Joining the tide of global internationalisation of higher education, Chinese universities have embraced English-medium instruction (EMI) as a strategic response. The adoption of EMI is to comply with government mandates and for institutional survival, as it will increase the international ranking and bring in more income from international…

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology in Mainland China have stressed facilitating knowledge transfer of research output in recent years. By facilitating this transfer, the government aims to enhance authentic productivity and boost economic development. Due to this facilitation, universities have encouraged…

With the ubiquity of the internet in every domain of life, university websites are considered an effective tool to create institutional image and communicate with internal and external constituents. Focusing on websites of four universities in China and South Korea who seek to become World-class universities, this study examined how these…

Global university rankings have reshaped the landscape of higher education (HE) across various parts of the globe. The intensified competition stirred by these rankings has significantly affected academic lifestyles. The quest for global university rankings has also inevitably increased the degree of homogenisation amongst universities. Given the…

Unethical research practices are prevalent in China, but little research has focused on the causes of these practices. Drawing on the criminology literature on organisational deviance, as well as the concept of "cengceng jiama," which illustrates the increase of pressure in the process of policy implementation within a top-down…

For two centuries, academics and their universities have competed for prominence and vied to demonstrate that their institutions are at the center of the scholarly world. Scientific advances in particular fields, reciprocal academic visits and conferences, impressive physical architecture, and publishing in shared venues and a "lingua…

The first of two volumes dedicated to this little-explored topic, this volume gathers international perspectives to critically assess how Waldorf education has been perceived and discussed in both public and academic arenas. The book thereby challenges the historical concept of Waldorf education as an international movement championing…

China has become a main host country for international students, but its international programmes for higher education still need improvement. This study aimed to examine the academic challenges that international postgraduates in China face based on Luc Boltanski's idea of ordinary critique. A qualitative research approach was adopted, and data…

The Chinese government promulgated several policies to encourage academics to participate in applied projects. As collaboration with industry on applied projects consequently increased, previous research found that the external funders placed constraints on the applied projects in which the academics were involved. Academics have tried to find a…

One of the goals of China's 'Double First-class' initiative is to boost the top-notch disciplines in those next-to-top universities and allow their differentiated paths towards development. This study investigates Chinese universities' policy interpretations and strategic responses to this national initiative through a social network analysis of…

This study used the historical research method to explore the Chinese government's role in building world-class universities. We traced the government's role in pushing policies for: (1) accelerating academic improvement; and (2) enhancing the involvement of provincial governments in achieving universities' world-class status. The findings…

This research examines the impact of University Social Responsibility (USR) on University Performance (UP) through mediating role of service quality, student satisfaction, university reputation, and student trust. Data were collected from a sample of 586 university students from Pakistan and 311 university students from China. Universities in…

Transnational higher education is big business. However, it is unclear what transnational universities must do to behave in a responsible way or to gain a social licence to operate. Examining the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), we discuss what universities could do to gain approval from…

China is an important player in global university ranking exercise. Nevertheless, existing studies have not adequately explored how the legitimacy of adopting university ranking outcomes has been chronologically established on Chinese soil. This paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap drawing on interviews with 37 stakeholders between 2003-2021…

Over the past decade, universities in the People's Republic of China have notably progressed in international rankings. Most of the existing literature interested in this development describes the adoption of university rankings in China as a recent import of a global institution, and as being driven by a governmental agenda that seeks to bolster…