Publication: The Road to Academic Excellence : The Making of World-Class Research Universities
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Date
2011-09-21
ISSN
Published
2011-09-21
Author(s)
Abstract
For middle-income and developing
countries as well as some industrial nations a major
challenge for building and sustaining successful research
universities is determining the mechanisms that allow those
universities to participate effectively in the global
knowledge network on an equal basis with the top academic
institutions in the world. These research universities
provide advanced education for the academic profession,
policy makers, and public and private sector professionals
involved in the complex, globalized economies of the 21st
century. In addition to their contribution to economic
development, these universities play a key societal role by
serving as cultural institutions, centers for social
commentary and criticism, and intellectual hubs. The
positive contribution of tertiary education is increasingly
recognized as not limited to middle-income and advanced
countries, because it applies equally to low-income
economies. Tertiary education can help these countries to
become more globally competitive by developing a skilled,
productive, and flexible labor force and by creating,
applying, and spreading new ideas and technologies. A recent
study on how to accelerate economic growth in Sub-Saharan
Africa spells out the crucial contribution of tertiary
education in supporting this endeavor (World Bank 2008). It
observes that the key for success in a globalized world
increasingly lies in how effectively a country can
assimilate available knowledge and build comparative
advantages in areas with higher growth prospects and how it
can use technology to address the most pressing
environmental challenges. The main chapters of this book are
nine case studies that illustrate what it takes to establish
and sustain research universities and help validate the
analytical model outlined above, including the paths to
building research excellence.
Citation
“Altbach, Philip G.; Salmi, Jamil. 2011. The Road to Academic Excellence :
The Making of World-Class Research Universities; El camino hacia la excelencia académica : la constitución de universidades de investigación de rango mundial; La voie de l’excellence académique : La création d’universités de recherche de rang mondial. Direction in Development ; human development. © World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2357 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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