Strategic management of Czech higher educational institutions in frames of internationalization

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State Institution "Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University"

Strategic management of Czech higher educational institutions in frames of internationalization

Iryna Myhovych, candidate of philological sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Roman and Germanic Philology

The article highlights aspects of strategic management of Czech higher educational institutions related to the process of internationalization. The later is viewed as a complex phenomenon that embraces all spheres of institutional activities as connected to international mode of work. The analysis has been carried out as a case study of Charles University in Prague.

Key words: internationalization, strategic management, Charles University, mobility, institutional policy.

Ірина Мигович, кандидат філологічних наук, доцент кафедри романо-германської філології, докторант Державного закладу "Луганський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка"

СТРАТЕГІЧНИЙ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТ ЧЕСЬКИХ ЗАКЛАДІВ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ В РАМКАХ ПРОЦЕСУ ІНТЕРНАЦІОНАЛІЗАЦІЇ

У статті висвітлено аспекти стратегічного управління чеських закладів вищої освіти, пов'язані з процесом інтернаціоналізації. Останній розглядається як складне явище, яке охоплює всі сфери інституційної діяльності, пов'язані з міжнародною діяльністю. Аналіз проведений на прикладі кейсового дослідження діяльності Карлового університету в Празі.

Ключові слова: інтернаціоналізація, стратегічний менеджмент, Карлів університет, мобільність, інституційна політика.

Introduction

The aim of the article is to explore the main directions of strategic management of higher educational institutions (HEIs) in the Czech Republic on the basis of the analysis of work of Charles University in Prague and the extent to which the institutional policy of internationalization of this university can be considered as effective one. It is planned to be done by analyzing documents related to institutional internationalization policy available in open access on the official website of the university, as well as by analyzing the work of university structures that are more or less responsible for the implementation of the mentioned policy We acknowledge that the statistics presented by university is partially fragmentary due to the incompleteness of university archives, in particular, archives of international affairs office.

Problem outlined. Starting from 1989 up to 2017 HEIs of the Czech Republic have undergone significant changes, one of the results of which has been the emergence of several sources of funding in addition to state subsidies. As of 2017, about 60 percent of the financial resources for research and partly educational projects come from national funds and funds of the European Union. According to the Office of Statistics of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, the reduction of training subsidies ranged from 53 percent to 36 percent from 2010 to 2014 [6]. Such decrease of indicators is related to three factors: reduction of the relevant section of the state budget expenditures; demographic trends - the drop in the number of young people aged 18 - 24 years and, accordingly, the reduction of the size of the state subsidy for higher education according to the number of enrolled students; reduction of the state order in certain specialties, including technical ones. The state supports higher education and research on a medium-term basis. Therefore, it is logical to intensify the policy of internationalization of HEIs in the Czech Republic through the participation of institutions in targeted grant schemes, as well as the emergence of new universities oriented towards market demand and, accordingly, an entrepreneurial model of work. Thus, we are making an attempt to investigate the issues mentioned on the basis of the analysis of the institutional policy of internationalization of Charles University in Prague.

Discussion

The University was founded in 1348 in accordance with the principles of the universities of Bologna and Paris, which, after nearly five centuries, received the name of Humboldt Model of Classical University (unity of education and research, implementation of the results of research work in teaching, autonomy and freedom of research and training), which allowed the establishment in the Middle Ages to receive international recognition [7]. The only competitor of the University at that time was the Univerzita Palack?ho v Olomouci, Moravia, founded two centuries later in 1573 and closed in 1860 until the moment of its re-opening in 1946. The closure of the University caused a need for another powerful Czech institution that could compete with Charles University. Thus, in 1919, the University of Masaryk (Masarykova univerzita) was founded in Brno, which coincided with the formation of an independent Czechoslovak state. Despite the intensification of the Czech influence after the middle of the XIX century, the organization of the educational process, research work and overall strategic management of the Charles University remained such that they corresponded to the German model of the classical university until the middle of the XIX century, when (in 1882) the Charles University was divided into two institutions Czech and German [5, p. 41]. Such a model, as we have already mentioned, first of all included the right of professors and students to freedom of teaching and learning in addition to the inextricable link between education and research, the high degree of university autonomy, weak central management and the powerful influence of university professors on decision making process. We call this type of university a community of scientists, which functions on the principle of self-government, erected to the level of absolute. At that time, it was reinforced by the elitist nature of the institution [5, p. 44].

