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Universities and Economic Development: Sub-Saharan Africa and the Nordic Countries
Peter MaassenMPhil HE, HEM 4100, unit 324 September 2010
Starting point:
Why are the Nordic universities (and economies) performing so well?
Why are the African universities (and economies) lagging behind?
Paper not about contributions to economic development per se, but about conditions under which universities operate
Higher Education and Development
OECD countries and emerging economies:
’knowledge economy’ development strategies and ideologies.
Strong political focus on the knowledge triangle, linking research,(higher) education and innovation.
Consequence:HE central in research excellence policies, as well as neweducation & training policies
Higher Education and Development Cooperation
Development cooperation from individual support to public global goods, especially security, environment, knowledge, food, and health care
Emphasis on health care, food, and recently security and environment. Missing link: KNOWLEDGE
What are the consequences of this for the university and its role in development in Sub-Saharan Africa?
“The university must become a primary tool for Africa’s development in the new century. Universities can help develop African expertise; they can enhance the analysis of African problems; strengthen domestic institutions; serve as a model environment for the practice of good governance, conflict resolution and respect for human rights, and enable African academics to play an active part in the global community of scholars”. (Kofi Annan, in Bloom et al, 2005)
Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA)
Aim:Building an expertise Network for
contributing to knowledge production and capacity building on Higher Education
in Africa
Initial project:
Analyse actual and intended investments of ‘Northern’ donors in HE projects in developing countries
Report:http://www.chet.org.za/papers/bilateral-country-investments-and-foundations-partnership-projects-support-higher-education-a
1. Education and Training
Aim:
African experts on HE that are globally well-connected
Activity:Joint NOMA-funded Master programme in HE studies (UiO, UWC, Makerere University)
Intention:PhD level cooperation between UiO and UWC
2. Advocacy
Components:- University World News
(http://www.universityworldnews.com/index.php?page=Africa_Edition)
- Publications (http://www.chet.org.za/programmes/herana/ )
- Seminars- HERANA Gateway (http://www.herana-gateway.org/)
Funding: Partnership for HE in Africa (PHEA)
3. Research
Three HERANA Research Projects:
Higher Education and Democratic Development
Higher Education and Economic Development
Knowledge Use in Higher Education Policy-making
HERANA Research Project:
Higher Education and Economic Development
Two overall aimsMacro level: To explore the relationship between economic
development policy, and higher education policies
Meso/micro level: To understand the ways in which selected universities in Africa are responding to calls for a stronger
engagement with the socio- economic development of their country and surrounding regions.
Higher Education and Economic Development
Two alternative analytical frameworks:
Narrow economic growth approach
Broad interpretation of economic development approach, linked to access of citizens to basic public goods, such as health care, food, education, work/labour market (Based aot Amartya Sen’s work)
Methodology
Good case approach: OECD countries successfully linking HE and economic development (Finland, North Carolina, S. Korea)Interviews, document analysis and statistics
National economic policy and HE system development in 8 African countriesInterviews, document analysis (and statistics)
University responses in 8 African countries to call for stronger engagement in economic developmentInterviews, document analysis and institutional data
What the project is not doing
Studying the effects of individual development projectsReviewing the number of donor projectsExamining the overall contribution of each external donor
to university developmentAsserting that the primary role for HE is development
Actors and relationships which impact on the ‘pact’
National stakeholders(ministries, government, government agencies, employer organisations)
External agencies(foreign donors, academic
networks, research councils, industry)
Institutional stakeholders
THE PACTNotions of
developmentNotions of role and
value of higher education
THE PACTNotions of
developmentNotions of role and
value of higher education
Actors and relationships with impact on the pact
Four roles for higher education in development
Four visions on the role of HE in development:
• Traditional Development (TD): Higher education as producer of ‘national person power’ (mainly civil service)
• Institutional (I): The university as a self-governing institution• New Instrumental (NI): Higher education as a producer of skilled
professionals (particularly doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, agricultural specialists) and meeting and responding to ‘community’ needs
• Engine of Development (ED): The university as the electricity of development in the new knowledge economy
Institutionalisation and academic core / periphery
Extended Periphery
Lifelong learning, technology transfers,
contract/applied research, special
projects, etc.
