Higher Education In The Arab World Research And Development

Countries aspiring to participate fully in the global knowledge economy require high-quality education and research that leads to innovation, entrepreneurship and development. In spite of the large number of institutions higher education institutions, the Arab World failed to capitalise in research and development. This book will examine the current position of university research and development in the Arab region, note the main themes, their international impact, and propose new directions. Crucially, it will examine the underlying reasons for the underperformance, including specific government research policies, university-appointment and governance processes to stimulate research, funding assessment and allocation processes, resource limitations, and public attitudes. By substantially upgrading the research component of Arab universities along with the quality of education generally, the Arab world will have the vehicle to transition into peaceful, stable, and members of leading global economies. There are opportunities for inter-university cooperation and the establishment of regional university-linked research institutes with specialist facilities.

This book examines the unsatisfactory situation in the Arab world where there is a pressing need to address poverty, unemployment, political instability, corruption, and the existential threat of climate change. The authors analyze the relationships between universities and governments in the Arab world, and make recommendations that will help develop intellectual capacity and thereby aid the economic and social transitions so desperately needed in all Arab countries. Countries aspiring to participate fully in the global knowledge economy require dynamic university sectors operating in concert with governments that actively promote high-quality education and research and foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Successful university-government relationships can be complex and are continually evolving.

This book is the first major account of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Arab higher-education sector. It provides an update of the current situation and advances reasons for the under-performance of Arab universities in international ranking tables and the weaknesses of Arab economies. Specific proposals are made for upgrading curricula and assessment procedures as well as providing an environment that fosters innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour. The roles of university-based technology and business parks are examined, with examples of successful business partnerships in the Arab region, Europe, and North America. Opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship have never been greater with the wealth of rapidly developing transformative technologies that are driving the international knowledge economy. This book puts forward proposals for the management and exploitation of intellectual property, and for establishing businesses.

What kind of world should we strive for in the next century? What roles will education and training play in creating such a world? With rapid technological advances and the arrival of the information age, education systems as well as labor markets have undergone tremendous changes, affecting not only curricula and teaching methodology, but also the nature of skills and competencies required of graduates and new entrants to a changing workforce in the twenty-first century. In this volume, leading scholars and practitioners unite in an effort to examine the importance of education in the development of nations in the new millennium. This volume is unique in that it engages in cross-national and cross-cultural studies ranging from Australia to Japan, Canada and the UAE. It also explores central concepts in education such as Total Quality Management and Just-in-Time Learning and provides an economist's view of how and in what form education and training influence growth. While the models for effective education may differ, it is undeniable that education is crucial for individual development and economic growth, national production, and building a strong civil society.

This book takes a closer look at the relation between current issues and trends in higher education and scientific research in the Arab World and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE). This thoroughly researched text traces the development of higher education in the GCC area as it continues to be positioned in an intersection of international and local factors. The text further articulates the pivotal political and cultural influences that act as real and perceived barriers towards the advancement of key fields. The chapters analyze the current policy trends, structures, and coping alternatives in addressing higher education challenges, whilst also providing comparative first-hand texts with the other Arab states in the region. By drawing focus on the GCC area, the text identifies the crucial factors that hamper learning and research performance. The book serves as an invaluable discussion on the implications for policy makers and HEIs in relation to the eponymous regions and other Arab states in the GCC area. Enhancing understanding of the scope, scale, and complexity of higher education and scientific research in the GCC area, the book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of educational policy, comparative and international education and higher education.

This book presents selected case studies from the Arab world on the universities responses to the pandemic. This book will look in detail at the priorities of the higher education sector in the post-COVID-19 era and the changes that must be adopted by universities and governments. These changes will allow the higher education sector to emerge from the crisis and build short- and long-term resilience. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has induced sudden changes worldwide by setting a global lockdown that has impacted all industries and sectors, affecting our daily lives and forcing us to adapt to a new normal. This book is the first major account of how the pandemic has shaken universities and higher education institutions in the Arab world today and tomorrow. Crucially, it examines the responses of universities to COVID-19, highlights their current position, and addresses the negative and positive outcomes. Has this crisis become an adversity or an opportunity for higher education institutions? What are the pillars that will ensure the success of the Arab higher education sector post COVID-19?

A rigorous examination of higher education policymaking in the Arab world None of the momentous challenges Arab universities face is unique either in kind or degree. Other societies exhibit some of the same pathologies—insufficient resources, high drop-out rates, feeble contributions to research and development, inappropriate skill formation for existing job markets, weak research incentive structures, weak institutional autonomy, and co-optation into the political order. But, it may be that the concentration of these pathologies and their depth is what sets the Arab world apart. Missions Impossible seeks to explain the process of policymaking in higher education in the Arab world, a process that is shaped by the region’s politics of autocratic rule. Higher education in the Arab world is directly linked to crises in economic growth, social inequality and, as a result, regime survival. If unsuccessful, higher education could be the catalyst to regime collapse. If successful, it could be the catalyst to sustained growth and innovation—but that, too, could unleash forces that the region’s autocrats are unable to control. Leaders are risk-averse and therefore implement policies that tame the universities politically but in the process sap their capabilities for innovation and knowledge creation. The result is sub-optimal and, argues John Waterbury in this thought-provoking study, unsustainable. Skillfully integrating international debates on higher education with rich and empirically informed analysis of the governance and finance of higher education in the Arab world today, Missions Impossible explores and dissects the manifold dilemmas that lie at the heart of educational reform and examines possible paths forward.

Presenting an analysis of higher education in eight countries in the Arab Middle East and North Africa, Degrees of Dignity works to dismantle narratives of crisis and assert approaches to institutional reform. Drawing on policy documents, media narratives, interviews, and personal experiences, Elizabeth Buckner explores how apolitical external reform models become contested and modified by local actors in ways that are simultaneously complicated, surprising, and even inspiring. Degrees of Dignity documents how the global discourses of neoliberalism have legitimized specific policy models for higher education reform in the Arab world, including quality assurance, privatization, and internationalization. Through a multi-level and comparative analysis, this book examines how policy models are implemented, with often complex results, in countries throughout the region. Ultimately, Degrees of Dignity calls on the field of higher education development to rethink current approaches to higher education reform: rather than viewing the Arab world as a site for intervention, it argues that the Arab world can act as a source for insight on resilient higher education systems.