{"product_id":"academic-star-wars-isbn-9780262546850","title":"Academic Star Wars","description":"\u003cb\u003eA pioneering collection of case studies on the global phenomenon of academic excellence initiatives and how they shape the performance of research universities.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcademic excellence initiatives (AEIs)—special government-sponsored programs to improve research universities—have provided billions of dollars to top universities and represent perhaps the most significant effort in the past half-century to jumpstart academic research. The contributors to \u003ci\u003eAcademic Star Wars\u003c\/i\u003e, superbly edited by Maria Yudkevich, Philip G. Altbach, and Jamil Salmi, analyze AEIs in nine European and Asian countries, including China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Denmark, France, Germany, and Russia, and offer penetrating insights into the successes and problems of these initiatives, as well as into the broader system of higher education itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcademic Star Wars\u003c\/i\u003e provides a comprehensive analysis of AEIs across the globe as it seeks to understand the impact of these programs on national higher ed systems. The contributors explore a host of topics, including how the idea of excellence varies across national systems; the lessons to be drawn from the most successful AEIs; the consequences of AEIs, both intended and unintended, for participating universities; and whether AEIs ensure a significant impact on the global standing of national higher education systems.  Finally, the contributors offer policy recommendations for national decision-makers and university leaders, taking into account the variety of initial conditions of national higher education systems and the differences in AEI design, scope, and funding.Acknowledgments vii\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction ix\u003cbr\u003e1 The Context of Academic Excellence Initiatives 1\u003cbr\u003ePhilip G. Altbach, Jamil Salmi, and Maria Yudkevich\u003cbr\u003e2 Academic Excellence Initiatives: The Case of China 11\u003cbr\u003eRui Yang\u003cbr\u003e3 Academic Excellence Initiatives in Japan: Can a Series of Government Interventions Make a Difference? 33\u003cbr\u003eAkiyoshi Yonezawa\u003cbr\u003e4 Malaysia's Quest for Excellence in Higher Education 57\u003cbr\u003eChang Da Wan and Tien Hong Lim\u003cbr\u003e5 Academic Excellence Initiatives in the Republic of Korea: Brain Korea 21  81\u003cbr\u003eByung Shik Rhee and Meishan Yin\u003cbr\u003e6 Did Taiwan Academic Excellence Initiatives Build World-Class Universities? Governance, Funding Schemes, and Policy Shifts 107\u003cbr\u003eAngela Yung Chi Hou\u003cbr\u003e7 Academic Excellence Initiatives: The Danish Case 129\u003cbr\u003eLise Degn\u003cbr\u003e8 Academic Excellence a la Francaise: Between Excellence and Equality 151\u003cbr\u003eAndree Sursock\u003cbr\u003e9 The Long and Winding Road to Excellence: The German Case 177\u003cbr\u003eTorger Moller and Stefan Hornbostel\u003cbr\u003e10 A Project for the Elite That Changed the System as a Whole: A Case Study of Project 5-100 203\u003cbr\u003eAndrey Volkov, Yaroslav Kuzminov, and Maria Yudkevich\u003cbr\u003e11 The Transformative Impact of Academic Excellence Initiatives: What Have We Learned? 227\u003cbr\u003eJamil Salmi, Philip G. Altbach, and Maria Yudkevich\u003cbr\u003eContributors 251\u003cbr\u003eIndex 257“\u003ci\u003eAcademic Star Wars\u003c\/i\u003e, edited by three global higher education experts of great fame, is a valuable contribution to the literature on comparative studies on academic excellence.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Developing Economies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Excellent reading for scholars, practitioners and anyone else thinking about starting AEIs in their countries and beyond.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Academic excellence initiatives have more bite in some countries than others but together have been transformative. In \u003ci\u003eAcademic Star Wars\u003c\/i\u003e, Yudkevich, Altbach, and Salmi provide the definitive guide to the new university landscape.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education, University of Oxford; lead editor of \u003ci\u003eAssessing the Contributions of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Essential to understanding why and how nations invest in the global pursuit of academic excellence. This book provides the cultural and theoretical context for such initiatives and reveals their unequivocal consequences for diversity and equality.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Marijk van der Wende, Distinguished Faculty Professor of Higher Education, Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance, Utrecht University, the Netherlands\u003c\/b\u003eMaria Yudkevich is Research Fellow in the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. Previously she was  Professor and Head of the Center for Institutional Studies at HSE University, Moscow. She is a coauthor of \u003ci\u003eHigher Education in Russia.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePhilip G. Altbach is Research Professor and Distinguished Fellow of the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eGlobal Perspectives on Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e and other books.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJamil Salmi is a global tertiary education expert; former Higher Education Coordinator, World Bank; Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Policy, Diego Portales University, Chile; and Research Fellow, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305426833637,"sku":"NP9780262546850","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262546850.jpg?v=1767721012","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/academic-star-wars-isbn-9780262546850","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}