Research and Innovation in Higher Education (MARIHE)

The aim of this course is to support students to understand the development and the current trends in the higher education and innovation policy of the European Union. It also aims at raising the activity of students and developing the capacities of working in groups on the theme of European higher education.

• Key facts about the European Union
• The institutions of the EU
• Public policy-making in the Union
• The role of the EU in education
• The origins of European cooperation in higher education
• The idea of the European University and its realisation
• Higher education in the 1976 Action Program
• The Erasmus program
• The 1991 Memorandum
• The European Higher Education Area (the Bologna process)
• European research and innovation policy and higher education
• The EU’s higher education modernisation agenda (2003-)
• Diagnosis, strategic priorities and implications for key areas such as curriculum, structure, funding and governance
• Linkage with the Lisbon strategy and the Europe 2020 strategy
• Linkage with other policy areas (e.g. employment, regional development, innovation)
• Key stages, decisions and related documents
• The education programs (Erasmus, Socrates and the LLL-program, Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Erasmus+)
• Europeanisation and instruments of coordination (OMC in education, benchmarks, presidencies, EU funded development programs)

The aim of this course is to set basic knowledge about NPM as major starting point for managerial reforms in HE, to stimulate critical reflection of students about current developments in HE systems and to stimulate high student engagement in working with case studies at the beginning of MARIHE.

• New Public Management as the starting point of managerial reforms in the academic sector
• Is New Public Management just another management fad?
• Economic theories relevant for steering and management in the academic sector
• institutional economics
• principal-agent-theory
• Governance theories, incl. the governance equalizer (applied to country case studies)
• Application and applicability of management tools to higher education, potentials and limits of managerialism
• Schools of strategic management
• Differences as well as similarities of higher education with respect to other public sectors (e.g. health) and with respect to other stages of education (e.g. primary and secondary education)
• The use of market mechanisms in tertiary education and research institutions
• Case studies to illustrate the logic and limitations of New Public Management if applied to the academic sector

The aim of this course is to support students to understand the development and the current trends in the higher education and innovation policy of the European Union. It also aims at raising the activity of students and developing the capacities of working in groups on the theme of European higher education.

• History of higher education research and innovation studies
• Higher education research and innovation studies as inter-disciplinary fields of research
• Thematic areas and methods of higher education research and innovation studies
• Interrelationships between research and practice in the field of higher education research and innovation studies
• Distinguished higher education researchers, scholars, and significant research units and think tanks globally
• Most important sources of information about recent higher education research and innovation studies
• The role of institutional research (research supporting the decision making of HEIs) in higher education studies

The course aims at helping students identify, understand, respond and reflect on the challenges of learning and teaching in higher education, e.g. the increasing number and types of training programmes, students’ heterogeneous learning experiences and goals, the cooperation with world of work or industry in programme design. In the course students work out answers to these challenges based on cutting edge research results of higher education pedagogy and interesting cases of learning and teaching practice at universities from all over the world.

The course have a learning-centred approach, teaching HE pedagogy with HE pedagogy which means how every student’s learning can be inspired and supported effectively. The focus of the course is on micro (institutional) level of HE. The interpretation refers to not only students but to teachers and the organization as learners as well. In the course students identify and apply several different ways of teaching and learning methods. These lead to a strengthened learning culture of the graduates.

• Main principles and theories of students’ learning and how it can be scaffold (active, co- constructive, situated, personalized nature of learning, the learning outcomes and processes of learning)
• Transition to higher education, first year students’ learning
• Managing learning in higher education: learning and teaching units
• Curriculum design (different types of curricula, competence based education, planning learning outcomes)
• Learning-centred teaching activities and methods, e.g. problem-based learning, work-based learning, collaborative and cooperative learning
• Assessment of and for learning in higher education
• University teachers professional development and learning communities

The aim of this course is to support students to understand higher education institutions as organisations. It also aims at raising the activity of students and developing the capacities of working in groups on the theme of higher education management functions and issues and to develop an overview about the different units within higher education institutions.

• Key facts about higher education institutions as organisations
• Types of higher education institutions
• The history of higher education from the organisational point of view
• The role of higher education institutions
• The organisational environment and conceptual models of organisational design
• Roles and functions within the organisation
• Power and Politics in higher education organisations
• Understanding higher education management
• Horizontal and vertical power
• Personal power
• Groups, teams and human relations
• Strategic planning and policy formation
• Leadership and Governance
• Quality Management in higher education
• Quality management concepts
• Quality assurance and enhancement
• Key players in quality management
• Human Resource Management in Higher Education
• The human resource framework at higher education institutions
• Strategic human resource management
• Staff development and progression in higher education
• Recent developments at higher education institutions

The course aims at supporting students learn how to use quantitative method to conduct research as well as the rationale behind such research design. At the end of the course, students will develop a research design based on quantitative research method.

