PhD projects
Institutional predispositions as a barrier or support for university and academics cooperation with industrial subjects in Bosnia and Herzegovina
PhD student: Nina Branković*
This study analyses the “third mission” of universities: their cooperation with industry and enterprises on research and innovative projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study provides in-depth insight into the university infrastructure, policies, quality of university work and institutional culture at universities that define their cooperation with leading industrial sectors in country.
This study uses an institutional perspective to analyze the factors associated with the environmental factors (formal and informal). The study provides in-depth insight into the university infrastructure, policies, quality of university work and institutional culture at universities that are directly linked to leading industrial sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study will provide information on motivation for engagement of individual academics and will analyse differences based on gender, age, education background, research background previous cooperation with industry, and individual scientific production. The benefits on different ways of university- industry research cooperation, individual - institutional research cooperation are documented in detail.
The study contributes to development of the theoretical framework for university-industry cooperation in post communist countries and countries with developing economies. The preliminary methodological approach includes policy analysis, institutional framework and capacity analysis and qualitative in depth elite interviews with academics, university principles for research and decision makers. While Bosnia and Herzegovina has 30 universities and 188 faculties, the research sample includes 10 accredited universities and faculties linked to leading industries in country: industrial engineering, pharmacy, chemistry and wood production.
Publications
Papadimitriou, A, Brankovic N and Dordevic S. (2014) The regional links of universities in Bosnia‐Hercegovina, Croatia and Serbia in The Re‐Institutionalization of higher Education in the Western Balkans. Edited by Brankovic et al. HEPR, Peter Lang, pp. 225‐250
Brankovic J, Brankovic N. Overview of Higher Education and Research Systems in the Western Balkans: Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013,Norglobal Oslo
Brankovic N. “Enrollment policy and higher education funding system in B&H”, GEA – Center for Research and Studies, 2012
In preparation:
Entrepreneurial Universities, World Scientific Publishing in New York on Entrepreneurial Universities. editor Prof Don Siegel (to be published in 2016)
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*Nina Branković completed her Master’s Degree in Public Policy at King’s College London, UK. In her 16-year career she has been working on the development and implementation of public policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Western Balkan Region, United Kingdom and Germany and PR China. Ms Brankovic expertise is focused on education developments in Western Balkan countries while her particular interest is related to linkage between higher education offers and labor market needs.
The effects of the European higher education initiatives on the national policy making
PhD student: Nikola Baketa**
The focus of dissertation is on the policy change in higher education in Croatia on the level of universities in 2001-2013 time period. This topic is approached from historical institutionalism theoretical approach and managed through specific policy change model. The main goal is to explain the policy change and difference in policy change among the group of integrated and group of non-integrated universities in Croatia after the Bologna process introduction. The dissertation takes into account institutional framework of the higher education system and policy-actors characteristics in order to explain the process of policy change. Also, the goal is to improve the policy change model presented by Witte (2006) (which is based on North (1990) and Scharpf (1997) models) and make it applicable on the other levels of higher education policy, education policy in global and in the other public policies in order to explain policy change. Methodology includes document analysis (including universities meetings minutes, Rectors’ conference minutes, interviews with important policy actors published in daily press, laws and other higher education documents), analysis of available data and elite interviews. The main difference in comparison to the previous work regarding this matter is within policy-actor characteristics. The author finds strategies, beliefs and capacities as more appropriate for the analysis of this aspect of policy change process. Also, the model is applied to the both, macro and meso levels of analysis, while Witte focuses only on the macro level (national higher education policy).
Publications
Dolenec, Danijela; Baketa, Nikola; Maassen, Peter. Europeanizing Higher Education and Research Systems of the Western Balkans // The Re-Institutionalization of Higher Education in the Western Balkans / Brankovic, Jelena / Kovacevic, Maja / Maassen, Peter / Stensaker, Bjørn / Vukasovic, Martina (Ed.). Frankfurt : Peter Lang, (2014). Pp. 61-91.
Baketa, Nikola. Non-integrated Universities and Long-standing Problems: the Universities of Zagreb and Belgrade in SFRY and today. International Review of Social Research. 4 (2014). 2; 111-130.
Baketa, Nikola. Financing of Higher Education in Croatia. // ThinkYoung Journal. 1 (2013) , 1; 25-26.
Baketa, Nikola. Overview of Higher Education and Research System in the Western Balkans: Kosovo, 2013.
Book review: Baketa, Nikola. Youth in time of crisis. Sociologija i prostor. (2015) (Accepted).
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