travel toKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to attend the 17thInternational Conference on Biochemistry andBiotechnology and the 2015 InternationalConference on Food Nutrition, Chemical andEnvironmental Engineering.

We presented papers highlighting thenutritional potential and biomedical effects ofjackfruit – particularly its efficacy in providingbasic nutrients and its potential to reducecardiovascular diseases. Our conference papersfocused particularly on our recent researchcomparing the effects of raw and processedjackfruit seeds at different concentrations.Many commentators expressed amazementthat, although the fruit is common in theircountries, they were not aware that it had suchpotential health benefits, and it had beenneglected as a result.

As well as disseminating our research,attending the conference was an opportunityto meet, interact, and exchange ideas withother researchers across the globe while alsogaining valuable insight from their work.

Goutam Roy – University of Rajshahi, BangladeshI had the opportunity to attend theInternational Conference on InterdisciplinarySocial Science Studies, held at the Universityof Cambridge, UK, where I presented my workon computer-aided learning in secondaryschools in Bangladesh.

My paper was based on the findings of astudy of 11 schools in rural districts, andexplored the effects of computer-aided learn -ing on current teaching-learning provision,including its impact on dropout rates,technological development, teacher-studentinteraction (e.g. asking questions in class), and

learning and teaching styles. As well as lookingat the benefits, I also explored challenges suchas interruptions to power supplies.

The experience of attending an inter -national conference enriched me in manyways. As well as helping me to disseminate myresearch findings, I received valuable feedbackon my presentation from internationalcolleagues and academics. The experience alsohelped to improve my presentation skills andbuild confidence in this area, as well asexpanding my professional network.

During my visit to the UK, I was also ableto meet with a colleague working atAberystwyth University to explore thepossibility of future collaboration in the fieldof technology-enhanced teaching andlearning. Since the visit, we have alreadysubmitted a funding proposal to establish aresearch network in the south Asian regionand are also planning to organise workshopson research methodology at my homeinstitution in Bangladesh.

Dr Daniel Muasya Wambua – University of Nairobi, KenyaMy grant was used to attend a global summiton veterinary sciences in Hyderabad, India –my first academic conference outside eastAfrica. As a general practitioner in both smalland large animal health, I benefited immenselyfrom the opportunity to learn new techniquesand approaches in veterinary research – fromdiscovering how to improvise solutions in theface of limited access to conventional tools, tohearing about the milestones recently achievedin molecular studies. It was particularly usefulto learn more about the latest developments inthe diagnosis of zoonotic diseases – infectiousanimal diseases that can be transmitted to

humans – as I plan to pursue this area in myPhD research.

I was also interested to learn more aboutthe One Health Initiative, which is a move -ment to link human, animal, and environ -mental health and to expand inter disciplinarycollaborations between scientists, physicians,and veterinarians worldwide. I found out a lotabout the strategies adopted by differentregions and the levels of success achieved sofar.

Having the chance to meet so manyresearchers and academics from differentcountries was also a great privilege. It wasinspiring to learn from fellow young scientistsas they shared their research, and I realised thatyoung scientists are taking on many of themore challenging aspects of research,particularly molecular work. These encounterswere very exciting and I will definitely keep incontact with these new friends and colleagues.

Meeting international colleagues andestablishing networks has definitely increasedmy references for future consultations and Iam optimistic that these contacts may yieldinter-university collaboration in the future. ■

Goutam Roy Dr Daniel Muasya Wambua

Noticeboard

The ACU is proud to announce the launch of theMartha Farrell Memorial Fellowship, an ACUTitular Fellowship specifically aimed at combatingsexual harassment on campus.

Dr Martha Farrell (1959-2015) was Director ofthe Gender Programme at Participatory Research inAsia (PRIA). She campaigned tirelessly for women’srights, gender equality, and adult education. In2015, while in Afghanistan to lead a gender trainingworkshop, she was among 14 people killed in aTaliban attack. The Martha Farrell Foundation wasset up in her memory to continue her work.

The new fellowship, hosted and co-funded bythe Martha Farrell Foundation in New Delhi, India,will provide training and support for a fellow from

an ACU member institution in Bangladesh, BruneiDarussalam, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singa -pore, or Sri Lanka to instigate an effective anti-sexual harassment initiative at their homeuniversity.

The fellow will submit an action plan for theinitiative as part of their application, receive hands-on training and input while on award, and thenlater submit a report to demonstrate how theirwork to combat sexual harassment on campus hasbeen put into effect at their home institution.

The deadline for applications for all ACU TitularFellowships is 15 May 2016. For more informationand to apply, visit www.acu.ac.uk/titular-fellowships

Professor John Wood, SecretaryGeneral of the ACU, wasawarded an honorary Doctorof Science degree by KwameNkrumah University of Scienceand Technology (KNUST),Ghana, in November 2015.While at KNUST, ProfessorWood gave a series of three R PBalfour Memorial Lectures onthe future of universities,covering ‘Polycentalism andthe global environment’, ‘Thesoul of the university and therole of the prosumer’, and‘Open science and openinnovation – myth or reality?’.

The latest talk in the ACUPerspectives series saw Datin IrDr Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir,Deputy Director General at theMalaysian Ministry of HigherEducation, present theMalaysian Education Blueprint2015-2025 (Higher Education)in January 2016.

Datin Siti Hamisah took theaudience through theblueprint, discussing how itplaces students firmly at theheart of Malaysia’s educationalambitions. The goal is toproduce ‘future-ready’graduates, by helping themachieving a balance betweenknowledge (imlu) and morality(akhlak) during their time atuniversity.

Malaysia has set a target tobecome a high incomeeconomy by 2020 and isinvesting heavily in its futureleaders to help achieve thisambition. Education – andparticularly higher education –is seen as integral to this.

A podcast of Datin SitiHamisah’s talk plus a copy ofher presentation are available atwww.acu.ac.uk/perspectives

The ACU Perspectivesspeaker series features talksheld in London on the broadtheme of change andopportunity in highereducation. If you would like topresent at a future Perspectivesevent, please [email protected]


The University of Mauritius

Martha Farrell

Siti Hamisahbinti Tapsir


Dr Rajesh Tandon, UNESCO Co-Chair inCommunity-Based Research and SocialResponsibility in Higher Education andPresident of Participatory Research in Asia(PRIA), held a book launch event forStrengthening Community University ResearchPartnerships: Global Perspectives at the ACU inNovember 2015.

Co-edited by Dr Tandon with ProfessorBudd Hall and Dr Crystal Tremblay(University of Victoria, Canada), the opensource publication features diverse andsuccessful approaches to inter-sectorpartner ship, and explores models ofengaging community agents with researchfindings as well as how to involve comm -unity actors in research agenda-setting.Contributing authors from 12 countrieshave provided case studies to this landmarkpublication.

At the ACU book launch, Dr Tandonspoke about both the publication and also

the particular role ofhigher education indevelopment spaces.

