The paradoxes of developing European transnational campuses in China and Egypt

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 561 - 595, 30.09.2022

Joao Amaro De Matos , Miguel Pina E Cunha

https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1160457

Abstract

Through the lens of paradox theory, we present and discuss the cases of two different proposals for a European public university, located in Lisbon, Portugal, to develop transnational campuses, one in China and one in Egypt. We discuss the three overarching goals of the transnational campus in our cases (funding through international cooperation, projection of soft power, and the development of human capital) and compare the structure of both proposals with particular attention to the governance and pedagogical models proposed for China and the Middle East, and shed light on the different expectations that Middle Eastern and Chinese authorities hold regarding the cooperation with European institutions in the area of higher education. We conclude that the development of transnational campus can be considered a paradoxical journey and the success of which depends on how the tensions between goals are tackled and synergies obtained – or not. This will help in designing adequate policies and strategies in order to optimize the cooperation.

Keywords

Higher education, China, Egypt, transnational campuses, internationalization, leadership training, cross-cultural partnerships

Supporting Institution

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), POR LIsboa and POR Norte

Project Number

UID/ECO/00124/2019, UIDB/00124/2020 and Social Sciences DataLab, PINFRA/22209/2016,

References

• Abou-Setta, A. (2014). Towards more employable Egyptian HE graduates – a case Study. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, (7) 4, 229-244.
• Adel, Heba Mohamed, Zeinhom, Ghada Aly, & Mahrous, Abeer A. (2018). Effective management of an internationalization strategy: A case study on Egyptian–British universities’ partnerships. International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development, 17(2), 183-202.
• Amaro de Matos, J., Cunha, M. P., & Falcao de Berredo, R. (2021). Leading University internationalization: The future of Euro-Chinese academic cooperation, European Journal of Education, 57(1), 65-77.
• Berti, M., Simpson, A.V., Cunha, M.P., & Clegg, S. (2021). Elgar introduction to organizational paradox theory. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
• Bola, I. (2020). Understanding the receiving countries’ perspectives on transnational education: A phenomenological study in Egypt. Master Thesis in International and Comparative Education, American University in Cairo. http://dar.aucegypt.edu/handle/10526/5922
• Brandenburg, U., McCoshan, A., Bischof, L., Kreft, A., Storost, U., Leichsenring, H., ... & Noe, S. (2013). Delivering education across borders in the European Union. Brussels: European Union.
• Buckner, E. (2013). Access to higher education in Egypt: Examining trends by university sector. Comparative Education Review, 57(3), 527-552.
• Bush, T. (2016). School leadership and management in England: The paradox of simultaneous centralisation and decentralisation. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 1(1), 1-23.
• Cao, Y. (2011). Branch campuses in Asia and the Pacific: Definitions, challenges, and strategies. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 3(Spring), 8-10.
• Chan, Y.Y. & Emmett, A.S. (2015). Transnational higher education (TNE) in China: Geographic distribution, anomalies, and models of operation. Eastern Digest, 1(1), 3-26.
• Chey, J. (2008). Chinese ‘soft power’-cultural diplomacy and the Confucius Institutes. Sydney Papers, 20(1), 32-46.
• Cunha, M.P., Clegg, S, Rego, A. & Berti, M. (2021). Paradoxes of power and leadership. Routledge.
• Cunha, M.P. & Cunha, R.C. (2008). The role of mediatory myths in sustaining ideology: The case of Cuba after the “special period”. Culture and Organization, 14(3), 207-223.
• Djelic, M.L. (1998). Exporting the American model. A postwar transformation of European business. Oxford University Press.
• Frezghi, T.G. & Tsegay, S.M. (2019). Internationalisation of higher education in China: A critical analysis. Social Change, 49(4), 643-658.
• Gaim, M., Clegg, S., Cunha, M.P. & Berti, M. (2022). Organizational paradox. Cambridge University Press.
• Goldin, C. D. (2016). Human capital. In C. Diebolt & M. Haupert (Eds.), Handbook of cliometrics (pp. 55-86). Springer-Verlag.
• Guillén, M. F. (1994). Models of management: Work, authority, and organization in a comparative perspective. University of Chicago Press.
• Huang, F. (2008). Regulation and practice of transnational higher education in China. In M. Wallace & L. Dunn (Eds.), Teaching in transnational higher education: Enhancing learning for offshore international students (pp. 23-33). Routledge.
• Huang, F. (2015). Building the world-class research universities: A case study of China. Higher Education, 70, 203-215.
