Partnerships and Internationalization Measures from a data-driven perspective

Britta PielFreie Universität BerlinCenter for International Cooperation

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WHO WE ARE

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Who We Are

one of Germany’s 11 Universities of Excellence

founded in 1948, with strong international orientation

32,000 students, app. 500 professors

66 bachelor’s, 110 master’s, 23 structured doctoral programs

11 Departments plus Charité – University Medicine Berlin (joint faculty with the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

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International Network University

Excellence Initiative: established in 2007, renewed in 2012, up to 2017

“to make efficient use of networks & focus on mutual benefits of partnerships”

key measures: liaison offices, strategic partnerships, seed funds

seven liaison offices set up in between 2005 and 2010

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Strategic Focus on Internationalization

University of British Columbia

St Petersburg University

Hebrew University of Jerusalem Peking University

Part of FUB‘s „International Network University“ Strategy Liaison Offices Strategic Partnerships Strategic Unit: Center for International Cooperation Funding for internationalization measures

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Guiding PrincipleInternationalization is a basic orientation guiding all activities in teaching and

research and a tool to further advance the university‘s performance andacademic excellence.

Specific Goals recruit and retain excellent students as well as promising researchers, university

teachers from abroad

foster international mobility of all university members

develop innovative programs and projects

make efficient use of networks and cooperations

focus on selected, mutually beneficial partnerships

Internationalization at Freie Universität

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International students & staffCurrently from abroad:

8 % of the students in bachelor’s programs

17 % of the students in master’s programs

31 % of the doctoral candidates

10 % of the professors

In Germany the first choice for fellows of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, no. one for Erasmus students, no. one for DAAD scholars

More than 100 partnerships with universities around the world in 67 countries plus about 340 agreements within the European exchange programs

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WHY LOOK AT DATA?

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Different words, different rationales assess: see what you have done benchmark: see where you stand evaluate: see whether you have reached your goals profile: see where you might be going…

Goals to be accountable to leadership, funding agencies… to foster (internal) transparency to optimize strategic planning to become more effective…

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(STRATEGIC) PARTNERSHIPS

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Global Trend

„Strategic Partnerships“ are increasingly discussed and developed amonguniversities worldwide

in Germany, introduction of new funding opportunities specifically for strategicpartnerships (i.e. DAAD Program „Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Networks“)

not much research on SPs in higher education:

International survey and report on strategic partnerships by Institute of International Education and Freie Universität Berlin (Report in IIE/DAAD „Global Perspectives on Strategic International Partnerships“, 2016)

The EAIE Barometer: „International Strategic Partnerships“

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Survey on International Strategic Partnerships

online-survey conducted in early 2015 by IIE/FUB

initially 258 participating institutions

91 qualified to complete entire questionnaire

persons in charge of SPs at institutions that have established SPs and thatdifferentiate between SPs and „non-SPs“

North America (28), Latin America (9), Africa and Middle East (3), Asia (4), Australasia (13), Europe (34)

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Goals

40%

19%

36%

5%

“Has your institution developed ways/means to evaluate the strategic partnership, its benefits and effectiveness?”

YesNoNot yet, but we plan toI don't know

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Partner Selection SP are mostly developed out of existing partnerships

Majority (65%) developed their SPs through a consultation process, incl. top-down as well as bottom-up elements (vs 16% purely top-down)

A variety of indicators used to identify strategic partnerships:

Highest rated factors for identifying SPs: • potential for further development• specific research strengths of partner institution• compatibility of academic profiles• degree of interest among faculty• pre-existing formal relations

Lowest rated factors for identifying SPs: • personal preferences of institution‘s leaders• international rankings• political reasons/national priorities• history of previous cooperation (joint research, publications etc)

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Strategic Partnerships –Means to an end, not an end in itself

Objectives:

deliver additional quality & opportunities for research and teaching

deliver complementary strengths

promote sustainable research cooperation

provide attractive options for students, early-career researchers and established faculty

increase international co-publications

increase FUB‘s visibility in specific regions and globally

Question: Which partners and in which regions are the right ones? Answer: Identify particularly synergetic partnerships in particular regions.