To download thebook for free, visithttp://unescochair-cbrsr.org

Dr Rajesh Tandon also took part in a sessionorganised for the ACU Engage Communityat the Engage 2015 conference held inBristol, UK, in December 2015. The two-day conference, organised by the NationalCoordinating Centre for Public Engagement(NCCPE), brought together professionalsdedicated to finding new and effectivemethods to connect with the public andacademics.

Dr Tandon and Dr David Phipps, Exec -utive Director – Research and Innovat ionServices at York University, Canada,discussed their experiences of using avariety of engagement techniques. Theseexamples enabled other delegates toexplore how best practice from around theworld can benefit their work, as well asdebating what barriers exist for greaterinternational collaboration. The conclusionsfrom the session will help inform thefuture direction of the ACU EngageCommunity. For more information aboutthe ACU Member Communities, visit www.acu.ac.uk/ member-communities

Following the seminar on researchmanage ment held in Malaysia in October2015 (see Bulletin No 186), the ACU, incollaboration with the University of Malaya,ran a mini project to support researchmanagement and governance in Malaysia.

The project, which ran from December2015 to March 2016, sought to review thecurrent Malaysian research managementand governance framework, identify needsand areas for improvement, compareMalaysian practice with some of the bestpractices in the UK, and make recomm end -ations for improvement in Malaysia. Theproject was funded by the British Counciland the Malaysian Industry-GovernmentGroup for High Technology (MIGHT),through the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund.

The project included two workshops inMalaysia, followed by a one-week studytour in the UK, during which repres -entatives from the Malaysian Ministry ofHigher Education and five Malaysianuniversities visited five UK universities, aswell as the Higher Education FundingCouncil for England (HEFCE), the WellcomeTrust, and the Digital Curation Centre inEdinburgh.

At the last ACU Council meeting – held inLondon, UK, in December 2015 – thefollowing officers were elected:● Professor Jan Thomas, University of

Southern Queensland, Australia – Chair● Professor Cheryl de la Rey, University of

Pretoria, South Africa –Vice-Chair

Professor Dato’ Mohd Amin Jalaludin(University of Malaya, Malaysia) was also co-opted to serve as a member of Council.

Following the meeting, the followingmembers of Council were elected to serve onthe Executive Committee alongside the Chair,Vice-Chair, and Honorary Treasurer:

● Professor Vasanthy Arasaratnam, Univ -ersity of Jaffna, Sri Lanka

● Professor Amit Chakma, Western Univ -er sity, Canada

The next Council meeting will take place inAccra, Ghana, in July 2016, coinciding withthe ACU Conference of University Leaders.

Prof Jan Thomas Prof Cheryl de la Rey Prof Dato’Mohd Amin Jalaludin Prof Vasanthy Arasaratnam Prof Amit Chakma

Strengthening Community University Research Partnerships:

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Edited by Budd Hall, Rajesh Tandon, Crystal Tremblay


he role of the human resources(HR) unit in any organisation isessential – and in universities, HRpractitioners need to think outsideof the box if they are to be seen as

a key resource in facilitating the achievementof organisational goals.

This October, we invite university HRprofessionals and academics to ‘step up’ andexplore a broad range of opportunities todemonstrate how they add value in bothsupporting and developing staff to ensure theyare aligned to and motivated in assisting aninstitution to achieve its vision.

The seventh ACU HRM Network Con fer -ence – on the theme ‘HR steps up’ – will beheld in Mauritius from 16-19 October 2016,hosted by the ACU and the University ofMauritius. The sub-themes running throughthe conference are:● Achieving staff engagement● HR and the student experience● Transforming HR● Best practice in performance evaluation and

management ● Leadership and change● The impact of technology on higher

education● Academic workloads● HR and governance● HR and knowledge transfer.

Dave van Eeden, who has also contributed anarticle to this issue of the Bulletin (see page 20),will be among the speakers. Dave is a seasonedHR executive with strong business acumenand his session promises to be a must-see – itwill pave the way for fascinating debate andcommentary on the role of the HR practitionerin a sector that is undergoing significanttechnological, social, and economic change.This is occurring against a backdrop that is asdiverse as much as it is collectively focused onsupporting students and demanding thatacademic programmes deliver value, in bothimparting knowledge and providing thefoundation for a successful career.

As a former university HR director, I haveattended five of the previous six ACU HRMNetwork Conferences. So what is the attraction?

Where do I start? In the first instance, thisis one of the few international conferences thatspecifically caters to HR practitioners in highereducation. Both speakers and delegates comefrom the four corners of the globe and, overthe three days of the conference, they form aninternational collective, sharing a range ofexperiences, ideas, and debate on a number ofHR issues in a context that is often not onlyunique to the higher education sector, but alsohas global implications.

Secondly, I now have colleagues in theCaribbean, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South

Africa, Uganda, Canada, the UK, and NewZealand, to name a few, who not only provideme with unique perspectives and insights intoaddressing those HR issues that we all face, butare also people I am proud to call friends. Thecommon thread I have found in theseinteractions is that no matter the size of theuniversity or where it is located, the problemswe face are often similar – and it is against thisbackground that the conference provides agreat venue for learning about best practice.

Thirdly, the conferences are conducted in acollegial atmosphere where old acquaintancesare renewed and new ones formed. Theunderlying caveat is that all are welcome withan open invitation to celebrate and examineboth our diversity and our similarity and, fora while at least, the problems and conflicts thatbeset the modern world are parked at theentrance to the venue. Importantly, I havefound that the learnings made, the insightsobtained, the experiences shared, and thenetworks established create a platform for thecontinued exchange of views and support,long after the conference is over. ■

HR steps upSteve Daysh provides an insight into what to expect at the forthcoming ACU HRM Network Conference.

T

Steve Daysh is a Partner in HR GlobalInnovations, and former HR Director atthe University of Adelaide, Australia.

Conference sub-themes

● Achieving staff engagementAre your staff highly engaged and committedto achieving the mission of your institution?

● HR and the student experienceHow does your HR function support thestudent experience? What steps has your HRdepartment taken to directly or indirectlyimprove the student experience?

● Transforming HRWhat tensions arise when HR has tomaintain high levels of transactional servicesand have the credibility to be a strategiccontributor?

● Best practice in performance evaluationand management

Developments in approaches to performancemanagement pose great challenges for HRfunctions. What are your experiences of bestpractice?

● Leadership and changeHave you had experience of leading a majorchange initiative?

● The impact of technology on highereducation

How has technology changed your univer sity,either within HR itself or the way that HRidentifies and supports the introduction ofnew technologies?

● Academic workloadsHow does your institution manage academicworkload and how does that process fit intothe overall HR management framework?

● HR and governanceWhat is your HR governance framework andhow do you manage it?

● HR and knowledge transferHow does HR contribute to a universitybeing able to utilise its knowledge to achievecompetitive advantage?