The communist period in the history of Czechoslovak State led to de- humboldtization of Charles University, which meant complete abolition of university autonomy, transition to a state model of control of the educational process. All decisions related to the organization of training were unilaterally adopted at the state level, the university was completely dependent on state funding, the state order for specialists in one or another field became the basis for the enrollment of students and the subsequent employment of graduates - the institution functioned in particular as a means of promotion dominant ideology [4, p. 105]. Research work at the university was practically leveled, because the right to conduct research was transferred to national academy - the university functioned mainly as an educational institution. A specific aspect of the Czech higher education system of the period 1950 - 1989, unlike the Polish national system of higher education, became severe restrictions on the contacts of scholars of educational institutions with foreign colleagues [4, p. 106], which obviously did not benefit either Czech science, no higher education. As a result, the Law on Higher Education, adopted in 1966, enshrined the right of universities to greater academic freedom and the possibility of international cooperation, and partially allowed reintegration of research work in particular at the University of Charles [5, pp. 6768]. The Prague Spring of 1968 gave the Czech intellectuals a certain freedom and partly began to influence the process of teaching and conducting research in higher education, but the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops in August 1 968 to Czechoslovakia offset the achievements of the Prague Spring and led to the twenty years of bureaucratic stagnation of the Czech system of higher education.

The year of 1989 brought the collapse of the totalitarian regime and allowed the universities to feel for almost one night the lost freedom as a result of deregulation, abolition of state control and introduction of democratic models of institution management - control passed from the Ministry of Education of Czechoslovakia to the academic community of universities, which in fact meant the restoration of the liberal model Humboldt Classical University and in fact had as a prime cause for a liberal democratic university management, to restore the university tradition that preceded the totalitarian period and included among other things a strong relationship with Czechoslovakia university educational institutions in Western Europe, particularly Germany and Austria. Following Y Habermas, we believe that the efforts to restore free universities were aimed not only at eliminating formal hierarchies, but more generally at strengthening democracy in society as a whole [3, pp. 416-433]. This turned the autonomy of the institution, quickly transformed the hierarchical system of organization of all types of activities into a highly fragmented ones - decisions on personnel, administrative and procedural issues were taken by departments and faculties. We call this a system of academic self-government from the bottom to the top, which was perceived as a radical alternative to the totalitarian model of hierarchical control and ideological monopoly Note that the model of an entrepreneural university did not find support in the Czech academic circles until the end of the XX century, when the formation of new universities began, such as the University of Southern Bohemia in Czech Budejovic (Jihoceska univerzita v Geskpch Budеjovicіch), Silesian University in Opava (Slezska univerzita v Opavc), etc., oriented in their activity to a strong connection with external stakeholders [8].

We would like to note the activation of the movement of the university in the direction of internationalization of activities, which is natural in the light of the transformational processes outlined in the Czech higher education of 1989-2017. The international attention and support of the Charles University by foreign organizations and foundations has led to the restoration of the old and the emergence of new institutional relationships at various levels - between individual scholars, heads of departments and faculties, through the mediation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (Ministerstvo skolstvi, mladeze a telovochovy Ceske republiky) with a view to the widest possible implementation of European mobility programs.

The way the University of Charles passed since its foundation, and by 2017, has made this educational institution the largest and most influential institution in the Czech Republic, as well as the most famous institution of higher education of the Czech Republic in the world. At the University there are 17 faculties, three institutes, six Centers of Teaching, Research and Creative Work, Center for Information Services [1]. The mission of the University today is to increase the prestige of the institution through strong research and innovation training. The university employs a number of world-renowned research teams working with international research institutes while working on projects such as, for example, the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) program projects. Collaboration with a wide range of foreign educational institutions enables students to develop student and teacher mobility programs, conduct international research, co-operate with international organizations and educational networks. In 2017, about 51,000 people studied at the university, accounting for 13 percent of all students in higher education institutions in the Czech Republic; There are over 376 accredited educational programs and 774 training courses available. The number of foreign students was more than 7,000. A group of foreign students (based on data from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports) was from Ukraine: available data for the 2017-2018 academic year are as follows: the number of Ukrainians - students of the bachelor degree - 137 people, the academic degree of master of integrated cycle - 120 people, the academic degree of master - 68 people, the degree "doctor of philosophy" - 51 people, total - 376 people [1]. The number of bilateral cooperation agreements - more than 200 with educational institutions around the world [1]. The university educational offer includes graduate education programs in foreign languages (English, German, French, Russian).

Collaboration with foreign universities is implemented in accordance with the vector of strategic partnerships, for example, with such institutions as Humboldt-Universitat University of Berlin, Koln Universitat, Frankfurt-am-Main Universitat University, Frankfurt-am-Main University, University of Hamburg (Universitat Hamburg), Kobenhavns Universitet, University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski), Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Uniwersytet Jagiellonski w Krakowie), University of Maria Curie-Sklodowskiej in Lublin (Uniwersytet Marii Curie- Sklodowskiej), Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Universite de Strasbourg, Universidade de Sao Paulo (Universidade de Sao Paulo), University of Social and Humanitarian Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam (University of Social Sciences and Humanities), Budapest University of Euwas Lorand (Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem), etc. Strategic partnerships are the key to long-term cooperation with these institutions and aim to develop joint research projects, the implementation of joint educational programs, double management of doctoral work, the introduction of various types of mobility programs. To the latter, the University's mobility fund (Mobility Fund) is a specific tool through which the university supports student and staff mobility. The priority areas for financial support for the fund are the long-term stay of foreign researchers at the university, scholarship support for students during master's and doctoral studies, support for Ukrainian students within the scope of the Vaclav Havel scholarship (more than 200 applications submitted from Ukraine in 2017, 17 approved) [1].

