Bijing Forum Beijing University, October 28, 2006

STAG 2010
Fostering the Culture of Creativity and Innovation in Taiwan’s
Universities
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC, November 30, 2010
Recruitment, Nurturing and Retention
of Creative & Innovative Young Faculty
By
C. W. Chu
University of Houston, and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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Change
One Unchanging Rule in This World
• More Changes in the Last 100 Years Than
in the Whole Previous Human History
- Feng Sheng Bang: 10-16 – 1026 m
- wealth, health and well-being
- primary driving force: technological
• IT has changed the world
- blurs national boundary
- provides a level playfield: delivers creativity
& intellectual liberation for all under the sun
• Globalization
Globalization
Brain power – most valuable commodity
Knowledge-based society – creativity,
innovation
World Class Research Universities – the
fountain of brain power and the economic
engine of the 21st century (necessary but not
sufficient)
Creativity & Innovation
• a continuous process:
new ideas and knowledge today quickly
lose their value and become
commonplace tomorrow and new ideas
are always in demand
• through education:
world class research
universities
.
• A World Class Research University
- No one knows what exactly it is; no one
knows exactly how to get one.
- It is only a concept and very subjective.
- No country feels it can do without one.
- But there is enough common ground for us
to talk about it. (Anglo-Euro Centric)
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A world class research university will :
• be excellent in research, teaching and public
engagement
• create new knowledge, develop new
technologies, educate leaders of tomorrow,
create new paradigm for the society
• provide academic freedom and an atmosphere
of intellectual excitement
• provide character and moral education
• Need a free and tolerant society to test and
expand knowledge to its extremely
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The US has done well
but now is sensing the crisis.
•5% of the world population produces 20-30% of the
world GNP
•Americans are feeling the gradual and subtle effects of
globalization that challenge the economic and strategic
leadership that the US has enjoyed since World War II. A
substantial portion of the American work force find itself
in direct competition for jobs with lower wage workers
around the globe, and leading edge scientific and
engineering is being accomplished in many parts of the world
•Steps to best strengthen the quality of the life in American
– prosperity, health and security
American Economy (Education) Is in Crisis
What are the top 10 actions, in priority order, that federal
policymakers could take to enhance the science and
technology enterprise so that the united States can
successfully compete, prosper and be secure in the global
community of the 21st century? What strategy, with several
concrete steps, could be used to implement each of those
actions? - A bipartisan Congressional request to the
National Academies
•The 2005 report - Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
energizing and employing American for a brighter economic
future. Noman Augustine
•September 2010 - Rising Above the Gathering Storm,
Revisited: rapidly approaching category 5
Another bipartisan Congressional request
to the National Academies in June 2010:
What are the top ten actions that congress, state
governments, research universities and others could take to
assure the ability of the American research university to
maintain the excellence in research and doctoral education
needed to help the US compete, prosper and achieve national
goals for health, energy, the environment and security in the
global community of the 21st century? Committee on Research Universities – July 2010, Chad Holliday
-strength, weaknesses, threads and opportunities- report due
July 2011
To Build A World Class Research University
• People, People and People: Faculty, Students, Staff, Alumni
• Autonomy
• Academic freedom
• Adequate funding
• Meritorious system: transparent, rigorous, and fair
• Shared governance: academic and non-academic; least
interference
• Balance: teaching vs research, academic vs applied
• Risk-taking culture that allows every individual to test and
expand human knowledge with no stigma attached if failing
• Entrepreneur spirit supported by financial markets and a
venture capital system
• Steady flow of new blood
•Excellent faculty is the soul of a research university
•The sustainability of a research university depends totally
on the successful recruitment, nurturing and retaining of
young creative and innovative faculty
•To compete for talents especially the young talents is a
global business, and is getting worse
To recruit
• go global with local in mind
• open search
• help the best and the best realize their full
potential and become better than the older rank
• establish the right environment (only first class
recruits first class)
• competitive startup
• competitive compensation
• competitive incentives
To nurture
• mentoring (teaching, research, funding)
• reduced teaching load
• reduced services
• special supports
To retain
• think globally not parochially
• help develop a sense of community
• create an environment to retain
• analyze the cost and benefit
• mobility can be good too
Concluding Remarks
• All depend on time, place and people
• HKUST and TCSUH were was in the right place at the right
time with the right people
•Taiwan is in a relatively enviable situation, as the center
of the world is shifting rapidly to East Asia
•Taiwan should be able to take advantage of many of favorable
conditions to advance her human and intellectual capitals, by
first providing globally competitive compensation
Main Factors for HKUST
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Autonomy
Clear vision and mission
A reasonable human resource system
Adequate funding
Attractive environment
English as teaching medium
Internationalization
Young blood
Right time, place and people
THE - QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS 2009
(for Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan institutions)
Ranking
University of Hong Kong
24
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
35
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
46
Tsinghua University
49 =
Peking University
52 =
National Taiwan University
95 =
City University of Hong Kong
124
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
153
University of Science and Technology of China
154
Nanjing University
168
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
195
THE - QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS
(for Hong Kong institutions)
2006
2007
2008
2009
CUHK
50 =
38 =
42
46
HKUST
58 =
53 =
39
35
HKU
33 =
18
26
24
HONG KONG STRENGTHS BY DISCIPLINE
(top 100 according to THE - QS, 2009)
• Arts & Humanities
HKU (34)
CUHK (67)
•
Business & Management
HKUST (16)
• Engineering & IT
HKUST (26)
HKU (63=)
• Life Sciences & Biomedicine
HKU (32)
CUHK (68=)
CUHK (78=)
HKUST(70)
• Natural Sciences
HKUST (62)
HKU (78=)
• Social Science
HKU (34)
CUHK (58=)
HKUST (82=)
POLYU (91) CITYU (92)
University is a permanent, temporal organic entity.
October 1939
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Thank you!
University – permanent and temporal, organic entity
- China, Greece and Rome
- 14th century, Medieval Latin universitas
- the best product left by the Middle Ages - independence
- transcends national boundaries by common language and religion (till 18th
century)
- transcends national boundaries by science and knowledge (19th century)
The Evolving Role of a University
- John H. Cardinal Neuman of England ( mid-19th century): liberal education,
to train gentlemen, character formation, to propagate but not to create
knowledge – primarily teaching
Wilhehlm Van Humbolt and Althoff of Germany (late 19th century): research
center, free to pursue new knowledge – primarily research
- Abraham Flexner of the US (early 20th century): modern university, research
and teaching, “a successful research center cannot replace a university”, but
not vocational training, nor service center – research and teaching
Karl Jasper of Germany (mid 20th century, post-Hitler): the search for truth,
knowledge for knowledge; academic freedom and tolerance, a country within
a country, technology, organic integral entity – how to deal with knowledge
explosion?
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-Clark Kerr of the US (1911-2003):
master plan for higher education in California(1958) – three tier system (8, 1/3
and all), equal access for all
“The Uses of the Universities” (1963) – mega-university, away from the ivory
tower to a complex organization to serve the nation
“Quality and Quantity: New level of Federal Responsibility for Higher Education”
(1968) – federal grants directly to students
“Higher Education: Who Pays? Who Benefits? Who should pay?”(1973) – low
tuition in public universities should be raised to 1/3 of the real cost
- Teaching, Research and Service - reality
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