Integration of education with research and development and the export of higher education

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to present a framework combining the approaches of the innovation pedagogy, strategic planning of higher education and the research, development and innovation (RDI) in order to support the export of higher education.Design/methodology/approach -The export of education can be included in the framework by taking the innovation pedagogy as a starting point -an approach developed for the universities of applied sciences with the emphasis of efficient leaning in projects and the institution's external impact. Strategic management defines strategic objectives, which take into account the European education policy and the regional and international demand for higher education. The empirical part of the paper is based on the study of the Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) focusing on the networked applied research and development activities and the combination of the education and the RDI activities using learning in the projects approaches.Findings -The building of the strategic partnerships seems to be one of the main instruments of the export process and to use the support of the external broker organization outside of the universities. The advantages of the student learning in the RDI projects are: the drop-out rates can be decreased, the length of study can be shortened, the transfer of knowledge can be increased, the supervision of students can be increased, the experience of students from projects increases the employment opportunities and the integrated model of innovation pedagogy can be exported to other countries.Originality/value -The framework presented in the paper could be developed towards mechanisms of sharing the knowledge concerning different global learning ecosystems.

Toward One of the Leading Education-Based Economies? Investigating Aims, Strategies, and Practices of Finland’s Education Export Landscape

“…Consequently, the action steps that followed did not show much coherence. After preliminary pilot projects (Eltvik, 2010; Kantola & Kettunen, 2012), Finnish universities took over the role as “engines” (MOEC, 2010, p. 13) of education export by creating a collaborative network coordinated under the external organization Finpro. The network established the Future Learning Finland (FLF) project, which operates on the basis of the education export memorandum published by the MOEC (FLF, 2012).…”

Engines without fuel? – Empirical findings on Finnish higher education institutions as education exporters

“…The future introduction of fee-based programmes would radically change the Finnish education export landscape, but the focus of this paper is the trajectory created by the 2010 education export strategy up to 2015. The past reforms in the University Acts and the funding model increased HEIs’ independence and venues of entrepreneurialism (Aarrevaara et al., 2009; Hölttä, 2000; Kantola and Kettunen, 2012; Pinheiro et al., 2014), and thus created strong incentives for education export. These structural changes were accompanied by auxiliary public discourses in line with the earlier mentioned international recognition and the national education branding campaign (CBR 2010).…”

Internationalisation and governance issues in higher education

“…What is export in higher education? Kantola and Kettunen (2012) explain export in HE as an innovation in the facets of education that foster and stimulate international trade, directly or indirectly. Innovation in curriculum, pedagogy, research, extension services or community engagement will lead to market-pull commodities being produced for the export market.…”