The book offers an analytical account of higher education in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China with examples of best practices from higher education in the US for guidance.
This book is Professor Way Kuo’s attempt to address issues that remain to be challenges for universities in the globalized 21 Century, namely academic autonomy and freedom, seamless integration between research and teaching, curricula update, innovative and problem-driven research, and adopting best global practices, based on his reflections about higher education from a global perspective through his personal experience as a senior academic leader in the US and Hong Kong. Borrowing from the languages of computer science, this book not only talks about the hardware and software in higher education, which refer to the infrastructure and the physical entities that provide an environment conducive to good teaching and research, it also highlights the importance of a third category for achieving great success: the presence of a certain mindset, a willingness to embrace due process and follow international standards and procedures or a vision in making the best use of the hardware and software to spearhead innovation in combining teaching and research for the benefit of students and the well-being of society. Such a mindset is called the soulware of higher education. Specifically, this book: - Covers four key areas where a lack of proper soulware or mindset is deterring the advancement of higher education: internationalization; seamless integration of teaching and research; quality and evaluation; and creativity and innovation; - The author’s arguments are factual and comments are critical on what is perceived to be less desirable or a failure in higher education; - The book offers useful insights into the future and a global perspective on trends, challenges, and opportunities in higher education.
Audience
Educators, policymakers, higher education providers and administrators, global stakeholders of higher education including students and parents, and the general public in both the East and the West who have an interest in global higher education.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
List of Figures and Tables xxi
Acknowledgments xxiii
Introduction xxvii
Part I: Internationalization of Higher Education 1
1 Internationalization without Soulware 5
2 Higher Education in the UK 19
3 On Universities across the Strait 25
4 Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication 55
5 Blind Spots and Loss of Scholarship 69
6 Communicating Rigorously 79
Part II: Integration of Teaching and Research 101
7 The Essence of University 103
8 University Positioning 113
9 Pitfalls of Misaligning Whole-Person Education 123
10 Strategies for Nurturing Generalists and Specialists 137
11 The Successful Evergreen Tree 149
12 Students and I 161
Part III: Separation of Politics and Education 169
13 External Forces that Interfere with Soulware 175
14 Stains in Academic Freedom and Campus Autonomy 193
15 Mechanism of the Separation of Politics and Education 205
16 University: The Seedbed of Social Movements? 219
17 Populism: The Stumbling Block of Academic Progress 231
Part IV: Quality and Evaluation 251
18 Review is the Father of Success 255
19 Rankings in the Humanities and Liberal Arts 273
20 Tuition, Salary Comparisons of Professors and Graduates 281
21 Course Design and Choice of Majors 293
22 Accomplished Hermits behind Unprepossessing Gates 303
Part V: Creativity and Innovation 311
23 Creativity Depends on Asking Questions 315
24 How to Promote Innovative Technology? 323
25 Where Is the Innovative Talent? 339
26 Creativity in Higher Education and Risk-Taking 351
27 Setting Policy Direction and Avoiding Nano-Management 365
Epilogue: How Does a University Set the Trend? 371
References to Tables and Figures 377
Appendix: Basic Principle of Academic Governance 385
About the Author 387
Index 389