• Kohstall, F. (2021). University Reforms in Egypt and Morocco, in H. Alaoui & R. Springborg (Eds.), The Political Economy of Education in the Arab World (pp. 67-86). Lynne Rienner Publisher.
• Kirby, W. & Marijk Van der Wende (2019). The New Silk Road: implications for higher education in China and the West? Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 12(1), 127–144, https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsy034
• Lane, J. E. (2018). Importing branch campuses to advance Egypt’s development. International Higher Education, 97, 7-9.
• Langsten, R. & Hassan, T. (2018). Primary Education Completion in Egypt: Trends and determinants. International Journal of Educational Development, 59, 136-145.
• Lauritzen, S. M. (2016). Building peace through education in a post-conflict environment: A case study exploring perceptions of best practices. International Journal of Educational Development, 51, 77-83.
• Levy, S. E. & Hawkins, D. E. (2009). Peace through tourism: Commerce based principles and practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(4), 569-585.
• Li, P. P. (2016). Global implications of the indigenous epistemological system from the East: How to apply Yin-Yang balancing to paradox management. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 23(1), 42-77.
• Metzgar, E. T. (2016). Institutions of higher education as public diplomacy tools: China-based university programs for the 21st century. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(3), 223-241.
• Miller‐Idriss, C. & Hanauer, E. (2011). Transnational higher education: Offshore campuses in the Middle East. Comparative Education, 47(2), 181-207.
• Nam, B. & Jiang, X. (2021). Aspiration for cosmopolitan capital and ambiguous loss: Chinese exchange students’ experiences in US higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 1-16.
• Night, J. (2016). Transnational education remodeled: Toward a common TNE framework and definitions. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(1), 34-47.
• Nye Jr, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. Public affairs.
• Nye Jr, J. S. (2008). Public diplomacy and soft power. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 94-109.
• Paniagua, J., Villó, C., & Escrivà-Beltran, M. (2022). Cross-border higher education: The expansion of international branch campuses. Research on Higher Education https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09674-y
• Porter, M.E. (2021). The changing role of business in society. Working paper, Harvard Business School.
• Smith, W.K. & Cunha, M.P. (2020). A paradoxical approach to hybridity: Integrating dynamic equilibrium and disequilibrium perspectives. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 69(1), 93-111.
• Smith, W. K. & Lewis, M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381-403.
• Smith, W. K., Lewis, M. W., & Tushman, M. L. (2016). “Both/and” leadership. Harvard Business Review, 94(5), 62-70.
• Spreitzer, G. (2007). Giving peace a chance: Organizational leadership, empowerment, and peace. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 28(8), 1077-1095.
• Stepan, A. & Linz, J. J. (2013). Democratization theory and the "Arab spring". Journal of Democracy, 24(2), 15-30.
• Trivedi, S. (2016). Operationalizing peace through commerce: Toward an empirical approach. Business Horizons, 59(5), 525-532.
• Webber, C. F. (2016). Higher education administration, and leadership: Current assumptions, responsibilities, and considerations. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 1(1), 61-84.
• Webber, C. F. & Okoko, J. M. (2021). Exploring teacher leadership across cultures: Introduction to teacher leadership. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership, 6(1), 1-15.
• Westermann-Behaylo, M. K., Rehbein, K., & Fort, T. (2015). Enhancing the concept of corporate diplomacy: Encompassing political corporate social responsibility, international relations, and peace through commerce. Academy of Management Perspectives, 29(4), 387-404.
• Wilkins, S. (2016). Transnational higher education in the 21st century. Journal of Studies in International Education, 20(1), 3-7.
• Wilkins, S. (2017). Ethical issues in transnational higher education: The case of international branch campuses. Studies in Higher Education, 42(8), 1385-1400.
• Wojciuk, A. (2018). Higher education as a soft power in international relations. In Handbook of cultural security. Edward Elgar.
• Wojciuk, A., Michałek, M., & Stormowska, M. (2015). Education as a source and tool of soft power in international relations. European Political Science, 14, 298-317.
• Yang, R. (2012). Soft power and higher education: An examination of China’s Confucius institutes. In E. Hartmann (Ed.), The internationalization of higher education: Towards a new research agenda in critical higher education studies (pp. 65-76). New York: Routledge.
• Yang, R. (2014). China’s Strategy for the Internationalization of Higher Education: An Overview. Frontiers of Education in China, 9(2), 151-162.
• Yang, R. & Yeung, K.H.A. (2015). China’s plan to promote research in the humanities and social sciences. International Higher Education, March, 20-22.