Broadly-promoted mobility tools that receive ongoing support from the University's structural units include programs operating across the European Union, such as: EURAXESS, Marie Curie Actions - Research Fellowship Program, DAAD, DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), MPG (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Helmholtz- Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, BAYHOST - Bavarian Academic Center for Central, Eastern and SouthEastern Europe, Czech-Austrian cooperation projects and science / technology cooperation program, Fulbright-Masaryk Grants, European Commission grant programs, etc. The institutional policy of internationalization of the University is also aimed at active participation of the institution in the work of international organizations and university networks, such as: The Magna Charta Observatory, IFPU (International Forum for Public Universities), COIMBRA GROUP, DRC (Danube Rectors' Conference), EAIE (European Association for International Education), EUA (European University Association), The Europaeum, IAU (International Association of Universities), OECD / IMHE, UNICA (Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe).

The above stipulates high positions of the university in international rankings. Thus, according to the latest ranking, The World University Ranking Charles University is ranked 326th, in the ranking of ARWU 270 QS Top Universities - 286th, in the ranking of SCIMAGO Institutions Ranking - 148th, in the ranking of Performance Ranking of the Scientific Papers for World Universities - 214th [1].

Having analyzed the components of the educational process and the official documents of the university, tangent to it and presented on the site of the institution, we see that the educational component of the university activity is associated with qualitative research in a wide range of educational programs (total 376) and courses (total 774), covering practically all applied sciences, medicine, pharmacy, humanities and social sciences, including theology. Where the content of an educational program allows, a three-tier learning structure is introduced. Among the goals of the university in this direction are, inter alia, the strengthening of the international influence of the learning process. Priorities, as a result, are called for the development of joint international programs (joint and double diplomas). As of 2017, the University offers 10 such programs at all educational levels (bachelor, master, doctor of philosophy). The number of foreign students is also growing - now they account for 15 percent of all university students. About a third of foreign students choose courses in foreign languages, which are supported at the university through collaboration with other public education institutions, for example, within the framework of the current Prague University Study project ("Study in Prague"). After analyzing the content of educational programs and courses in individual areas, we see that they provide space for physical and virtual mobility using elements of internationalization at home (lectures and courses from foreign experts, participation in international student competitions, international online courses, etc.). It is also imperative to constantly improve the language skills of university staff and students.

More than broad educational offer of the university makes it possible to call it a modern cosmopolitan educational institution, attractive both for foreign students, and for foreign teachers. Working with open access documents that regulate the educational activities of the institution, we conclude that this is achieved by: 1) continuing support for the process of internationalization; 2) broad educational offer for foreign students; 3 ) increase in the number of educational programs in foreign languages or, if possible, bilingual study programs; 4) increase in the number of joint and double degree programs; 5) attracting more foreign researchers for long-term work at the university; 6) mobility support as part of the Erasmus+ program, Charity University Mobility Fund, research projects; 7) establishment of strategic alliances with recognized universities; 8) orientation of international cooperation in making partnerships to support and develop educational process; 9) promotion of the University abroad through the development of a University Strategy for the presentation of educational activities.

We believe that the implementation of the above envisages the following aspects of university management: 1) the use of all types of internationalization at home; 2) simplifying the conditions for admission and training of foreign students and recruitment of teachers; 3) financial and organizational support for the process of preparation and implementation of joint and double diploma programs; 4) long-term work of foreign professors, which is a priority for funding through the University Mobility Fund ; the use of university membership in international nongovernmental organizations for recruiting such professors; 5) facilitating long-term visits of foreign teachers from non-EU countries; 6) support for the development of virtual mobility through international cooperation in online courses; 7) installation of "windows of mobility" as part of educational programs (both physical and virtual mobility); 8) involvement of the University in European and non-European projects, including Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, Norway Grants, Fulbright, etc. czech educational internationalization

Analyzing the components of the research process and the official documents of the University, tangent to it, presented on the site of the institution, we see that the integral part of such activities is its internationalization. Charles University collaborates, with or without bilateral agreements, with numerous European universities and educational institutions outside the European Union. The result of such cooperation is an increase in the share of international funding in the total amount of research funding. Note that although the university's participation in international projects exceeds the average indicator for the Czech Republic, the university did not reach the average European level of attraction of foreign funds for research activities [1]. In the sphere of internationalization, in the coming years, we name the following aspects as priority ones: development of strategic partnerships; involvement in international consortia (for example, The European Road Map); increase in funding for research and creative activities from foreign sources (European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020 program and other EU programs); recruiting recognized foreign researchers, including former university staff, who return from long-term visits abroad; acceptance of employees for academic positions, if possible, in accordance with open international competitions and tenders; creation of an advertising center in the university in order to provide maximum amount of information about the possibilities of international research; active presence and promotion of the university in foreign media, international university associations and international events.

Table 1 University Mobility Indicators [1]