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ACU HRM Network Conference

16-19 October 2016Le Meridien Ile Maurice Resort, Mauritius

www.acu.ac.uk/mauritius-2016

uo vadis?’ – a Latin phrasemeaning ‘Where are you going?’– seems pertinent when HumanResources (HR) practitioners areonce again debating the role and

the contribution of the HR function.On the one hand, this is very positive; of

all the professions that indulge in ongoingself-scrutiny, the HR function must be near thetop of the list! On the other hand, it isimportant to query why we are againsuggesting that the role of HR needs to betransformed.

‘Transform’ is a strong word. The OxfordEnglish Dictionary defines its meaning as ‘amarked change in the form, nature, or

appearance (of something)’. Perhaps the realquestion is: is a transformation necessary?

The evolution of the HR functionThe HR function has indeed changed dram -atically over the past decades. In 2007, David

Ulrich (Professor of Business at the Universityof Michigan, USA) gave a presentation onbehalf of The RBL Group in South Africa inwhich he very elegantly described theevolution (or should I say transformation?) ofHR’s role and focus as follows:

Quo vadis? Transforming the roleof human resourcesDave van Eeden shares his insights into the seemingly ever-changing nature of the HR profession andlooks to the future, ahead of his presentation at the upcoming ACU HRM Network Conference later this year.

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1930s Industrial relations

1940s Staffing practices

1950s Training and development

1960s Sociotechnical systems

1970s Compensation and reward

1980s Organisation design and communication

1990s Partnership, HR strategy

2000s Adding value: how are we at the table, what do we do?

It is probably true that the speed and type offocus area varied and still varies betweencountries, though it is fair to say that the abovedescription is relatively accurate. Putdifferently, Ulrich makes the point that thefocus has moved from transactional totransformational HR practices. I would addthat the focus has also shifted from the individualto the individual and the organisation.

In the introduction to a book I recentlyedited, I tracked the resurgence of debateabout the role of HR, albeit with a slightlydifferent focus, as the strategic role andcontribution of the function emerges moreclearly. As the debate continues, perhaps theissue then is not whether the HR functionshould transform its role, but rather whether itis fulfilling the legitimate and necessary role ithas established for itself?

Informal discussions with several keyexecutive leaders provide a clear and simple setof guidelines for HR leaders. These viewsreinforce the idea that the function itself doesnot require transformation; it is the executionof the function that requires attention. You maywish to consider the following guidelines andthoughts, which are the product of my con -versations with these leaders, when thinkingabout the role of HR at your institution:● Assist in formulating the people strategy

and agenda for the organisation so that itcan achieve its strategic vision and goals

● Assist in developing and growing the rightorganisational culture to support andenhance the achievement of key goals

● Be an exemplary team player and memberof the leadership team

● Help the CEO ensure the leadership teamis aligned

● Give honest feedback and views to yourexecutive colleagues

● Ensure there are effective, non-bureaucraticprocesses in place to attract, retain, rewardand develop talent

● Be proactive in building an attractiveemployee value proposition

● Act as custodian of the critical organisation

systems which support the development ofthe culture and the value proposition,including a simple, focused performanceaccountability system

● Be the custodian of fit for purpose non-bureaucratic HR support systems whichacknowledge the changing world of work

● Refrain from building a bureaucracy whereforms, job gradings, intricate job profiles,organograms, and other complexadministrative processes become ends inthemselves

● Be proactive, not reactive● Above all, strive to be competent, credible,

and confident, yet humble – be ethical andhonest.

What next for the HR function?In his 2016 State of the Union address, USPresident Barack Obama said that ‘We live in atime of extraordinary change – change that’sreshaping the way we live, the way we work,our planet, our place in the world… It’schange that can broaden opportunity, orwiden inequality. And whether we like it ornot, the pace of this change will onlyaccelerate’.

In the people and organisation realm, weare experiencing several extraordinary shiftswhich have a fundamental impact on thedemands placed on the HR function. Theseshifts present an exciting opportunity for theHR function to make a significant contrib -ution; I have identified eight possibilities:1. Macro environmental infrastructure, health -

care, education, political and economictrends affecting the world of work

2. The advent of the digital age, with the roleof the internet and social media (argued tobe the Third Industrial Revolution), and theconsequent move away from commandand control managerial cultures tocollaborative workplace cultures, with afocus on simplicity, speed, and ease ofglobalising communication, knowledgeand information

3. Transformational shifts in educationsystems and their ability to meet futureskills needs in a rapidly changingenvironment, with increasing provision ofmass online open courses (MOOCs)

4. An intense global focus on managing talent– identifying, motivating, and retainingtalent in a rapidly changing workenvironment with shifting individual needsand demands

5. A focus on organisation agility, knowledgeapplication, culture as a driver of the

organisation, strategy execution, andflexible work practices

6. A focus on social capital and its role in thepromotion of human capital in organ is -ations and societal wellbeing

7. A focus on developing the requisiteleadership skills to lead and manage in thenew globalised, digital world of work

8. Understanding and fearlessly confrontingthe demands of the HR leadership role at apersonal level, organisationally, andfunctionally in this new world of work

Faced with these global challenges, we shouldask: does the HR function need to change? Ifit does, how will we know if we aresuccessful? Are structure and definition of thefunction less important than ensuring that HRleaders are open, nimble and able to articulatestrategies to achieve institutional goals, executethese strategies successfully, and operate anopen, competent and respected function?

I look forward to presenting a paper anddebating this topic at the ACU HRM NetworkConference in Mauritius in October 2016. ■

Further readingDave Van Eeden (ed.), The Role of the Chief

Human Resources Officer: Perspectives, Challenges,Realities and Experiences (2014)

Society for Human Resource Management(SHRM), What Senior HR Leaders Need to Know:Perspectives From the United States, Canada, India,the Middle East and North Africa (2010)

Boston Consulting Group and WorldFederation of People ManagementAssociations, Creating People Advantage 2010 –How Companies Can Adapt Their HR Practices forVolatile Times (2010)

Ram Charam, ‘It’s Time to Split HR’, HarvardBusiness Review (July-August 2014) –https://hbr.org/2014/07/its-time-to-split-hr

John Boudreau, ‘It’s Time to Retool HR, NotSplit It’ (8 August 2014) –https://hbr.org/2014/08/its-time-to-retool-hr-not-split-it


Dave van Eeden is Executive: People andOrganisation at Libstar. He was previouslyExecutive Director of Human Resources atthe University of Cape Town, South Africa.

