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What are the Cultural Preconditions of Universities’ Regional Engagement? Towards a Disciplinary Sensitive Model of the University–Region Interface

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Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between disciplinary and organisational cultures and regional engagement. Disciplinary and organisational dimensions are key factors of academic identity and have a crucial impact on the ability of higher education institutions to actively engage within regional actors. The analysis builds on empirical data from selected Czech and Norwegian case higher education institutions. We call into question the conjecture that only specific organisational settings and incentive mechanisms — the formal structural side of higher education institutions — lead to better interactions between HEIs and regions. We conclude by arguing that informal tacit dimensions (that we conceptualise as epistemological orientations and disciplinary values and postures) are also important in understanding the dynamics of university regional engagement.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports under Project Contract No. MSMT-5397/2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Higher Education Studies, Prague, Czech Republic

    Karel Šima & Jan Beseda

  2. Agderforskning AS, Kristiansand, Norway

    Paul Benneworth & Romulo Pinheiro

Authors
  1. Karel Šima
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  2. Paul Benneworth
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  3. Romulo Pinheiro
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  4. Jan Beseda
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Correspondence to Karel Šima.

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Šima, K., Benneworth, P., Pinheiro, R. et al. What are the Cultural Preconditions of Universities’ Regional Engagement? Towards a Disciplinary Sensitive Model of the University–Region Interface. High Educ Policy 30, 517–532 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-017-0056-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-017-0056-6

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