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Institutional dual identity in research capacity building in IBCs: the case of NYU Shanghai

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Abstract

International higher education branch campuses (IBCs) in China and elsewhere possess dual identity. There are stakeholders on both the home and host sides. While international branch campuses receive scholarly attention, there has been little study of their research and the role of institutional dual identity in research capacity building. This paper develops a conceptual framework that brings the conditions, practices, and outcomes of research together with dual institutional identity, to study research capacity building at NYU Shanghai. Data from 16 semi-structured interviews with academics, administrators, and university leaders indicate that institutional dual identity is central to what the institution has achieved in building research, influencing every aspect of the process. NYU Shanghai’s American identity has shaped academic practices and workloads, and NYU’s multi-site structure provides significant networks and resources, yet the institution has also adapted to its Chinese identity and local stakeholders. Dual identity has generated policy conflicts and logistical hurdles yet has also opened institutional and academic opportunities unavailable to other US institutions. While every IBC is embedded in a complex and partly unique context, this study suggests a reflexive understanding of research capacity building in such settings, and contributes to empirical knowledge of cross-border institutions, especially in China.

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  1. Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Tianran Zhan & Simon Marginson

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  1. Tianran Zhan
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Zhan, T., Marginson, S. Institutional dual identity in research capacity building in IBCs: the case of NYU Shanghai. High Educ 87, 471–490 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01017-9

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