The function itselfdoes not require

transformation; it isthe execution of the

function that requiresattention.


y interest in triple negativebreast cancer (TNBC) began in2008, when I attended theannual American Association forCancer Research conference and

heard about TNBC for the first time. TNBCtumours do not express the hormonaloestrogen, progesterone, or Her2 proteinreceptors, which are proteins that currentbreast cancer treatments are targeted against.Consequently, TNBC tumours are non-responsive to existing breast cancer therapies,such as Tamoxifen or Herceptin, and patientsdiagnosed with TNBC tend to have a poorprognosis. TNBC is most prevalent in womenof African ancestry, although the incidence ofbreast cancer is lower overall among thisdemographic than in Caucasian women. Theracial disparity in TNBC prevalence andmortality is not fully explained by socio -economic status, and increasing evidence hintsat an ancestral genetic susceptibility in womenof African ancestry. Most countries with largepopulations of women with African ancestrylack the finances and resources to study thisphenomenon, resulting in a major obstacle toidentifying genetic risk factors.

This led me to consider whether my nativehomeland, Barbados, had a high incidence ofTNBC, or whether it was a purely NorthAmerican phenomenon. Beginning in 2011, Iembarked on a project to investigate this,collaborating with colleagues based inBarbados. In January 2015, I was awarded anACU Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship tofurther my project and support my researchleave at the University of the West Indies(UWI), Cave Hill campus and Queen ElizabethHospital (QEH), the island’s main publichospital. I spent approximately three monthsin Barbados, where I collaborated withpathologist Dr Desiree Skeete and oncologistDr Suzanne Smith Connell, both of whomhave a longstanding interest in breast cancerresearch and began working with me when I

first conceived the project back in 2011. Theprimary goal of my time in Barbados was toconduct studies pertinent to the TNBC projectI run in my laboratory at McMaster Universityin Ontario, Canada.

The long-term goal of my research projectis to determine the gene expression profile ofbreast tumour tissues from women of Africanancestry and identify the genetic determinantsthat contribute to the high prevalence of theoften-fatal TNBC subtype in this groupcompared to other ethnicities. SinceCaribbean and North American women ofAfrican ancestry share a common ancestrywith women from West Africa (who also havea very low breast cancer incidence, but highbreast cancer mortality rate), we postulatedthat any study focusing on large geneticallyhomo geneous populations of women ofAfrican ancestry, such as Barbados, wouldhave the potential and higher probability ofidentifying genetic risk factors contributingto TNBC.

My specific research goals in Barbadoswere to:1. Review the QEH surgical pathology files,

flag all women diagnosed with TNBCduring the years spanning 2008-2014, andgenerate a comprehensive list of BarbadianTNBC cases.

2. Obtain consent from the identified womenand collect and record their clinico -pathological data.

3. Begin the physical collection of breasttumour tissues from the QEH long-termtissue storage facility for future const ruct -ion of a tissue microarray (TMA) by ourcollaborator, Dr David Rimm at YaleUniversity, USA. Once constructed, theTMA will be used for expression profilingof established breast cancer-associatedbiomarkers (for example, the BRCA1/2gene) and whole genome sequencing toidentify possible germline mutations inwomen of African ancestry.

4. Network with local oncologists, path olo -gists, and physicians to inform them aboutour study and get their buy-in to assist withthe study if needed.

What seemed like very feasible goals when Isubmitted my application for an ACUfellowship suddenly felt very ambitious once Iwas settled in and got an appreciation for thechallenges faced by physicians at QEH on aregular basis! For example, the QEH patientpathology reports are not electronically filed,and thus I had to manually search thousands ofpathology reports spanning the years 2008-2014 to flag and identify women who hadbeen diagnosed with TNBC. This was verylabour intensive, but there was no other way todo it. Once the TNBC patient cohort wasidentified, I began recording and tab ulating thepatients’ clinicopathological data, includingoestrogen, progesterone, and Her2 status,lymph node involvement, and tumour stage.

Unfortunately, my progress was limited bythe unavailability of some diagnostic reports,as several patients had undergone ancillarytesting overseas. These external diagnosticreports were sent to the requisitioningphysician, but not to the QEH pathologylaboratory, where the surgery and routinepathology were performed. In light of thischallenge, we increased our efforts to networkwith the clinicians who manage breast cancerpatients. This included a presentation at one ofthe weekly grand rounds for surgeons, wherespecific medical cases are discussed by thegroup, and individual meetings with some ofthe general surgeons and oncologists. Thisnetworking was very valuable, as additionalawareness of the project not only facilitatedrecruitment of some additional TNBC cases,but also enabled easier access to data from thefiles of private patients who also consented tojoin the study.

In the meantime, Dr Connell begancontacting the identified women to inform

Investigating the prevalence oftriple negative breast cancer inwomen of African ancestryThe ACU Titular Fellowships promote mobility among Commonwealth university staff and enableinternational collaboration on research projects. Juliet Daniel discusses how her fellowship boostedher innovative research and inspired an ongoing partnership.

M

them of our study and obtain their consent touse their tissues and clinicopathological data.Again, while this seemed like a ratherstraightforward task, we encountered a fewsetbacks. A few patients enquired whether anymonetary compensation was available forparticipating in the study. We explained that,for ethical reasons, our research funding couldnot be used for monetary compensation, sowe had to omit them from the study. However,upon my return to Canada, the project wasawarded a small grant from McMaster Univer -sity, which can be used to provide smallhonorariums for study participants.

Once we received patient consent, DrSkeete and I began the physical collection ofparaffin-embedded breast tumour tissues fromthe QEH tissue storage facility. Again, weencountered setbacks, as some paraffin-embedded tissues needed for the study couldnot be located. Further investigations revealedsituations similar to those described earlier –some of these tissues had been sent overseasfor analysis and had not yet been returned, orwere returned to Barbados but were still in theoffice of the requisitioning physician.

One of the positive outcomes of my time inBarbados was being able to attend the annualCaribbean Association of Oncologists andHaematologists conference, which fortuitouslyoccurred a week after my arrival in April 2015.The conference provided me with an opp -ortunity to network with oncologists andpathologists from Barbados and the widerCaribbean region, and establish new collab -orations for our project. Many of theseclinicians were very excited and eager for usto extend the study to include participants

from their home countries, including Trinidad,Jamaica, and St Thomas (US Virgin Islands).

Another highlight was a presentation thatDr Skeete and I gave to the Barbados CancerSupport Services Executive to inform themabout our project, get buy-in for promotionof the TNBC project to their client base, andboost participant recruitment for the study. Iwas also invited to deliver a research seminarat UWI, which provided an opportunity tonetwork with graduate and undergraduatebiology students.

Despite the various initial practical set -backs, my research leave in Barbados was verysuccessful and productive. I made moreprogress during those three months than I hadmade during my occasional one-week trips inthe previous three years combined! We wereable to identify over 200 Barbadian women ofAfrican ancestry who had been diagnosedwith TNBC between 2008 and 2014, andbegin the important process of epi demi olo -gical data and tissue collection.

