Purpose: Executives who are engaged in strategic planning for higher education generally complain about the process and the lack of clear outcomes from the strategic plan. They generally argue that the process is complex and sometimes confusing and the end result does not justify the time spent in preparing the plan. The extant literature on…

This article examines the possibilities and challenges in turning a top-down action research project led by high-level public authorities into a shared and collaborative, multi-site and multi-professional bottom-up action research project. For this purpose, the article explores the initial stages of a European level action research project called…

Business schools face social, economic, cultural, and technological changes that require constant rethinking not only of teaching and learning, but also of leadership and management. In contrast to traditional strategic planning models, this article proposes a new participatory approach for the university community, arriving at a common story and…

Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a pivotal role in global sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to assess the QualEnv Consortium's contributions (QualEnv, a cooperative network of 16 universities across several countries, aimed to promote sustainability within HEIs). This paper focuses on three key objectives:…

International student mobility (ISM) has emerged as an important field of study that various nations and organizations have been attaching great importance to. This paper studies the drivers of international student mobility, using a competing destinations model for the international student flows among 35 OECD countries in the period 2004-2018,…

The need for strategic planning of the internationalization process in universities is inevitable. The key stakeholders in higher education institutions (HEIs) are expected to be involved in the strategy-making process. It is argued that international office professionals (IPs) are one of these key stakeholders and need to be part of strategy…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyse institutional strategy documents relating to technology-enhanced learning. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 84 documents were sampled from 71 leading higher education institutions (HEIs), identified through the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings 2018. Qualitative content analysis…

Purpose: This study aims to discuss to what extent are WMPs practical tools for circular and sustainable waste management in universities, presenting, therefore, a case study of the usage of WMP in the Brazilian public universities and comparing this scenario with the international context. Design/methodology/approach: The WMPs were identified by…

Postdoctoral researchers are important contributors to European higher education, playing significant roles in research, but also in teaching and societal engagement. Despite their valuable contribution, the situation of postdoctoral researchers remains challenging in Europe as issues such as temporary or short-term contracts, high workloads and…

This article reports on the first results of the educational model piloted in EUTOPIA, a transnational university alliance established under the European University initiative. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings and core principles of our model which seeks to enable students, academics and societal partners to form Connected Learning…

Starting from the assumption that 'education' in higher education (HE) is a floating signifier and can take on different meanings, we problematise the problem representations regarding the notion of 'education' in HE. We hereby focus on the analysis of problem representations in a set of Communications on the Modernisation Agenda for Higher…

Chatbots have experienced significant growth over the past decade, with a proliferation of new applications across various domains. Previous studies also demonstrate the trend of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence, being adopted in libraries. The purpose of this study is to determine the current research priorities and findings…

This volume includes four sections of the 2023 NORDSCI international conference proceedings: (1) Business and Management; (2) Education and Educational Research; (3) Political Science; and (4) Sociology and Healthcare. Business and Management includes 6 papers covering business, including management and organizational studies, business law, and…

This paper examines interactions between the presence of top-ranked universities and other conditions that encourage regional competitiveness. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to assess the combined effect of the conditions. The analysis yields several noteworthy conclusions. First, no single condition is necessary…

This article demonstrates and explains the benefits accruing to communities that involve universities in their local community-based projects from the context of community-based work taking place in Europe. We include concrete arguments intended to stimulate the transfer of the universities' accumulated knowledge to local (urban) community…