In recent years, the higher education landscape has become increasingly competitive as colleges and universities strive to recruit and retain high-quality students. Here are some trends in higher education and its outlook.
The growing popularity of a range of internationalisation strategies
As internationalisation becomes an accepted part of the higher education sector, the development of strategies to develop and manage international engagement is increasingly taking place at the national and regional level as well as at the level of individual universities. More broadly, and aside from its role in developing and improving research, teaching and innovation, internationalization in education are increasingly seen as means of improving institutional and national visibility and influence. Among the countries with effective policies to encourage student mobility are Australia, Germany, the UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Malaysia, China, India, Taiwan, Russia and others.
Focus on quality assurance
Over the last decade, many countries have emphasized widening access to higher education, bringing rapid growth in the number of universities and degree programmes on offer. This rapid massification has in turn spawned a move in many countries to bolster higher education quality.
The goal of providing high quality teaching and research through an internationally recognized higher education sector, which in turn produces graduates with the skills needed by local and regional employers, is shared by all national education reforms. Different countries all over the world have launched programmes to reform their universities.
Graduate employability takes center stage
There is a growing concern about the employment prospects of recent university graduates all over the world. Governments have for years put pressure on universities to be relevant and responsive to society’s needs. It was initially focused on applied research, but recently, improving employability has been added to the list.
Universities increasingly assume a regional or global role
One of the many signs of increasing confidence and resourcefulness of universities in the developing world is the growing number of branch campuses they have established. Now universities in Russia, India, China and other countries are building branch campuses designed to bolster their reputation and attract new types of students.
As we can see, global trends have become accepted part of the higher education sector in Asia and Russia. For example, in China were launched different initiatives aimed at bringing Chinese universities up to a world-class. Project 211, Project 985 and Project 2011 are among such initiatives.
Since 2013, Russia has placed such goals on a more strategic footing. Under its Academic Excellence Initiative, the country aims to strengthen its position as an outstanding place for education and research, to enhance the profile of its universities, and to bolster the nation’s international competitiveness. This effort is known as Project 5-100.