However, the most exciting outcomestemmed from a fortuitous interaction with anambitious UWI student, which resulted in himjoining my laboratory at McMaster as agraduate student in September 2015! I hopethat through my research in Barbados, moreBarbadian youth will be inspired to pursuebiomedical research careers. ■

ACU TitularFellowships 2016

Applications are now open for the 2016 ACUTitular Fellowships in a range of focus areas.These fellowships provide funding foracademic and professional staff from ACUmember universities to undertake research ortraining in a Commonwealth country otherthan their own.

Each fellowship is dedicated to a specificpurpose:

George Weston Limited Fellowship –awarded in the fields of agriculture, forestry,food science and technology

Gordon and Jean Southam Fellowship –open to applicants from any Canadian ACUmember university

Jacky McAleer Memorial Fellowship –awarded in the field of informationtechnology, with priority given to thecomputerisation of record systems orcomputer-assisted learning

Martha Farrell Memorial Fellowship –open to applicants from Bangladesh, BruneiDarussalam, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan,Singapore, and Sri Lanka, in order to providetraining and support for the fellow toinstigate an anti-sexual harassment initiativeat their home university. Training will beprovided by the Martha Farrell Foundation inNew Delhi, India

Swansea University Fulton Fellowship –tenable at Swansea University, UK

University of Manitoba Fellowship –tenable at University of Manitoba, Canada

Wighton Titular Fellowship in Engineering– open to staff of engineering departments atany ACU member university in a low ormiddle income country

Worshipful Company of CharteredAccountants in England and WalesFellowship – awarded in the field ofaccountancy

The deadline for applications is 15 May 2016.To apply, visit www.acu.ac.uk/titular-fellowships

Dr Juliet Daniel is a Professor in theDepartment of Biology at McMasterUniversity, Canada.

The cytopathology laboratory at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados



University-industry engagement:how does it work?Translating university research into a form that benefits the public is a growing priority across theCommonwealth. Kevin Cullen shares how research commercialisation works in practice at theUniversity of New South Wales, Australia.

ll over the world, the debatecontinues to rage about the mosteffective means of translatinguniversity research outcomes intothe commercial world. Sometimes

the focus is on patents, licences, and royalties,and sometimes it’s on start-ups and spinouts –regardless, investment, commercialisation, andfinancial returns are almost always the priority.

There is a danger, however, that excessiveemphasis on the commercial components ofinnovation, such as venture capital investmentsand start-ups, will distract us from the manydifferent ways that university research can driveinnovation, the economy, and prosperity.

Those directly involved in research under -stand that knowledge exchange with industryhappens through a wide range of mechanismsand it is important that we encourage andsupport them all. For example, the UK has beentracking university research engagement usingengagement metrics for a decade. The datareveals that, of all the ways in which universitiesengage with industry, the least importantmethods for revenue generation are at thecommercial end of intellectual property (IP),including patents, the setting up of companies,and sale of equity in the research (see Table 1).

At the University of New South Wales(UNSW) in Australia, we have a very clearmission when it comes to commercialisationand knowledge exchange: to get our world-classresearch put to use, by working in partnershipwith business, industry, policymakers, and otherpartners. We recognise that commercialisationof the knowledge and technology we create

(our IP) is important, but we also understandthat other channels must be optimised to ensurethat we get our research into the hands andheads of people who can use it to create the endresult we really want to see. Our ultimate aim isto have a positive social and economic impactby creating jobs, wealth, competitiveness, andproductivity.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, it’s whenour student interns and PhD students help makesteelmaking processes more efficient andenvironmentally friendly, or when a facultymember works with an industrial designcompany to develop GPS and wifi systems thathelp blind or vision-impaired people navigateindependently. It’s when an SME partner patentsa ground-breaking optical transducer which canimprove large-scale industrial environmentmonitoring, or when a spin-out companydevelops technology to advance the treatmentof asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases.

These are not major IP deals – these areinnovation partnerships. UNSW has thousandsand thousands of interactions with industry andentrepreneurs. Individually, these interactionsare not blockbuster deals, but the sum totalmakes a massive contribution to the nation’scompetitiveness and productivity, with UNSW’sresearch adding AUD 15 billion to Australia’sGDP last year.

Governments can help universities togenerate an even greater contribution by makingit easier for companies to engage with us andfor us to engage with them. Examples includeissuing companies with innovation vouchersthat can be used to access university expertise,

and supporting internships to help us place ourbrightest students into companies, for thebenefit of both parties. Research and develop -ment tax incentive schemes, such as the HigherEducation Innovation Fund (HEIF) in Englandand the Small Business Innovation Research(SBIR) programme in the US, all help to enc -ourage companies to partner with universities –and so far, all have been shown to work.

Universities can also help by removing realand perceived barriers, be they financial, legalor administrative. UNSW brought Easy Access IP– an international collective of higher educationand research institutions which believe thatimpact is achieved by sharing knowledge – toAustralia to provide IP for free to companieswho could tell us how they would create impactfrom it. Other Sydney universities have adoptedthe same approach and, as a result, New SouthWales is now arguably the easiest place in theworld for companies to access university IP. Wewere also the first university in the world tointroduce Easy Access Research, granting cert -ainty of rights in the form of an Easy Access IPoption to our research partners, recognising thatover half of our knowledge exchange withindustry happens through contracted andcollaborative research.

So, although commercialisation is import antand strong investment in – and returns from –commercialisation are important, these are notthe things that should drive innovation policy.At UNSW, our key driver is ensuring ourresearch makes a difference. So our plea topolicymakers and university management is tokeep our eye on the bigger picture and thelonger term. Lasting relationships betweenresearch and industry help to inform andstrengthen both, and this, in turn, increases theprobability and capability for major comm -ercial isation success in the future. ■

A

Dr Kevin Cullen is CEO of UNSWInnovations, the technology transfer andinnovation office of the University ofNew South Wales, Australia.

Knowledge exchange mechanism Revenue (%)Contract research 34 Collaborative research 23 CPD and continuing education 20 Consultancy 11 Regeneration and development programmes 5 Facilities and equipment services 4 Intellectual property (including sale of shares) 2

Source: Tomas Coates Ulrichsen, Knowledge Exchange Performance and the Impact of Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) in the English

Higher Education Sector (HEFCE, 2014)

Table 1: Share of English higher education institutions’ knowledge exchange income by mechanism, 2012

In May 2015, the ACU Research, Knowledgeand Information (RKI) Community under -

took a study tour of three South Africaninstitutions – the Universities of Johannesburg,Pretoria, and the Witwatersrand – to explore theoperations of their research offices; the focus ofeach of the presentations fell quite heavily upontheir technology transfer offices (TTOs).

As well as offering access to grant inform -ation, advice on publishing articles, andtraining on research skills, each institution’sresearch office works with academics toensure that they give due consideration to howtheir research will be used after publication.The TTOs encourage researchers to think abouthow to shape their work around the needs ofpotential end users from the very beginning.

