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On the second and third of September 2019, more than 70 researchers accepted the invitation of the Center for Higher Education and Science Studies CHESS to jointly reflect in Bern on the status quo and potential development of research on higher education and science in Switzerland. Some 30 presentations provided insights into ongoing empirical research projects and presented conceptual and organizational considerations.
The large number and diversity of the participants was very encouraging: Researchers from all language regions and different disciplines joined the event, contributing inputs from educational research, history, higher education and science research, communication science and organizational sociology among others.
Sociologist Eva Barlösius opened the event with a keynote speech entitled “After Exceptionalism, on the Way to Open Science?” In her lecture, she suggested analyzing higher education and science against the background of a knowledge society. This means specifically that one should study these fields of knowledge production in connection with other social fields that create and preserve knowledge. According to Barlösius, this would open up exciting perspectives and protect research against the implicit assumption of an “exceptionalism” of higher education and science in today's society. She also pleaded for interdisciplinary research on higher education and science. As the founder of the Leibniz Research Center for Science and Society at Leibniz University of Hannover, she not only provided the conference with a broad thematic framework, but also gave an outlook on the opportunities and challenges of establishing and consolidating research on higher education and science.
Following the opening lecture by Eva Barlösius, on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning the participants presented various ongoing research projects as well as reflections on the state of research on higher education and science in Switzerland. Barlösius' opening lecture offered a foundational framing for these presentations, which showed the disciplinary and thematic diversity of ongoing research. In the course of the workshop, it became clear how rich and varied research in Switzerland already is. Research interests included spin-offs from universities of applied sciences, educational pathways to institutions of higher education, science communication, management of institutions of higher education, migration and higher education, drop-outs, effects of the Bologna reform, university libraries and internationalization.
On Monday evening, a panel discussion on the topic of governance in higher education offered insights into the challenges of managing higher education. Pannelists Prof. Dr. Astrid Epiney (Rector of the University of Fribourg), Dr. iur. Christoph Eymann (National Councillor, former Director of Education Basel-Stadt), Prof. Dr. Markus Hodel (Rector of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts), Prof. Dr. Sabina Larcher (Director of PH FHNW) and Prof. Dr. Christian Leumann (Rector of the University of Berne) contributed their expertise on the subject matter.
The discussion focused specifically on the meaning of the term governance and the internal and external challenges governance of higher education faces. An “Apéro Riche” in the restaurant Grosse Schanze on Monday evening offered the possibility to discuss questions that remained from the panel discussion as well as questions relating to the presentations in an informal atmosphere.
In spite of the diversity of the research interests presented on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, conceptual and methodological similarities became visible on many occasions. In various forms, it became clear that it would be desirable to strengthen the mutual visibility and coordination of research on higher education and science in Switzerland. For example, the participants identified a need for stronger support and coordination between researchers in the field of survey research. They also discussed that a stronger degree of self-organization of the scientific community would be an attractive option to facilitate access to different institutions of higher education as a research subject and to create opportunities for comparative research. On Tuesday afternoon, the workshop participants discussed in smaller groups, which thematic foci and institutional development for research on higher education and science in Switzerland would be desirable. The key points of these group discussions were then summarized and compared in the concluding plenary discussion (see table below for an overview (PDF, 1 MB)).
After the project presentations on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, which highlighted the richness and diversity of research and the desirability of stronger coordination, Tuesday afternoon was dedicated to discussing potential thematic and institutional development. Smaller groups discussed topics around which a stronger network of research in Switzerland could develop. Even with the wide diversity of participants backgrounds, nonetheless some possible avenues for future collaborative research were found. For example, the relationship of science and the higher education sector with the greater society and its various sub-areas, was a frequently mentioned topic in the group discussions. Participants identified the “social function of universities,” “higher educations institutions as part of society” or “third mission,” the “role of universities and science in society,” or “political appropriation,” as potential avenues for further research. The internal structuring and internal processes of the field of higher education was also a repeatedly mentioned research topic. This was alluded to, for example, with keywords such as “HE System CH - types of HEI”, “Differentiation / de-differentiation of university types”, “University governance system,” “Differentiation of the tertiary sector” and “Digital transformation.” Research topics that focus more on the internal processes of higher education organizations were also discussed. To name just a few, the groups identified the issues of: “bureaucratization,” “the relationship between structures and expertise in organizations,” “university governance – institutions” or “personnel policy at universities of applied sciences with a fourfold performance mandate” as fruitful topics for future research. Keywords such as “academic careers” or “trajectories of individuals” were also used to highlight the importance of research on the (occupational) biographical paths taken by individuals in the higher education field.
Despite the diversity represented in the presentations, it became apparent that the interests of the research community could be meaningfully structured along different levels of social phenomena. Thus, interests in macro-sociological issues became visible (science and universities in the knowledge society, the higher education sector and other social sectors). The meso level of higher education organizations was also addressed several times, such as governance, personnel policy and bureaucratization.. Questions at the micro level of individuals (academic careers, individual trajectories) were also repeatedly highlighted. This is certainly a promising starting point for a more structured and integrated research landscape.
After identifying potential research topics, participants discussed how research on higher education and science could be institutionalized more strongly. The discussion groups identified desirable aspects and of stronger institutionalization as well as aspects that should be avoided. Possible forms of greater institutionalization could be, for example, the founding of an association or the establishment of a network anchored at several institutions of higher education. The desired functions of stronger institutionalization mentioned in particular a for a facilitated exchange of information on the one hand and stronger opportunities for collaboration on the other. To this end, the discussion groups discussed the implementation of: regular workshops, a mailing list, a website, a common database and a specialized journal, as possibilities for stronger institutionalization of this research area. The discussion also revealed the importance of anchoring the research network across the scientific research community, in order to prevent appropriation by external interests. This includes the need for interdisciplinary and inclusive orientation of the network. The aim should be to represent also the diversity of research on higher education and science in Switzerland from all linguistic regions. In many respects, the points identified as aspects of institutionalization to be avoided reflected the desiderata identified: there should be no reduction to applied research and dependence on non-scientific interests should be avoided. Institutionalization should also attach importance to not being exclusive, but inclusive. It should be open to all disciplines, not be located exclusively at a single institution of higher education, and not exclude any national region (keyword “Röstigraben”).
The workshop “Research on Higher Education and Science in Switzerland” offered a forum in which researchers exchanged views on the current state of research and desirable forms of stronger institutionalization. Not only was it evident how diverse and promising the research landscape currently is, but also that there is a strong desire for greater mutual visibility and coordination in the scientific community. The joint discussion on Tuesday afternoon revealed a first picture of possible forms of such institutionalization. The task now is to put these ideas into practice. Thus, the workshop participants agreed that the discussion begun in the context of this event should be continued and implemented into conceptual foundations. The participants agreed that a follow-up workshop, possibly in the French speaking part of Switzerland, should take place in the course of 2020.
The full workshop report with additional informations and tables is available for download:
