Universities in the Knowledge Society: The Nexus of National Systems of Innovation and Higher Education
About this ebook
Congratulations to Timo Aarrevaara, Martin Finkelstein, Glen A. Jones, Jisun Jung and all contributors!
This book explores the complex, multi-faceted relationships between national research and innovation systems and higher education. The transition towards knowledge societies/economies is repositioning the role of the university and transforming the academic profession. The volume provides a foundational introduction to the concepts of knowledge society and knowledge economy, and these concepts ground the detailed case studies of eighteen systems, located across five continents. Each case study was written by a leading expert in that jurisdiction, and provides a critical analysis of the research and development infrastructure, the role of universities, and the implications for the academic profession. The book describes how nations in various geographic regions and at various stages of economic maturity are restructuring their university systems to adapt to the new imperatives, and provides a cross-case analysis identifying common themes and distinctive features.
In telling the story of higher education’s on-going global metamorphosis, the contributing authors place current developments in the context of the university’s historic evolution, survey the changing metrics that national governments are adopting to measure university performance, and describe a new international project, the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society [APiKS] that involved a common survey of academics in more than twenty countries to take the pulse of developments “on the ground” while documenting the challenges confronting knowledge workers in the new economy.
About the author
Glen Jones is Professor of Higher Education and Dean, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. His research focuses on higher education governance, policy and academic work, and he has published more than 100 papers in the field of higher education. His recent books include Governance of Higher Education: Global Perspectives, Theories and Practices (Routledge, 2016, with Ian Austin), Doctoral Education for the Knowledge Society (Springer, 2018, with J.C. Shin and Barbara Kehm), Professorial Pathways (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019, with Martin Finkelstein), and International Education as Public Policy in Canada (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020), with Merli Tamtik and Roopa Desai Trilokekar).
Jisun Jung is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong since 2015. Her current research focuses on academic profession, doctoral education in East Asia, and master’s education and employment. She is a co-editor of Higher Education Research & Development. Her recent books include Changing Academic Profession in Hong Kong (Springer, 2017, with Gerard Postiglione) and Researching Higher Education in Asia (Springer, 2018, with Hugo Horta and Akiyoshi Yonezawa).