• Basic characteristics of quantitative research method
• Hypothesis and the role of literature
• Variables and operationalization
• Survey questionnaires and sampling
• Statistical tools and methods

The course aims at helping students understand the higher education systems and development dynamics in various regions and countries and identifying the main challenges those countries face in developing research and innovation. It mainly focusses on developing students’ awareness about the concepts of globalisation and internationalisation and their impact on higher education, teaching, research and innovation systems. Students will learn about North American, South-American, African and Australian higher education systems by lectures given by high level experts invited from these countries and will get the chance to participate on African panel and discuss with experts on the main challenges and opportunities of African higher education system. Also the role of supra- national organisations in a global development dynamics is analysed.

The course is guided by students-centred teaching approach where by all students would actively participate on the lectures and discussions. To support this, a debate session will be organised in which students will form small groups, select debate topics and argue and for on the selected topics.

• Definitions and classifications of internationalisation, globalisation and regionalisation in the context of higher education, research and innovation
• Introduction to the general characteristics of North American, South American, African and Australian higher education, research and innovation systems
• Introduction to the roles and characteristics of the supra-national organisations, UNESCO, World Bank and OECD in particular
• Key actors and models of internationalisation with respect to higher education (e.g. cooperative and competitive approaches, capacity building) in a global and context
• Rationales and barriers for regionalisation and internationalisation of higher education, research and innovation in a global context
• Debate on selected topics related to globalisation, internationalisation and related developments

The course aims at helping students learn how to use organisation theories to understand phenomena in higher education and innovation. It also targets at improving students’ skills to solve problems in higher education management, organisational change and innovation by using organisation theory as a tool.

• Major organisation theories
• Examples of using organisation theories in higher education and innovation studies
• Organisation culture in higher education
• Organisation design
• Unique organisational features of universities and colleges

The course aims at helping students to acquire the basic groundings in research and innovation management in a HEI context. Students will be able to understand the dynamics of current research environment, they will learn how research activities and research projects are managed and organised in HEIs and how research knowledge is valorised. In the course, students will acquire basic skills of research project management through expert lectures, readings and preparing project management plan.

• Research environment of HEIs
• Research management in HEIs
• Project management in HEIs
• Managing research knowledge transfer, research valorisation and commercialisation
• Leadership and project management skills
• Teamwork and networking

The course aims at helping students identify, understand, and reflect the issues, trends and approaches of institutional financial management in higher education institutions (HEIs) and research institutes and their public and private funding. Students learn the special features in transforming the financial management of higher education and research organisations with the help of problem- based learning techniques. In the course students also learn how to analyse and further develop system and institutional level funding models in higher education, innovation and research sector.

• Higher education, research and innovation as public and private goods
• Student financing: Tuition fees, cost-sharing approaches, student aid
• Funding research and innovation: policies and practices in system-level funding approaches
• Changing financing patterns of higher education: Global perspectives and challenges
• Financial autonomy and accountability of HEIs
• HEIs as economic entities: alternative budgeting models and financial management
• Institutional financial management: planning, resource allocation, performance orientation, strategies for diversifying the funding base

The course aims at helping student to understand and analyse the dynamics of entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education and higher education institutions (HEIs) as well as interrelationships between them. The student will also become able to critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial orientation and transformation of HEIs. In the course, students work on a particular country higher education case, which will help them identify major challenges and opportunities of HEI and come up with strategic solutions.

• Entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education and higher education institutions (HEIs), entrepreneurial HEIs: concepts, theories and empirical examples
• Management of entrepreneurial HEIs
• Criticism of entrepreneurial HEIs
• National and regional innovation systems as an operational framework for HEIs: actors and the dynamics of interaction
• The role of HEIs in innovation and science policy
• Institutional dynamics of HEIs in research and innovation systems
• Group work exercise: Simulation on how to develop sustainable overall development strategy for an underperforming HEI in the context of research and innovation systems

The course aims at helping students learn how to use qualitative method or mixed methods to conduct research as well as the rationale behind such research design.

