Publication: The Challenge of Establishing World-Class Universities
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Date
2009
ISSN
Published
2009
Author(s)
Abstract
There are many important questions to
ask about the widespread push toward world-class status for
universities around the world. Why is
'world-class' the standard to which a nation
should aspire to build at least a subset of its tertiary
education system? Might many countries be better served by
developing the most locally relevant system possible,
without concern for its relative merits in a global
comparison? Is the definition of "world-class"
synonymous with "elite Western" and therefore
inherently biased against the cultural traditions of
tertiary education in non-Western countries? Are only
research universities world-class, or can other types of
tertiary education institutions (such as teaching
universities, polytechnics, community colleges, and open
universities) also aspire to be among the best of their kind
in an international perspective? To answer these questions,
the report starts by constructing an operational definition
of a world-class university. It then outlines and analyzes
possible strategies and pathways for establishing such
universities and identifies the multiple challenges, costs,
and risks associated with these approaches. It concludes by
examining the implications of this drive for world-class
institutions on the tertiary education efforts of the World
Bank, offering options and alternative perspectives on how
nations can develop the most effective and relevant tertiary
education system to meet their specific needs.
Citation
“Salmi, Jamil. 2009. The Challenge of Establishing
World-Class Universities. Directions in Development ; human development. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2600 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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