Comments Korkeakoulujen rakenteellisen kehittmisen yhteistyseminaari Lappeenrannanteknillinen yliopi

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CommentsKorkeakoulujen rakenteellisen
kehittämisen yhteistyöseminaariLappeenrannantekni
llinen yliopisto 21.8.2006

• Seppo Hölttä
• University of Tampere
• Department of Management Studies
• Higher Education Group
• seppo.holtta_at_uta.fi

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Four topics

• National steering and governance
• Institutional governance, leadership and
  management
• Institutional structures
• Implementation of institutional change

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Changing Context for HE and Research

• Globalisation of society
• Growing importance of global economy as a driver
  of social change
• Knowledge as a factor of production as well as
  output of production
• Commodification of knowledge
• Changing mode of knowledge production
• From discipline based production towards applied
  and cross-disciplinary knowledge
• Knowledge production takes increasingly place in
  the interaction between HEIs, research institutes
  and industries

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continues

• Emergence of global markets for HE and research
• New context for national HE policies
• HE policy is and will be integrated more closely
  with economic and industrial policies in the
  context of national and regional innovation
  systems national competitiveness
• Growing national priority of HE policy
• New steering and coordination methods growing
  importance of external stakeholders
• World class universities powerful drivers of
  economic development (Alistair Ulph)

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From the national context to the global one -
implications

• The operating environment of Finnish universities
  is global market economy
• Reputation is important rankings matter role
  of research
• Universities have to balance pure discipline
  based academic and applied cross-disciplinary
  knowledge production stimulating relationship
• Funding structure has to be diversified
• Where are the markets?
• More entrepreneurial behavioural model
• Increased financial autonomy needed
• Growing importance of HE policy and the methods
  of implementation
• Development of accountability measures needed
• Global view also to the regional services / third
  task needed

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continues

• Governance and leadership models have to be
  reassessed
• More extensive external representation in
  governance bodies
• New balance between democracy and professional
  management and leadership increased financial
  autonomy
• Importance of strategies and effective financial
  incentives in the implementation
• Encouragement of global markets in the
  coordination of the national HE system
• Student markets tuition fees
• Markets for research and continuing education
  increased financial autonomy legal status
• Academic labour markets increased flexibility
  to salaries
• Bologna framework institutional structures
  reassessment of tasks between universities and
  polytechnics
• System core strong multi-disciplinary
  universities with international programmes and
  extensive research cooperation

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The role of a university in a research system of
knowledge-based society
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Arguments for institutional restructuring and
mergers

• Similarity overlapping programmes and research
  activities/units
• Difference unused opportunities in the context
  of production of new applied knowledge what is
  the value added
• Same external stakeholders, (potential) partners
  and markets
• Critical mass
• Administrative rationality

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Main (potential) obstacles

• Lack of clear vision of the future
• Discipline based academic values
• Fear of loosing (institutional or departmental)
  identity
• Diverse commitments of institutional leaders
• National policy institutional stakeholders
  -institutional community
• Inability to see costs of restructuring as long
  run investments
• Lack of entrepreneurial spirit

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Where is the driver for the system change
dynamics?

• National Ministry?
• Institution?
• Academic community/profession?
• Centralised steering?
• Institutional self-regulation
• Global markets?

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• The competitiveness of Finnish key industries is
  at the top international level
• The Finnish school system is also at the top of
  international ratings
• How can we create World Class Research
  Universities?
• Where is the driving force?