This is often not a straightforward process.It was reported that academics can be wary ofoutside interest in their work, believing thatuniversity staff are simply looking for ways tomake money from researchers’ work. EachTTO stressed to the study tour delegates that

this is not the case; innovation is seen not as away to make money for the university, but asthe most effective method of adapting researchoutputs to benefit society.

To convince academics of the benefits ofengaging with the TTO, training is offered toindividuals to engage with other researchersin their departments as intermediaries. These‘innovation ambassadors’ can better interactwith sceptical academics on a more equal level,and with an existing understanding of theirwork and the subject-specific vocabulary. Eachinstitution reported strong results fromworking with innovation ambassadors.

On a wider level, it was reported thatinstitutional policies have had an immediateeffect on encouraging academics to engagewith the TTOs. Academics are usually notwilfully refusing to engage with the researchoffices; they are simply unaware of theirresponsibilities to report their work, and thebenefits to them – and to the institution – ofdoing so. Through robust and clear institution-

wide policies, researchers have greater clarityon their responsibilities and potential rewardin engaging with the TTOs.

Commercialisation of research outputs isone of the most measurable ways to gauge theimpact of research. Nevertheless, simplybecause this activity is easier to track, does notmean that it is the only option worth pursuing.All three South African institutions areexploring ways of measuring, tracking, andimproving other methods of connectingdirectly with the public that are not whollydependent upon market forces. As govern -ments, research funders, and the compilers ofleagues tables take a greater interest in theimpact of research, so institutions around theworld are looking for ways of managing andincentivising this element of the academicprocess.

For further details and insights from the ACURKI Community study tour, read the report atwww.acu.ac.uk/publication/download?id=544

Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Scientia Professor of Materials Science at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and inventor of polymer injection technology, which helps reduce the energy, costs, and emissions associated with steelmaking


26 Bulletin March 2016

ACU Member CommunitiesThe ACU Member Communities connect colleagues and otherstakeholders working in three key areas of university activity. These special interest groups bring university staff from across theCommonwealth together to share their experiences, explore ideas, and discover potential avenues for collaboration.

The Member Communities are free to join for all staff and students ofACU member institutions, and individuals may join as many as they feelare relevant to their work.

ACU Research, Knowledge and Information CommunityFor all university staff who support and encourage, but don’t directlyengage in, the research process, including those working in libraries andinformation, as well as research management and administration. To findout more, visit www.acu.ac.uk/rki or email [email protected]

ACU Engage CommunityFor all university staff and stakeholders working or involved inuniversity community engagement and outreach, including universitypublic engagement staff, industrial liaison officers, researchmanagers and communication officers, and those specialising indistance or open learning. To find out more, visitwww.acu.ac.uk/engage or email [email protected]

ACU Internationalisation Community For university staff involved in international education,including such areas as student and staff mobility,international campuses, and the internationalisation ofcurricula and research. To find out more, visitwww.acu.ac.uk/internationalisation or [email protected]

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Prefer to register by post?Write to us at the address below with your fullcontact details, stating which community you'd liketo join:

ACU Member CommunitiesThe Association of Commonwealth UniversitiesWoburn House20-24 Tavistock SquareLondon WC1H 9HFUnited Kingdom

March 2016 Bulletin 27

ACU MeasuresThe ACU’s annual online benchmarking exercise for university management – ACU Measures – is now open for data collection.

ACU Measures is a unique opportunity for member institutions to benchmark their performance inkey areas of university management in a confidential and non-competitive way.

In order to benchmark, you first need to participate – the more institutions taking part, the better thebenchmarking will be.

Rather than seeking to rank institutions, ACU Measures helps universities to compare and contrasttheir practices and policies with their peers, supporting senior university management in decision-making and strategic planning. ACU Measures enables you to:

● Benchmark your institution’s performance over time and demonstrate the impact of managerial changes

● Learn about performance in a given area● Define your own comparison groups and produce individualised reports, tables, and charts● Use the results to make a case for resources, staff, or training● Share experiences and good practice with international colleagues● Identify which issues are specific to your institution, as opposed to national or regional

ACU Measures covers four areas: institutional profile, academic salaries, research management, and gender.

Data is collected online and benchmarked using the ACU Measures platform. We require only oneresponse per area, per institution. Every member vice-chancellor is invited to nominate colleagues tocomplete the respective sections of the survey by contacting [email protected]

Benchmarking will open in July 2016 to all registered users.

To take part, visit www.acu.ac.uk/measures or email [email protected]


Recent publicationsNick Mulhern, ACU Librarian, summarises the latest titles in the field of international higher education.

A Guide to VirtualUniversities for Policy-Makers[Richards, G.;Commonwealth OfLearning (COL); 2015]www.col.org/resources

COL’s guide defines virtual universities, theirdevelopment and planning, showing how theyhave evolved as ‘online learning matures’. Itrepresents a range of countries and contexts,illustrating that there is ‘no universal formulafor the design of an eLearning course’. Somecritical success factors and a business plantemplate are also included.

A World of Learning: Canada’s Performanceand Potential in International Education[Canadian Bureau for International Education(CBIE); 2015]www.cbie.caThe CBIE’s latest annual survey shows a yearly10% increase in international student num -bers; China dominates (representing 33%),while Nigeria and Vietnam are the country’sfastest growing sources of internationalstudents. Educational quality, tolerance, andCanada’s reputation for safety are the leadingreasons for international students choosingCanada.

Closing the Gap: Opportunities forDistance Education to Benefit AdultLearners in Higher Education[Carlsen, A.; et al; UNESCO Institute forLifelong Learning (UIL); 2016]www.uil.unesco.orgAmong this report’s recommendations is theneed to respond to the wide range of possibleadult learners. Information from five countrycase studies, including the UK, usefullycontextualises HE systems, the social profile ofstudents, and perceived barriers to study.

Consultation on the draft new regulationsfor better supporting internationalstudents[New Zealand Ministry of Education; 2016]www.education.govt.nzSubmissions and workshop reports related tothe development of new codes of practice forpastoral support and dispute resolution tosupport international students.

EAIE Barometer:International StrategicPartnerships[Sandstrom, A-M.; Weimer,L.; European Associationfor International Education(EAIE); 2016]

www.eaie.org/eaie-resourcesA survey-based research summary on thenumber, role, and engagement of HE part -nerships. Student and staff mobility domin -ates, though research cooperation, particularlyfor publicly-funded institutions, is also valued.The analysis confirms the importance ofembedd ing partnerships in ‘institutionaldecision-making processes’, and havingorganisational structures prepared to developsuch links.

Education Abroad Positions: Job Titles andDescriptions [The Forum on Education Abroad; 2016]https://forumea.org A summary of job descriptions and roles forthose involved in international education andstudy abroad, which is also useful as a guide tothe infrastructure supporting such work.

