In this day and age, there is a need to create a modernised educational system, as well as to preserve and popularise the classical traditions of high art. Thus, it is important to study the problem of shaping professional academic singers in Europe and China. The purpose of this study was to explore the methods of developing the vocal apparatus…

Numerous universities throughout the world have established top-level advisory boards -- informal bodies and councils that the institutional leadership may consult on issues perceived as important. Through a series of qualitative interviews with members of such entities as well as representatives of the institutions appointing them, the article…

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 24th February 2022, was met with widespread condemnation across Europe, with many universities and higher education-focussed national and regional organisations issuing their own public statements about the invasion and subsequent conflict and, in some cases, taking specific action in relation to one or both of…

Economists have long recognized the importance of human capital in economic growth. In this series of papers, I study how various institutions of human capital formation affected economic development in a variety of contexts prior to 1900. These include both formal institutions of human capital formation such as universities and informal…

Social media has become an important tool for universities to implement strategies to promote, position and differentiate their brand identity, to establish and foster the communicative relationship with their stakeholders. This study explores the interactivity strategy developed in digital communication by 70 leading universities from Europe, the…

Using a dataset of higher education institutional alliances within the framework of the European University initiative (EUi), we test empirically whether the policy-defined goal of a relative balance between "excellence and inclusiveness" within the scheme has been achieved. Specifically, we provide a descriptive and analytical account…

This study report on the outcomes and transformational potential of the European Universities initiative presents the progress, achievements, and transformational potential of the European Universities initiative, and gives insights on remaining challenges. It provides recommendations to continue making the European Universities initiative a…

Student entrepreneurship can take the form of solo or team efforts. While a positive and supportive university context is likely to increase entrepreneurial activities in general, it is unclear whether this effect is equally strong on both forms of entrepreneurship and for all types of students. Focusing on students embedded in universities, we…

The paper introduces a novel approach to university rankings that considers a university's contribution to sustainable development. It addresses the usual controversies surrounding the construction of rankings using composite indicators. The conventional approach typically involves normalizing sub-indicators and applying subjective weights for…

The purpose of this paper is to understand the diverse rationales of the transformation of the University to respond to the challenges, evolutions and crises of the current global world, finding out what are the key aspects that articulate the discourses about its transformation. From a qualitative approach, the selected method was discourse…

We analyse the creation of European university alliances as an effort to build learning networks between universities in light of newly perceived needs in Europe. The rationales for such alliance formation include cultural integration, grand societal challenges and reforms in the European innovation ecosystem. We consider how alliance formation…

Today, being actively present on social networks promotes visibility in the digital environment. Active Presence requires choosing the platforms that best suit the communication needs of the audiences, developing a frequent activity (Activity) and disseminating a certain type of publications (Presence). This study defines and evaluates the level…

This paper reports on a model for participatory curriculum development that builds on a 'connected learning communities' (CLC) approach. We describe and analyse the trajectory of six CLC-cases using a framework informed by Social Practice Theory (SPT). The activities we report on took place during the first pilot year (2020-2021) of a…

The European University Initiative (EUI) -- launched by the European Commission in 2018 has been received with considerable interest from higher education institutions in Europe with hundreds of institutions forming new alliances. While the EUI-initiative in many ways is a continuation of a long history of collaboration across national borders in…

The European Commission recently incentivized universities to establish alliances in order to institutionalise regional collaboration through the European Universities Initiative (EUI). Alliances are envisioned to maintain Europe's global position and enhance regional integration. Their mission statements are ways of signalling identity and…