Research Project SLW@HAW

Project description

The reasearch project SLW@HAW is an international comparative study focussing on the strategic orientation of universities of applied sciences (UAS) in the context of studying, teaching and continuing education, with a particular focus on the developments and governance approaches of the universities. Neo-institutionalism and Stockmann's diffusion model form the theoretical starting points for analysing the individual universities as well as a comparative approach. Specifically, the project will address the following guiding research questions: (1) What strategies are UAS developing in the context of studying, teaching and continuing education against the background of current demographic, social, economic and geopolitical developments? (2) Which governance approaches are associated with this? (3) What effects do strategies and governance approaches have on higher education institutions and continuing education programmes? In addition to the UAS in Germany, comparable types of higher education institutions in the Netherlands and Sweden will be analysed using a mixed-methods approach. The aim of the research project is (1) to record the strategic lines of development, particularly with regard to UAS in Germany, and (2) to generate impulses for the further development of UAS in general and the significance of continuing higher education in particular from the comparative approach.