Education at a Glance [OECD; 2015]www.oecd.org/educationThe OECD’s influential statistical analysiscovering educational attainment, funding,access, and organisation. By 2013, some 4million students were enrolled in study abroad– ‘tertiary education is becoming more inter -national’ through distance education, intern -ships, offshore provision, and satellite campuses.

Establishing a Presence in China: Lessonsfor University Leaders [Conning, A.S.; Observatory on BorderlessHigher Education (OBHE); 2016]www.obhe.ac.ukThis brief report summarises some of thefactors and issues facing HEIs operating inChina – legal, political, commercial, andregulatory – as well as concerns for the homeinstitution. The changing market alsocomplicates planning – the ‘future demand forforeign university programs in China isuncertain’.

Global Inventory of Regional and NationalQualifications Frameworks (Volume II:National and Regional Cases) [UIL; European Training Foundation (ETF);Cedefop; 2015]www.cedefop.europa.euThe inventory comprises profiles of educ -ational policy objectives and qualifications; apotentially useful comparative guide to differenteducation systems and their priorities.

Globalization, Internationalization, andAsian Educational Hubs: Do We Need SomeNew Metaphors? [Hawkins, J.; Center for Studies in HigherEducation (CSHE) (UC Berkeley), Researchand Occasional Papers; 2015]www.cshe.berkeley.edu/rops-by-yearDefines, clarifies, and reconsiders the implic -ations of some familiar terms in internationaleducation acknowledging, instead, the import -ance of trying to ‘describe the wide range ofexperiences that HEIs are undergoing’.

Higher EducationPartnerships for the Future [Jooste, N. (ed.) et al;Nelson MandelaMetropolitan University(NMMU), Unit for HigherEducation Inter nationalis -

ation in the Developing World; 2015]www.highered-research.comThe Unit’s first formal publication, it exploressome underpinning concepts, such as the roleof academics and university consortia, as wellas stating an institutional ambition which sees‘higher education internationalisation as anacademic discipline’.

Innovations inKnowledge and Learningfor Competitive HigherEducation in Asia and the Pacific

Integrated Informationand CommunicationTechnology Strategies for Competitive HigherEducation in Asia and the Pacific [Sarvi, J.; Pillay, H.; AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB);2015]

INNOVATIONS IN KNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING FOR COMPETITIVE HIGHER EDUCATION IN ASIA AND THE PACIFICJouko Sarvi • Hitendra Pillay

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK


www.adb.org/publicationsThese two interrelated reports focus oninnovation and ICT strategies to support theregion’s higher education, and what practicalchanges could be made to gain greater ‘globalrecognition’.

International Education Leadership ofTomorrow: Where Are We and Where DoWe Need to Go?[CBIE; 2016]www.cbie.caAssesses leadership skills, roles, and futureneeds, following an International Network ofTomorrow’s Leaders initiative. Discusses howCanada ‘has a vested interest in building know -ledge transfer channels between experiencedprofessionals and future leaders’.

International Education Snapshot (Jan-Aug2015) [Education New Zealand; 2015]www.enz.govt.nzAnalysis of international student enrolmentincreases, including for postgraduate prog -rammes, suggesting New Zealand ‘will needto focus on continuing to take advantage of thechanging environment’.

International Undergraduate Students: The UK’s Competitive Advantage [Archer, W.; UK HE International Unit; 2015]www.international.ac.ukAn International Student Barometer study,looking at enrolment trends, the internationalstudent experience, and factors influencingstudent choice, in comparison with ‘rivalmarkets’. International undergraduate studentsatisfaction remains high, particularly forteaching and learning, and satisfaction withthe (comparative) cost of living is alsoconfirmed.

Internationalizing Higher EducationWorldwide: National Policies andPrograms (CIGE Insights)[Helms, R. M. et al; American Council onEducation (ACE); 2015]www.acenet.eduA comparison of internationalisation policies,analysing their efficacy and potential. Althoughthe central role of national governments isrecognised, it concludes that international -isation efforts should acknowledge approachesfrom elsewhere, and be seen as ‘an unquest -ionably global undertaking’.

On the Value of Foreign PhDs in theDeveloping World: Training versusSelection Effects [Barnard, H. et al; United Nations University(UNU); 2016]www.merit.unu.edu/publicationsA paper comparing the career effects of sciencePhDs gained locally (South Africa) with thosefrom abroad, which argues that there is ‘veryclear evidence that the leading localuniversities are “world-class” in the trainingthat they offer’. It also suggests that the contextof some institutions may in practice be astrength and could add ‘value to the field’.

Open Doors: Report on InternationalEducational Exchange [Institute of International Education; 2015]www.iie.orgThe IIE’s annual statistical analysis ofinternational students to and from the US,revealing that China and India now constitutenearly 45% of total international enrolments.However ‘only about 10% of US students studyabroad before graduating from college’.

Principles and Practicesfor International DoctoralEducation[FRINDOC Project;European UniversityAssociation (EUA); 2015]www.eua.be

Research capacity, international profile, instit -utional structures, and mobility are the aspectswhich can ‘facilitate institutional developmentin the internationalisation of doctoral education’.

Standards of Good Practice for EducationAbroad[Forum for Education Abroad; 2015 (5th ed.)]https://forumea.orgOffers recommendations to consider whenproviding education abroad opportunities,from missions and goals, to policies, academicframeworks and ethics.

The ERASMUS Impact Study: Regional Analysis[European Commission; 2016]ec.europa.eu/educationA detailed study of the Erasmus project’simpact by region, analysing why studentswant to go abroad and the consequent effecton employability – and more generally onEuropean identity and relationships.

The global context of tertiary studentmobility[Australian Government. Department ofEducation and Training (DET); 2015]https://internationaleducation.gov.auAustralia continues to have ‘one of the highestproportions of international students in itstotal tertiary student population’.

Transnational Education: aGuide for CreatingPartnerships in India[British Council; 2015]www.britishcouncil.orgA review of transnationaleducation in India from a

UK perspective, including its regulation, withpractical recommendations on establishingnew transnational partnerships.

Trends and Insights[NAFSA: Association of InternationalEducators; 2015-2016]www.nafsa.orgSeries of briefings highlighting trends affect -ing international higher education. Recentissues include:The Ebb and Flow of Internationalization:Demographics, Rankings, and OtherPressures on Higher EducationTrends and issues in international HE, includ -ing the effects of globalisation, the use ofrankings to drive change, and factors outsidethe university in influencing inter nation al -isation.On Global Campuses, Academic FreedomHas Its Limits ‘As universities become more and moreengaged in international activities, the blanketprotections of academic freedom areincreasingly difficult for institutions toguarantee.’

Trends Shaping Education 2016 [OECD; 2016] www.oecd.orgGlobalisation, the nation state, family, andtechnology are the contexts used to analysehow education is being influenced. Last issuedin 2013, it suggests how thinking anddecisions about education can be assessedfrom wider perspectives. In relation tointernational HE, it queries whetherinternationalisation leads to standardisation,and the benefits and costs of learning throughtechnology.