• Basic characteristics of qualitative research
• Role of literature in qualitative research
• Theory in qualitative research
• Interviews
• Software of qualitative data analysis

In keeping with the general goals and objectives of MARIHE programme, internship programme is designed to assist students in developing scientific and practical knowledge, skills and attitudes 
relevant to higher education research, management and innovation. The internships provide students with practical insights into contemporary themes encountered during their studies. 

• transfer theoretical knowledge into practice
• understand the pertinent issues of higher education research and innovation, and relate them to the theoretical foundation of the field of higher education
• understand the main challenges of higher education research, innovation, management and leadership
• explore personal interests in career development
• familiarization with the technology of the e-portfolio, a collection of electronic evidence on learning processes and achievements 
   

The course aims to equip students with conceptual understanding of higher education systems in Asia, with a focus on seven Asia countries: China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. We aim at making student understand the history of Asian higher education, the transition of higher education system, in terms of structure, research, governance, teaching and learning, academic profession of the-above-mentioned 7 cases. Furthermore, the course will provide students with opportunities in comparing similarities and differences of higher education reform among those 7 cases.

• Higher education system in China
• Field Trip of the traditional higher education in China
• Higher Education system in Japan
• Higher Education System in Korea
• Higher Education system in Malaysia and Singapore
• Higher Education system in Thailand and Vietnam
• Innovative thinking and practices in higher education systems in Asia

Chinese higher education in a modern sense originated in the late 19thcentury. Since the founding of New China in 1949, on the basis of assimilating experiences of higher education development from industrialized countries in the world and the former Soviet Union, China has formed a relatively complete system of modern higher education. In 2010, the enrolment scale of Chinese higher education amounted to more than 31.05 million students, boasting the world's largest higher education system.

This course introduces the Chinese HE and its governing mechanisms. The different types of HE institutes, major stakeholders, and their governance structure for decision-making will be addressed. Furthermore, the course will systematically and critically evaluate contemporary issues in Chinese HE system. These include, but not limited to, internationalization of HE in Chinese, quality and accreditation, policy development, financing and budgeting, inclusiveness and access to quality HE, and technology diffusion. Students will be given the opportunity to analyse and develop creative solutions for these issues through intensive field-trip and project work.

• Overview of Chinese Higher Education system
• Governance mechanisms in Chinese Higher Education
• Policy development, decision-making and constraints in Chinese higher education system
• Planning and budgeting for Higher Education in China
• Quality assurance and role of Accreditation in Chinese Higher Education
• Contemporary challenges in Chinese systems of Higher education

The course aims to aid students’ conceptual understanding of higher education systems in Asia, with a particular focus on India. Students will identify, understand, compare, and reflect on the existing and emerging higher education systems, perceptions, and processes in Asia.

We also aim at giving the students some practice in dissemination of knowledge gained on the course to scientists and laymen, through scholarly writings, posters, debates, discussions, etc. It is hoped that by the end of the course, students will be equipped to formulate and implement effective strategies to deal with emergent issues in higher education.

• Higher education in ancient and medieval times in Asia, with particular reference to India
• Continuity vs. Change in Higher Education in Asia
  • Differences in learners
  • Changing role of teachers in higher education
  • Evolving perceptions and policies
• Innovative thinking and practices in higher education systems in Asia
• Comparisons with US, UK, and European systems of Higher Education

Indian higher education (HE) system is the third largest in the world. According to some estimates India will have world’s largest tertiary-age population and second largest graduate talent pipeline globally by the end of 2020. However there are inherent systemic issues underlying the Indian HE.

This course introduces the Indian HE and its governing mechanisms. Focus will be on highlighting the different types of HE institutes, major stakeholders, and their governance structures for decision- making. Further, the course will systematically and critically evaluate contemporary issues in Indian HE system. These include, but not limited to, internationalization of HE in India, quality and accreditation, policy development in constrained environment, financing and budgeting large education system, inclusiveness and access to quality HE, and technology diffusion. Students will be given the opportunity to analyse and develop creative solutions for these issues through intensive field-trip and project work.

• Overview of Indian Higher Education system
• Governance mechanisms in Indian Higher Education
• Policy development, decision-making and constraints in Indian higher education system
• Planning and budgeting for Higher Education
• Quality assurance and role of Accreditation in Indian Higher Education
• Contemporary challenges in Indian systems of Higher education, such as Indigenization, Internationalism, Inclusiveness, Policy Development in constrained environments, Innovative pedagogy, Technology diffusion across Indian Higher Education

The course aims at helping students diagnose organizational problems in the context of higher education and come up with innovation solutions by utilizing the theory and knowledge learnt during the MARIHE studies.

