The VET sector is under pressure from the exponential increase in university places. This, on top of cutbacks to government funding over the last decade and a lack of clarity about VET's role now that it is squeezed between universities and schools, has led to a precarious position for the VET sector and the need to consider changes to traditional…

The paper explores the role of universities in innovation in the modern knowledge economy, discusses the Triple Helix model and the entrepreneurial university, and then examines the application of these concepts in Egypt. The study, which specifically addresses the roles of universities in the innovation process in Egypt, is based on a series of…

Although innovation policy usually follows the business cycle, it is both desirable and possible to reverse this trend. Perhaps the most telling commentary on contemporary Europe is the silence that met the presentation, at the recent European Parliament Innovation Conference, of the Chinese R&D spending curve passing the European Union curve…

This factsheet, the first in a series on innovation and growth, provides an overview of the benefits of innovation vouchers, and gives some examples of how universities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are including them in their European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) strategies. [For the second factsheet in the series,…

Purpose: Within the context of the European-funded JOLISAA project (JOint Learning in and about Innovation Systems in African Agriculture), an inventory of agricultural innovation experiences was made in Benin, Kenya and South Africa. The objective was to assess multi-stakeholder agricultural innovation processes involving smallholders. Approach:…

The widespread use and availability of information and communication technologies (ICT) has greatly impacted how nations conceptualize innovation and the ways formal mass education can be used to advance socio-political and economic agendas. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have increasingly focused on the roles of science and…

Improving the Russian economy depends in part on having well-educated and energetic personnel, and this is being hindered by universities in which there is an aging professoriate and students enrolled in specialties that are not in demand by employers. Higher education is expected not only to conduct programs of specialist training in order to…

The current and still-evolving role of the American research university has been shaped by four key developments in the past sixty-five years: the historic decision to establish a comprehensive postwar federal science policy, described in Vannevar Bush's 1945 report, "Science, The Endless Frontier;" the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980; economic analyses…

To solve two enduring problems in education--unacceptably large variation in learning opportunities for students across classrooms and little continuing improvement in the quality of instruction--the authors propose a system that centers on the creation of shared instructional products that guide classroom teaching. By examining systems outside…

This paper describes an empirical study that addresses the question of how higher education institutions can disseminate effectively the outcomes of projects that seek to achieve large-scale change in teaching and learning. Traditionally, dissemination of innovation and good practice is strongly advocated within universities, but little…

With the Presidential election two months away, this paper presents a set of actions the Association of American Universities (AAU) believes the President and his Administration can take to advance the partnership between the federal government and research universities--as well as actions that universities themselves need to take to ensure that…

In 2009-10 a series of Workshops was organized to focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning design for young students and adolescents. The objective was to provide visionary leadership to the education community by: (a) identifying and analyzing the needs and opportunities for future STEM curriculum development and…

The economic and social future of the United States depends on answering the growing demand for very high-speed broadband connectivity, a capability termed "big broadband." Failure to take on the challenge could lead to a decline in global competitiveness and an inability to educate students. (Contains 20 notes.)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the nature of activities in the change process undertaken by two initiatives to produce national standards in academic disciplines, national assessments and accountability measures. The Common Core State Standards Initiative, a project coordinated by the National Governors Association and the Council of…

Many expect that charter schools will produce innovations, but it is unclear what kinds and how much innovation is desirable. This paper summarizes the research evidence on charter school innovation to date and suggests ways to more productively pursue future research and development in the charter sector. The paper addresses three main questions:…