New membersWe are delighted to welcome the followinginstitutions into membership:

All Saints University College of Medicine,St Vincent and the Grenadines

All Saints University School of Medicine,Dominica

Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, India

National Law University Odisha, India

Lilongwe University of Agriculture andNatural Resources, Malawi

Returning membersWe are delighted to welcome the followinginstitutions back into membership:

Brandon University, Canada

Buckinghamshire New University, UK

Oxford Brookes University, UK

University of the West of Scotland, UK

Executive Heads

Professor Tankeshwar Kumar has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of GuruJambheshwar University of Science andTechnology, India, as of 13 October 2015.

Professor Phillip Cotton has been appointedVice-Chancellor of the University ofRwanda, as of 16 October 2015.

Dr Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of Maulana AzadNational Urdu University, India, as of 20October 2015.

Dr Peter Stoicheff has been appointedPresident and Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Saskatchewan, Canada, as of24 October 2015.

Professor E Satyanarayana has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of DravidianUniversity, India, as of 28 October 2015.

Dr Dinesh Kumar has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of YMCA University of Science andTechnology, India, as of 4 November 2015.

Professor Zana Itiunbe Akpagu has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of the Universityof Calabar, Nigeria, as of 1 December 2015

Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of the Universityof Ibadan, Nigeria, as of 1 December 2015.

Professor Enefiok Essien has been appointedVice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo,Nigeria, as of 1 December 2015.

Professor Samuel Oye Bandele has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti StateUniversity, Nigeria, as of 2 December 2015.

Professor Theresa Nkuo-Akenji has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of the Universityof Bamenda, Cameroon, as of 14 December2015.

Professor Chris Husbands has been appointedVice-Chancellor of Sheffield HallamUniversity, UK, as of 1 January 2016.

Professor Louise Richardson has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of the Universityof Oxford, UK, as of 1 January 2016.

Professor Bijender Kumar Punia has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of MaharshiDayanand University, India, as of 7 January2016.

Dr Cecilia Nembou has been appointedVice-Chancellor of Divine Word University,Papua New Guinea, as of 20 January 2016.

Professor Stuart Croft has been appointedVice-Chancellor and President of theUniversity of Warwick, UK, as of 1 February2016.

Professor Julius Omondi Nyabundi hasbeen appointed Vice-Chancellor of MasenoUniversity, Kenya, as of 1 March 2016.

Professor Yogesh Kumar Tyagi has beenappointed Vice-Chancellor of the Universityof Delhi, India, as of 10 March 2016.

Professor Liz Barnes has been appointedVice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University,UK, as of 1 April 2016.

ACU membership updateThe current membership total (as at 1 April 2016) is 527.


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April27Universities UK (UUK)Universities, communitiesand business: collaboratingto drive growth and powerinnovation

London, UK www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/events

May3-5British Council: Going Global 2016Building nations and connecting cultures:education policy, economic developmentand engagementCape Town, South Africawww.britishcouncil.org/going-global

4-6IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking andExcellenceUniversity rankings and internationalacademic relations – a bridging tool or ahindrance?Lisbon, Portugal www.ireg-observatory.org

16-20Southern African Research and InnovationManagement Association (SARIMA)Leveraging unique resourcesUmhlanga, South Africawww.sarimaconference.co.za

29 May-3 June NAFSA: Association of International EducatorsBuilding capacity for global learningDenver, USA www.nafsa.org/annual_conference

June14-17European Distance and E-Learning Network Re-imagining learning environmentsBudapest, Hungary www.eden-online.org

July4-7Higher Education Research and DevelopmentSociety of Australasia (HERDSA)The shape of higher educationFremantle, Australiawww.herdsa2016.org

27-29ACU Conference of University Leaders Defining the responsible university:society, impact and growthAccra, Ghanawww.acu.ac.uk/ghana-2016

August13-20ACU Commonwealth Summer School The Sustainable Development Goals: whatrole for universities?Kigali, Rwanda www.acu.ac.uk/calendar

24-26Graduate Women InternationalAt the crossroads of education, gender andhuman rightsCape Town, South Africawww.gwiconference.org

31 August-3 SeptemberEuropean Higher Education SocietyOnly connect: collaboration, cooperationand capacity building through HEpartnershipsBirmingham, UKwww.eairweb.org/forum2016

September5-7Consortium of Higher Education ResearchersThe university as a critical institution?Cambridge, UKwww.cher2016.org

11-15International Network of ResearchManagement Societies (INORMS)Research management in a connectedworldMelbourne, Australia www.inorms2016.org

13-16European Association for InternationalEducation (EAIE)Imagine… Liverpool, UKwww.eaie.org/liverpool

19-23Regional Universities Forum for CapacityBuilding in Agriculture (RUFORUM)Linking universities with private sector,governments and other stakeholders insupport of agriculture development inAfricaStellenbosch, South Africawww.ruforum.org

October16-19ACU (with the University of Mauritius)HRM Network ConferenceHR steps upMauritiuswww.acu.ac.uk/mauritius-2016

18-21Australian International EducationConferenceConnectivity – at the heart of internationaleducationMelbourne, Australiawww.aiec.idp.com

November14-17International Association of Universities(IAU)Higher education: a catalyst for innovativeand sustainable societiesBangkok, Thailandwww.iau-aiu.net

27-30Commonwealth of Learning (COL); Open University of MalaysiaOpen, online, and flexible learning: the key to sustainable developmentKuala Lumpur, Malaysia http://pcf8.oum.edu.my

June13-16Royal SocietyCommonwealth ScienceConferenceSingaporewww.royalsociety.org

Calendar

2016

2016


Who are we?

The Association ofCommonwealthUniversities (ACU) is theworld’s first and oldestinternational universitynetwork, established in1913.

A UK-registered charity,the ACU has over 500member institutions indeveloped and developingcountries across theCommonwealth. Drawingon the collectiveexperience and expertiseof our membership, theACU seeks to addressissues in internationalhigher education througha range of projects andservices.

The ACU administersscholarships, providesacademic research andleadership on issues in thesector, and promotes inter-university cooperation andthe sharing of goodpractice – helpinguniversities serve theircommunities, now andinto the future.

Our mission

To promote and supportexcellence in highereducation for the benefitof individuals andsocieties throughout theCommonwealth andbeyond.

Our vision

Strengthening the qualityof education and researchthat enables our memberinstitutions to realise theirpotential, throughbuilding long-terminternationalcollaborations within thehigher education sector.

Our values

The ACU shares the valuesof the Commonwealth andbelieves in thetransformational nature ofhigher education: itspower and potential tocontribute to the cultural,economic, and socialdevelopment of a nation.

Join us

The Association ofCommonwealth Universities

Woburn House20-24 Tavistock Square

London WC1H 9HFUnited Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7380 6700Fax: +44 (0)20 7387 2655

[email protected]

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