In the knowledge society, research universities supply the demands of economy with professionals and scientists, and they are the key to global competitiveness through innovation. (Altbach. et al., 2011) A number of developed and developing countries have initiated programmes to establish a world-class university or to turn an existing research university or even several university into a world-class university. These programmes include “World Premier International Research Centre Initiative” in Japan, “Brain Korea 21” Programme in South Korea, the “Accelerated Programme for Excellence” (APEX) in Malaysia, “Excellence Initiative” in Germany (Salmi, 2011) and other programmes.
However, China deserves special attention due to the fact, that China stands out among other countries for its considerable success in the development of world-class universities. In the short time China was able to make 3 of its universities enter top 100 universities worldwide, standing along with such countries as Germany and France, whose systems were a part of world education for a longer period (Yang, Welch, 2011)
There is a large number of successful Chinese research universities. One of the success factors, the role of academic leaders is named, proved by life stories. Jun Li (2012) describes the emergence of Chinese model of world-class university, which is formed under the influence of Western models, but is rooted in the Chinese historical scholarly traditions. While stating that the role of government is important, Li gives credit to the individual initiatives of Chinese academicians, whose patriotism and firm position led the government on the way to reforms. He gives an interesting example of how President Qu Qinyue of Nanda University resigned as a sign of protest against the low support provided to his university in comparison with central universities like Peking. His action made government change its policy, and now Nanda University is one of the leading Chinese institutions.
Later, the Hong Kong University achieved success due to efforts of its first president, Woo Chia-wei (Postiglione, 2011). Before taking his position, Woo Chia-wei had been successfully working as a president San Francisco State University. His authority attracted a large number of Chinese scholars, working abroad in renowned research universities including Harvard University, Imperial College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others. Many of these scholars refused better conditions in the West for the opportunity to use own experience and make contribution to their homeland (Postiglione, 2011). Li and Postiglione agree that these academicians had a clear vision of the future of their educational institutions, which led them to choosing the right way.
From these two examples, we can see that personal position and vision of university leaders is a key to success of a university. The story of presidents Qu Qinyue and
Woo Chia-wei is especailly notable, because these people were not afraid to promote their vision in the context of strict government control. The lesson from the story for Kazakhstan, is that success would be impossible without bright leaders, and we need them.
References:
Li, J. (2012). World-class higher education and the emerging Chinese model of the university. Prospects, 42(3), 319-339.
Postiglione, G. (2011). The Rise of Research Universities: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The road to academic excellence: The making of world-class research universities, 63-100.
SALMI, J., & Liu, N. C. (2011). PATHS TO A WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITY 1.Paths to a World-Class University.
Yang, R., & Welch, A. (2012). A world-class university in China? The case of Tsinghua. Higher education, 63(5), 645-666.
However, China deserves special attention due to the fact, that China stands out among other countries for its considerable success in the development of world-class universities. In the short time China was able to make 3 of its universities enter top 100 universities worldwide, standing along with such countries as Germany and France, whose systems were a part of world education for a longer period (Yang, Welch, 2011)
There is a large number of successful Chinese research universities. One of the success factors, the role of academic leaders is named, proved by life stories. Jun Li (2012) describes the emergence of Chinese model of world-class university, which is formed under the influence of Western models, but is rooted in the Chinese historical scholarly traditions. While stating that the role of government is important, Li gives credit to the individual initiatives of Chinese academicians, whose patriotism and firm position led the government on the way to reforms. He gives an interesting example of how President Qu Qinyue of Nanda University resigned as a sign of protest against the low support provided to his university in comparison with central universities like Peking. His action made government change its policy, and now Nanda University is one of the leading Chinese institutions.
From these two examples, we can see that personal position and vision of university leaders is a key to success of a university. The story of presidents Qu Qinyue and
Woo Chia-wei is especailly notable, because these people were not afraid to promote their vision in the context of strict government control. The lesson from the story for Kazakhstan, is that success would be impossible without bright leaders, and we need them.
References:
Li, J. (2012). World-class higher education and the emerging Chinese model of the university. Prospects, 42(3), 319-339.
Postiglione, G. (2011). The Rise of Research Universities: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The road to academic excellence: The making of world-class research universities, 63-100.
SALMI, J., & Liu, N. C. (2011). PATHS TO A WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITY 1.Paths to a World-Class University.
Yang, R., & Welch, A. (2012). A world-class university in China? The case of Tsinghua. Higher education, 63(5), 645-666.
Thanks for your post, Saule. I appreciate your clear connections between the leaders of Chinese universities and their successes. A couple things you might work on: 1) your intro doesn't jump into your main idea soon enough. Where is your thesis statement? 2) Several sentences with comma mistakes "...China deserves special attention due to the fact, that China stands out among other countries..."
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