Extended Periphery
Lifelong learning, technology transfers,
contract/applied research, special
projects, etc.Coupling (tight/loose)
Degree of institutionalisation of ‘third-mission’ of economic development
Academic core
Degree programmesBasic research
Academic core
Degree programmesBasic research
Institutionalisation and academic core/periphery
Nordic Region
1. Four main countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden2. Small Region in population: 25 million inhabitants; large in size3. Integrated Region: politically, economically (incl. labour market),
socially, culturally/scientifically (incl. HE & Research)4. Successful Region:
a) Combined GDP: 6-8th in the worldb) Leading major global rankings/indexes: Innovation; Globalisation; Social inclusion; Living conditions; Environmental sustainability, etc.c) Effective HE & Research systems: Participation rates; Research
output, Research impact; Rankings; FP7/ERC, NSF/NIH
Nordic Region
Nordic HEIs and their Performance
HEIs:7 (No) + 8 (DK) + 20 (Fi) + 16 (Swe) = 51 universities8 (DK) + 5 (Swe) + 28 (Swe) + 31 (Fi) + 23 (No) + 8 (No) = 102 colleges
“Shanghai ranking”:7 Nordic universities in top 100; (24 in top 500)
European Research Council (ERC), first three rounds:Nordic researchers: 80 Grants (= 9%) FP7 Cooperation:At least 1 Nordic partner in almost 50% of all selected projects
Research Production/Impact: all Nordic countries among most productive and highest impact countries
African case studies (HERANA project)
Botswana: University of Botswana Ghana: University of Ghana Kenya: University of Nairobi Mauritius: University of Mauritius Mozambique: Eduardo Mondlane University South Africa: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Tanzania: University of Dar es Salaam Uganda: Makerere University
Analytical framework:
Three inter-related factors
The nature of the pact between the universities, political authorities and society at large.
The nature, size and continuity of the university’s academic core.
The nature, management, size and institutionalisation of externally-funded projects at universities.
Pact between university and society
Definition:
A ‘pact’ can be defined as a fairly long-term cultural, socio-economic and political understanding and commitment between universities, political authorities and society at large of the identity or vision of universities, what is expected of universities, and what the rules and values of the universities are.
Indicators include:1. The nature of the national development framework. 2. Role of the Ministry of Education.3. Funding consistency
Pact: findings
Nordic countries
Overall: strong pact between university and society
Result: strongly institutionalised environment for the universities
Characteristics:
relatively high level of mutual trust; consistent high level of public
funding; growing strategic capacity of universities
Variety in national development strategies and role/nature of
Ministries responsible for universities
Pact: findings
African countries
Overall: weak pact between university and society
Result: weakly institutionalised environment for the universities
Characteristics:
low level of mutual trust; inconsistent and low level of public
funding; no strategic capacity of universities, weak Ministries of
Education
Variety in national development strategies
Indicators wrt strength of academic core 1. Ratio of undergraduate to postgraduate enrolments (2000 and 2007)2. Ratio of student enrolments across broad fields of study (SET, Arts & Humanities, Commerce) (2000 and 2007)3. Masters and doctoral level graduation rates 4. Ratio of academic staff to students (2000 and 2007)5. Percentage of academic staff with PhD degrees6. Research output in terms of staff publications (ISI)7. Institutional contribution to research funding as percentage of the total institutional budget (2000 and 2007)8. Proportion of funding from government agencies (e.g. research council or national commission) (2000 and 2007)
Academic core: findings In African universities: Undergraduate enrolment 80-90% of total enrolment. Postgraduate enrolment growing more rapidly than undergraduate. Overall enrolment growth in Science & Technology Postgraduate graduation rates very low Academic publication output almost negligible
In Nordic universities: Undergraduate enrolment 30-50% of total enrolment Postgraduate enrolment growing more rapidly than undergraduate. Relatively decline in Science & Technology enrolments Postgraduate graduation rates relatively high Academic publication output high
UniversityTotal number of articles (2007)
University of Botswana 126
University of Dar es Salaam 70
University of Nairobi 136
University of Ghana 101
University of Mauritius 26
Makerere University 233
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (SA) 94
University of Oslo 3,483
University of Helsinki 4,001
University of Copenhagen 3,894 (in 2005)
Number of articles in refereed academic journals (2007) for selected universities
Indicators wrt institutionalisation of externally funded projects
1. Sustainability2. Capacity building3. Relationship to academic core
Externally funded projects: findings
Nordic countries:Main external funder: national Research Council & EU/FP7Driven by academic excellence, and strategic, national priorities. Part of pact between university and society at large
Contributes to:Increased academic outputQuality of research (through competition)Capacity building in academic coreDevelopment of dynamic centres of excellence
Externally funded projects: findings
African countries:Main external funder: development aid (donor) agenciesDriven by poverty reduction and community developmentFunding based on development aid programme/agenda in home country
Contributes to:Decreased academic outputNegligence of researchLack of sustainability (projectization)Decreased capacity in academic coreKeeping ‘pockets of excellence’ in a niche
Conclusions
1. Pact African universities operate in a development vacuum with a weak Education Ministry with limited funds, and strong sector Ministries with no funds
Variety wrt Nordic universities: from operating in a strong explicit national development framework to operating in a development vacuum. Overall consistent high level of public funding.
Conclusions
2. Academic core African universities are dynamic: e.g. growth in postgraduate enrolment; growth in S&T students.Lagging behind in postgraduate enrolment and graduation; and especially in research output.
Nordic universities dynamic: e.g. growth in postgraduate graduation rates and academic output
Conclusions
3. External funders Development agencies have a negative impact on African universities in the sense that they reduce the capacity of African universities to (further) develop their academic core.
No link between investments of developing agencies in African universities and the foundations under the pact between universities and society in their home country