Cross-Country University Collaboration Barriers and Solutions

Abstract

University collaboration generates enormous benefits. However, the majority of these collaboration outcomes are far from satisfaction. Previous literature focused on the number of coauthored publications as a measurement of successful collaboration. However, new student enrollment, increase of knowledge share, and global influences for both partners are also important for global collaborations. China has been the major source of both undergraduate and postgraduate overseas students for many universities. Many Australian and New Zealand universities have Chinese universities as their international strategic partners. But the differences between Australian and Chinese policies, structures, and cultures have been barriers in these collaborations. The majority of intercountry university collaborations, which took great amounts of time and efforts, did not generate expected results. The chief barriers are discussed in this chapter. To save transaction costs in seeking for suitable collaborators and increase the success rate in current collaborations, it is important to identify the key issues in university collaboration between Australia, New Zealand, and China. This study collected empirical cases from observation of more than 10 years of university collaborations and face-to-face interviews with three pioneer Chinese universities. Universities between Australia/New Zealand and China have many differences, and some of them are barriers for cross-country university collaborations. Mobile technology can help solve most of the communication problems and reduce misunderstanding between communication. The possible solutions are also discussed in the end of this chapter. The results shed a light on future cross-country university collaborations for universities and educational institutions.