Filter & Sort
Internationalization: A Taxonomy of Engagement and Institutional Logic
Like entrepreneurs in other sectors of our modern economy, many universities are in a rush to fill a relatively new and expanding market. Despite the significant increase in the number and type of international activities—from branch campuses, to MOOCs, and aggressive international student recruitment—many efforts appear to be launched without a clear idea of best practices or how specific activities might be productive and meaningful for a particular institution.
Globalizing MOOCs
After nearly 12 years living in the United States, I continue to be perplexed by this country. As I said when acting as a respondent to Anya Kamenetz at ED Talks Wisconsin last Friday night, the US is an amazing place when it it comes to unleashing and scaling up a multiplicity of innovations related to higher education.
On the Illogics of the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings
Amidst all the hype and media coverage related to the just released Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings (2013), it's worth reflecting on just how small of a proportion of the world's universities are captured in this exercise (see below). As I noted last November, the term 'world university rankings' does not reflect the reality of the exercise the rankers are engaged in; they only focus on a minuscule corner of the institutional ecosystem of the world's universities. below). The firms associated with rankings have also normalized the temporal cycle of rankings despite this being an illogical exercise (unless you are interested in selling advertising space in a magazine and on a website).
Replacing A/P George at Nanyang Technological University?
Like many social scientists with ties and genuine affection for Singapore, I was shocked when I heard Nanyang Technological University (NTU) recently denied tenure to Dr. Cherian George (pictured to the right). But rather than speculate as to why NTU, led by President Bertil Andersson (a Swedish national, and former Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation, 2004-2007) and Provost Freddy Boey, chose to sanction this decision, I decided to think laterally and pondered what a position description for a replacement hire in George's areas of expertise would be like.
The making of a MOOC at the University of Amsterdam
Insights from the University of Amsterdam on the development of their first MOOC (to be launched 20 February 2013).
Memo to Trustees re: Thomas Friedman’s ‘Revolution Hits the Universities’
I am sure you, or some of your fellow trustees, noticed Thomas Friedman’s op-ed (‘Revolution Hits the Universities’) in this weekend’s Sunday New York Times. There are some major caveats, though, to factor in when it comes to the Thomas Friedman/Moody’s/et al, argument; the one buzzing and humming through the system right now, propelled as it were by people, firms and organizations with vested yet often unstated interests in making you feel concerned, if not agitated.
The MOOCs fad and bubble: please tell us another story!
How can we escape this new buzz about MOOCs, since the launch of Coursera? Is there anything else than the bubble effect created by the media that is part of the strategy itself?
Are MOOCs becoming mechanisms for international competition in global higher ed?
Are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) becoming mechanisms for international competition in global higher education? Or are the MOOCs born in the United States (circa 2012) poised to become post-national platforms of higher ed given their cosmopolitan multilingual architects?