Author: Claes Brundenius, Bengt-Ake Lundvall and Judith Sutz E-Mail:
[email protected] and
[email protected] and
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Towards Developmental University Systems: Normative, Empirical and Policy Perspectives Claes Brundenius, RPI, Lund University, Sweden (
[email protected]) Bengt-Aake Lundvall, DBS, Aalborg University, Denmark (
[email protected]) Judith Sutz, URC, Universidad de la República, Uruguay (
[email protected])
Abstract It has become almost trivial to assert that in the information society, the knowledge society or the learning economy, universities are very important institutions. This consensus notwithstanding, questions like in what sense are those institutions important and for whom they are important are far from receiving unanimous answers. Should the major function be to promote higher education in order to serve all sectors of society or should the emphasis be to engage in research and what are the relationships between the two types of activities? And what should a ‘third mission’ encompass: A broad interaction with society or just an interaction with the business sector aiming at promoting technical innovation in high technology. Nobody argues in favour of ‘ivory towers’ but the relative autonomy of universities may be seen as contributing to validating knowledge in a knowledge based society. The purpose of this paper is to help clarify the debate. On the basis of a combination of our different research experiences at our respective academic institutions at Lund University, Sweden, Aalborg University, Denmark and University of the Republic, Uruguay, (Brundenius et al. 2007, Brundenius-Göransson 2008; Lundvall 2002; Arocena and Sutz 2005), this paper will present key elements of the current state of debates on university transformation or university reform, looking into their normative inspiration. It will also analyse the correspondence between empirical data and policy recommendations, paying special attention to the situation of developing countries. The main part of the paper will be devoted to present a framework, including normative, empirical, and policy aspects, to better integrate universities into development processes, stemming from recent research. It will address issues like “developmental university systems”; “developmental universities” versus “entrepreneurial universities”, the “third mission” of universities, the interplay between universities and systems of innovation at national level; the impact on universities of the work organization at firm level. We argue that in order to understand the role of universities in knowledge systems it is useful to combine elements of innovation research as pursued within different disciplines with
economic development theory. The aim of the paper is to contribute to a new research agenda and the following issues will be addressed: 1. What are the major quantitative trends in higher education research efforts world-wide? Are developing countries closing the vis-à-vis the developed world in terms of supply of higher education? 2. Which are the major issues in national respectively the developed and the developing countries?
debates
on
and gap
universities
in
3. How do the trends toward privatization and global markets for education and educated labour affect university systems in the developing countries? 4. Why is the developing countries?
demand
for
highly
trained
scholars
weak
in
some
5. Through what mechanisms do universities contribute to economic and social development? What role do they play in the over all innovation system? The aim of the paper is to contribute to the establishment of a research agenda. We also see this paper as a modest contribution to the design of developmental university systems that combine dynamic efficiency with equality and social justice. Different normative frameworks are one of the sources of divergent positions regarding these types of questions; different ways of looking into facts, and even before that, of organizing the way of looking into facts, add to divergences. Purposeful actions regarding universities are based on normative insights as well as on opinions built around factual-based inputs. Debates are particularly entangled in developing countries, partly due to a strong presence of international advice alongside the positions held by local actors, partly due to the level of the challenges that such countries and their universities are facing. Under the heading ‘the learning economy’ we identify changes in the context of universities that follow from new dynamics in the economic sphere. The universities have become more directly involved in market-driven processes and more exposed to competition from other producers of knowledge. This occurs in a situation where knowledge production is characterized by increases in the degree of internationalization and networking. It is obvious that traditional modes of organization, characterized by sharp and rigid borders between disciplines and isolation from the society at large are being challenged and alternatives have to be developed. Strategies of alliance and networking have become a key factor behind the success and survival of universities. Still the universities’ most significant
contribution to society and the economy remains well-educated graduates with critical minds and good learning skills. As universities open themselves up, there is a need for changes in the institutional framework to ensure that the long-term, creative and critical aspects of academic research can survive. It is important also to consider the ethical and social dimension of universities’ knowledge production in order to support the long-term viability of the learning economy. Merely to expose the universities to market processes is not tenable, neither for university nor for the sustainability of society. On the basis of these considerations we point to the need for a strategy of diversification and differentiation of knowledge production, both internally, within university, and between different kinds of organisations engaged in knowledge production. This strategy becomes complex because of the need to maintain an interaction between research and academic training. Still, this might be the only way to ensure simultaneously interaction with, and rapid adaptation to the surrounding environment, on the one hand and the further development of the university’s classical responsibility as a respected and reliable ‘central bank of reliable knowledge’ on the other hand.
Some references: - Arocena, R. and Sutz, J. (2005), “Latin American universities: From an original revolution to an uncertain transition”, Higher Education, vol. 50, pp. 573-592. - Brundenius, C., Göransson, B., Ågren, J. (2007), ”The Role of Academic Institutions in the National System of Innovation in Sweden”, UniDev Discussion Paper No 6. -Brundenius, C, and Göransson, B. (2008), ”The UniDev Project: A Synthesis of Main Results”, UniDev Discussion Paper (forthcoming). - Lundvall, B.-A. (2002), “The University in the Learning Economy”, DRUID Working Paper no. 6, Aalborg Universitet. - Robertson, S. et al. (2007). Globalisation, Education and Development: Ideas, Actors and Dynamics, Department for International Development, University of Bristol. - Sen, A. (2000) “Social Exclusion: concept, application and scrutiny”, Social Development Papers No. 1 Office of Environment and Social Development, Asian Development Bank. - Weiler, H. (2005) “Ambivalence and the politics of knowledge: The struggle for change in German higher education”, Higher Education (2005) 49: 177–195. - Yusuf, S. and Nabeshima, K. (eds.) (2007), How universities promote economic growth, The World Bank, Washington.
