“There is some sort of new dynamics”: Examining the Impact of European University Alliances

Alexandra Hashem-Wangler; Annika Maschwitz

doi:10.21240/zfhe/20-4/04

The European Universities Initiative (EUI) marks a significant transformation in the European higher education landscape. Yet, in the fifth anniversary of the first EUI alliances only a few scientific studies examine the practices for building and sustaining successful alliances. This article provides a framework for analysing EUI alliances at actors’ level using innovation-diffusion model to grasp the impact on member universities and its potential for longevity. Based on qualitative group interviews with representatives from the management and implementation level from nine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), it presents a descriptive, impact-oriented analysis of the strategies and challenges within a European alliance along three dimensions: characteristics, commitment, and coordination.

Keywords

European university alliances, meta-organizations, neo-institutionalism, impact-oriented, organizational development

Lizenz

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

As universities worldwide face unprecedented challenges and changes – from technological upheavals to shifting societal expectations and the role of internationalisation – it is important to critically evaluate the role, structure and purpose of higher education institutions. This issue of ZFHE presents contributions that address the evolving models of higher education institutions and the various ways in which they are changing and/or adapting to a rapidly changing environment. The concept of universities as social institutions has long been the subject of scholarly inquiry, from the classical theories of Humboldt and Newman, which emphasise the role of the university in promoting intellectual growth, to more modern perspectives that view universities as dynamic actors in global knowledge economies (Gumport, Slaughter, etc.). More recent theoretical frameworks have shifted the focus to the university's ability to adapt and transform in response to external pressures, including global competition and internationalisation, digitalisation, and changes in public policy and funding models. This issue of ZFHE examines these issues from a variety of perspectives.

Authors

Alexandra Hashem-Wangler
Hochschule Bremen
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7308-0340
Annika Maschwitz
Hochschule Bremen
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7509-537X

How to Cite

Hashem-Wangler, A., & Maschwitz, A. (2025). “There is some sort of new dynamics”: Examining the Impact of European University Alliances. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung (Journal for Higher Education Development), 20(4), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.21240/zfhe/20-4/04

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