Jason E. Lane’s Post

These years I have been working in the fields of future imaginaries and futures studies in higher education. I feel fortunate to share one of the latest papers in this series, which is fresh off the press today: "Policy Innovation and Future Imaginaries of Higher Education Internationalisation: New Ideas for the Grand Strategy of China's Greater Bay Area". Coauthored with Margaret Liu, this piece reimagines higher education internationalisation and examines how innovative universities in the China's Greater Bay Area (GBA) construct future imaginaries of internationalisation and communicate these images, as well as the ways in which they translate these imaginaries into practice. We hope that the paper will spark more exploration, discussion, and insights to come. Grab a free copy while access lasts: https://lnkd.in/gDzNE_Eg #FutureImaginaries #HigherEducation #FuturesStudies #GreaterBayArea #PolicyInnovation #Internationalisation

I am delighted to share my latest publication, co-authored with my colleague Ting Zhou from Sun Yat-sen University, in Higher Education Research and Development. The paper explores how supervisors can support doctoral students in learning the process of peer-reviewing for international journals. This guidance is crucial at every stage—before, during, and after the review process. Our findings highlight the significance of interpersonal socialization in doctoral education, emphasizing that research training extends beyond publishing to include peer-reviewing as a fundamental scientific practice.

Our newly published article: Xue, R., Dantes, G. R., Nitiasih, P. K., & Santosa, M. H. (2025). AI-Driven online education platforms empowering China – ASEAN higher education cooperation: New models for partnership development. International Journal of Humanities Education, 13(2), 517–541. https://lnkd.in/gkey3kk2.

Sorbonne University Redefines Academic Evaluation In September 2025, Sorbonne University announced its withdrawal from the Times Higher Education (THE) global rankings. The university emphasized the need for more transparent and context-sensitive evaluation models that reflect the true diversity of higher education systems. Sorbonne University is now aligning its strategy with the principles of Open Science, advocating for open data platforms such as OpenAlex to enhance collaboration, equity, and visibility across languages and disciplines. 📄 Official statement: 🔗 Sorbonne Université – September 2025 #Sorbonne #HigherEducation #OpenScience #UniversityRankings #AcademicIntegrity

Inside the book, “Critical Internationalization of Higher Education” 📖 A look at a Czech case study analysis. Eva Janebova Christopher J. Johnstone, and Thi Nguyen, M.A contributed a chapter on student mobility in Critical Internationalization of Higher Education—revealing whose interests are being served. Applying the Cultural Readiness for Internationalization (CRI) model, with a focus on university governance: Governance Structures: The chapter case study revealed that Czech institutions operate from hierarchical, male-dominated leadership with short 3-year rector terms and concentrated power and internationalization remains top-down and enrollment-focused. The pathway forward? Shift the governance subculture within which you work! It can leverage faculty expertise or include broader stakeholder voices, creating alignment needed to move from revenue targets to educational impact. Is your institution measuring internationalization by numbers or impact? What would change if cultural readiness was your measure? #InternationalizationDrift #HigherEducation #CriticalInternationalization #UniversityGovernance Melanie Agnew ©

While many countries are witnessing a decline in funding grants for universities, including Norway, the tasks universities need to accomplish are increasing, resulting in a challenge for the education sector, Karen Spens, president of BI Norwegian Business School, said at a forum co-hosted by Fudan University in Shanghai today.

Today, universities stand at a crossroads. The world is fragmenting —but knowledge should not. 🌍 As I argue in my recent article, published in Social Europe Publishing & Consulting GmbH, the growing fragmentation of the international order —in trade, diplomacy, and multilateral cooperation— is placing real pressure on the global mission of higher education institutions. Yet I hold a central conviction: universities must remain global. Not because it is convenient, but because it is intrinsic to their very nature. A few key ideas 💡: • Knowledge thrives on pluralism —on the encounter between different traditions, disciplines, and perspectives. Universities are, by definition, borderless institutions. • In times of polarization, campuses must be spaces where disagreement is not feared but cultivated; where listening carries as much value as speaking. • And crucially, the university can no longer simply “observe” the world. It must connect with practice —with real challenges such as climate, inequality, and technology— and collaborate with governments, businesses, and civil society. My call is to renew our commitment: to keep our institutions open, plural, globally connected, and deeply engaged in transformation. It is not enough to study the world; we must help build it. 🤝 In a world that fragments, the university must remain universal —because its ultimate purpose is to serve human progress. 🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dbh8swax #HigherEd #Universities #GlobalEducation IE University | Diego del Alcázar Benjumea | Santiago Iniguez | Jaime de Aguinaga Garcia | Eugenia Marin | Juan Santaló | Marta Perez | Enrico Letta | Catalina Tejero | Lee Newman | David Goodman | Soledad Atienza Becerril | Ikhlaq Sidhu | Irene Blázquez Navarro | Borja Santos Porras | İlke TOYGÜR, PhD | 

In her Speaking Out essay, Milena Tekeste reflects on the enormous pressures Early Career Researchers (ECRs) face in academia, particularly in the relentless pursuit of being perceived as a “good” academic. She focuses on how ECRs often go to extreme lengths to meet professional expectations by tracing her own journey – from completing PhD studies to navigating academia. Reflecting on publishing demands, attending conferences, and seeking mentorships, she critiques toxic cultures that not only valorize overwork but also ignore the detrimental impact it can have on physical and mental well-being. She also examines the implicit and explicit pressures to conform to academic norms, arguing for a re-evaluation of what it means to be a “good” academic. Overall, she calls for creating a more supportive and sustainable academic culture as we grow to embody a good academic. Read her full essay here: 📒 Under pressure: Becoming the good enough academic 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eF9dq2QM

Understanding the French Higher Education System: Where Excellence Thrives France’s higher education system is unique, with two parallel paths: public universities and grandes écoles. While universities provide broad access and research opportunities, grandes écoles are small, highly selective institutions that train the country’s future leaders in science, engineering, business, and public service. Key points: • Global rankings don’t tell the full story. Many French institutions excel in elite, specialized training or humanities, which are less visible in international metrics. • Smartest students often attend grandes écoles, such as École Polytechnique, ENS Paris, HEC Paris, or Mines Paris, after completing intensive preparatory classes and competitive exams. • Universities focus on mass education and research across many disciplines, including medicine, humanities, and law. • Full mergers between universities and grandes écoles are rare due to historical, structural, and cultural reasons. Instead, France fosters collaborative clusters like Université PSL and Université Paris-Saclay, which enhance international visibility while preserving institutional identity. 💡 Takeaway: France’s system balances elite intellectual development with broad access to higher education, demonstrating that excellence comes in many forms—not always captured by global rankings. #HigherEducation #France #GrandesÉcoles #Universities #STEM #Humanities #ResearchExcellence #EducationInsights

More and more leading universities — from Utrecht to Sorbonne — are withdrawing from global rankings like THE. It’s not an act of rebellion; it’s a statement of principle. Rankings can highlight excellence, yes — but they also reduce complex educational missions into a single number, often driven by opaque algorithms and questionable weightings. True quality in higher education isn’t a league table position; it’s impact, integrity, and inclusivity. Maybe it’s time we measure what really matters — not what’s easiest to count.