• Technics and procedures for doing organisational case analysis
• Examples of case analysis
• Exercise on case analysis or case development

The course aims at helping students diagnose organizational problems in the context of higher education and come up with innovation solutions by utilizing the theory and knowledge learnt during the MARIHE studies.

• Basic concepts and essentials of policy analysis in the field of higher education, research and innovation studies
• Policy instruments and implementation techniques
• Policy programmes and their assessment
• The role of stakeholders in policy processes
• Supra- and multinational policies in the field of higher education, research and innovation, policy borrowing and policy transfer
• Evidence-based policymaking in the field of higher education, research and innovation

The course aims at helping students focusing on issues of the practice of higher education management, develop leadership skills of the students and professionalize the students on practices and tools of change management.

• Leadership: state-of-the-art definitions
• Leadership styles
• Aspects and models for Self-Leadership
• Self-assessment
• Current challenges for leadership in the academic sector
• Requirements for leadership in the academic sector
• Concepts and key factors of organizational development and change management
• Strategies for change in HE and research institutions
• Case studies of change management (faculty management, Bologna implementation, implementation of new market-oriented steering and management instruments)
• Key factors for successful change management in HE and research institutions
• Project management in higher education institutions

The course aims at helping students to make students get an integrated perspective on strategic management and change, balancing between crucial higher education management issues such as resource allocation, quality of teaching and research, leadership styles, organizational cultures, student satisfaction, human resources and external demands; to make students discuss and exercise with crucial management issues from different internal university stakeholder perspectives, such as university leadership, academics, administratives, financial administrators, HR managers, students, alumni, deans, etc.; to develop soft skills important to management and leadership: communicate, balance between various interests and group work versus individual interests; to professionalize the students in combining management tools and interests to develop acceptable and coherent strategies.

• Universities as complex organisations
• Leadership styles (competitive values framework)
• Organisational cultures (competitive values framework)
• Financial management and internal resource allocation
• Strategic management
• Change management
• Practice strategic management processes
• Live into various stakeholder roles
• Self-assessment on own acting and playing management roles
• Simulation exercises in which roles and tasks differ and individual and collective interests need to be balanced
• Reflect on own real-life experiences in terms of strategic management dilemma’s, organizational complexity, differences between formal and informal organisations

The aim of this course is to support students to understand higher education institutions as organisations. It also aims at raising the activity of students and developing the capacities of working in groups on the theme of higher education management functions and issues and to develop an overview about the different units within higher education institutions.

• Understanding institutional research
  • The functions of institutional research (inside and outside perspectives)
  • The history of and recent developments in institutional research
• Institutional decision support through research
  • How to transform data into information by using reporting and analysis instruments
  • Communication with different audiences
• Data Management and Governance
  • Valuing data: quality, security, privacy, and access
• Applied Research Design for institutional research
• Data-driven Decision Cultures

The aim of this course is to support students to improve institutional research and to use institutional research and foresight methods at higher education institutions. The course helps students to become institutional researcher by using research methods, institutional understanding and solution oriented acting. Students work with real institutional challenges and state of the art data to detect deficits and improve institutional performances. This course focuses on the role of assessment, evaluation, and other research and analysis techniques in supporting institutional planning, policy formation, and decision-making. This capstone course combines different aspects and shared knowledge-bases over the course of the programme and serves the students to assess their competences and skills before entering the job market.

• Understanding foresight methods
  • Different foresight methods
  • Combining futures, planning and networking
• Institutional research and foresight
  • How to transform information into future scenarios
  • How to define scenarios
• Institutional strategy and foresight
  • Data, Information, Scenarios and Future
• Applied Foresight Methods in institutional research
• Data-driven Decision Making

The final thesis (Master Thesis) should be a comprehensive written work which is assessed against the academic standards for evaluating the quality of research. The purpose of the thesis is to add to the body of knowledge from the topic of the thesis, resulting from the independent scientific work of a student. The thesis is written at the end of the programme and provides the opportunity to the students to delve more deeply into and synthesis knowledge acquired in previous studies.

The thesis will give the student an opportunity to work on a subject concerning a sub‐section of some of the completed MARIHE courses and thus gain specialised knowledge of the subject and to produce and present a well‐founded scientific study.

The Master Thesis is supervised by the Partner institution where the student has accomplished the two specialisation modules:

• Research and Innovation – University of Tampere/Finland
• Leadership and Management – Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences/Germany
• Institutional Research – Danube University Krems/Austria
• Learning and Teaching – Eötvös Loránd University/Hungary