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Top-down

focus on regions/countries with high and/orgrowing research potential

SPs must mirror faculties‘ research interest

partnerships should have a history ofcollaboration at min. 3 departments

availability of funding opportunities should betaken into consideration

process managed by a central unit (Center forInternational Cooperation)

Identification Process

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Bottom-up

Target Agreements: Departments map their international activities and develop their own internationalisation agendas

Consultation process with Deans

Analysis of existing partnerships (level of activity, mobility, etc)

Analysis of third party funded research projects (FUB database)

Analysis of research output (co-publications), where data available

Analysis of incoming guest scholars / fellows

Identification Process

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First phase non-EU/overseas:

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (since 2011)

Peking University (since 2011)

St. Petersburg State University (since 2012)

University of British Columbia (since 2014)

University of California at Berkeley (since Sept 2016)

Second phase: stronger focus on Europe:

Next: University of Zurich (agreement in development)

And consultations with 2 more potential strategic partner universities

Current Strategic Partnerships

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Current joint activities involving approx. 100 researchers from FUB und HUJI

Joint research projects / joint publications Joint Seed Money Fund Joint PhD agreement Joint PostDoc Fellowships Joint PhD Program „Human Rights Under Pressure“ Joint annual PhD workshops Joint initiative in online education Student exchange Faculty mobility Erasmus+ Regular consultations between university leadership Administrative staff exchange Joint press releases / marketing Joint fundraising

Example: Bilateral FUB – HUJI

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University Alliance for Sustainability promote joint research and teaching on sustainability

related issues

foster dialogue and inter-institutional learning with regard to sustainable campus management

Example: Multilateral & thematically focused

Strategic research network focusing on the topic of “Principles of Cultural Dynamics”

Combines expertise of leading humanities institutes/centers

Principles of Cultural Dynamics

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Some observations

mapping process first start, but possibly never comprehensive

data sometimes surprising

good tool to develop, end, or focus partnerships

updates can be used for monitoring

no evaluation mechanism

informed strategic planning

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LIAISON OFFICES

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Global Network of Liaison Offices

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Main tasks

increase global visibility and reach through marketingand advising

recruit promising talent

support existing partnerships and exchanges

develop new research cooperation

support FUB researchers and events

build local alumni networks

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Why evaluate?Formal reasons:

accountability to funding agency

evidence-base for discussions about the network‘s future after 2017

Content reasons:

improving internationalisation through

monitoring of activities, procedures, and performances

providing new impulses for future work

identification of new goals

understanding our partners’ needs

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Structure of the evaluationStep 1: Collecting information

liaison offices‘ self reports, supported by interviews with liaison offices‘ heads, where necessary

online questionnaire among FUB professors

online questionnaire among local partners

official university statistics on personnel, students, and funding

Step 2: Giving recommendations

external evaluation commission composed of international experts (e.g. German Rectors‘ Conference, ACA, MPG, AvH…)

meeting in January 2016 with FUB‘s Executive Board

Step 3: Decisions

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A few sample topics & questions self reports:

• What does your daily work look like?

• What‘s the system in the country you work in?

online questionnaire among FUB professors:

• Which services have you used, and how would you rate them?

• What‘s important to you in internationalization?

online questionnaire among local partners:

• How important are the offices for your work?

• How could cooperation with FUB be improved?

official university statistics:

• Have # of PhD students changed?

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Example: Recruitment of PhD Students

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Select results measurable internationalization effects through the offices

concept of liaison offices strengthens the institutional strategy of„International Network University“

very diverse picture depending on the country and its politics

very diffentiated usage by different user groups / subject areas with a strong overall usage and satisfaction rate

high satisfaction rate among German and international partners

in high accordance with the university‘s profile and mission

continue with differentiated sets of goals and tasks

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Lessons Learned

define your objectives carefully: know what you want to learn whenassessing / evaluating / mapping

find suitable and manageable ways of measuring

don‘t measure things just because you can

have a plan on what you want to do with the results

keep things on par with your resources

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Thank you for your attention!Contact: britta.piel@fu-berlin.de