DFG research group "multiple competition in higher education"

Researchers at nine universities form the DFG-funded research group "multiple competition in higher education - internationalization and international comparison". They come from the fields of sociology, economics and business administration and are working on nine sub-projects. The research group started in 2021 under the title "multiple competition in higher education" (funding phase I) and added the focus of "Internationalization and International Comparison" with the beginning of funding phase II in 2024.

Universities involved

Funded by the German
Science Foundation
DFG

Spokesperson is Professor Guido Bünstorf

We mourn the loss of Professor Georg Krücken, spokesperson for the research group from its beginning to 2024

DFG research group "multiple competition in higher education" funding phase I (2021-2024)

Using sociological and economic approaches, the research group contributes to a comprehensive understanding of multiple competition in the German higher education system. Multiple competition means that individual and collective actors in the higher education system are simultaneously involved in several nested and interdependent competitions. The interaction of the individual competitions creates a complex network of requirements to which the players are exposed. Their uncoordinated competitive strategies are increasingly shaping the development of higher education and science and often to unintended consequences.

more about the 1st phase: Projects, Participants

News

10/29/2024 | Incher | DFG-Projekt

Now online: Special Issue "How do universities compete?" (Studies in Higher Education, 49(10)

@INCHER

This special issue, ed. by R. Bloch, A. Mitterle, & T. Seidenschnur, brings together sociological ‘thought leaders’ to critically examine the nature of the concept of ‘competition’ and how competitive practices are realised in different ways in the higher education sector.

‘Competition’ is ubiquitous in many fields, particularly in higher education today. Though at first sight straightforward and largely transactional in nature, it is in fact multi-layered and somewhat opaque. In higher education, competition informs and sustains practices both within the institution itself and in relation to external determinants of value such as rank, research excellence, internationalisation and technological innovation. As competitive actors, universities thus compete not only for financial resources and academic prestige, but also for symbolic capital, global visibility and strategic partnerships.

The articles in this special issue offer a context-sensitive framework for analysis that responds to the empirically observable competition in the higher education sector. Initially aimed at increasing efficiency, competition today is characterised by a broad spectrum of intended and unintended effects, which are discussed in this special issue.

Studies in Higher Education, Volume 49, Issue 10 (2024) contains among others, the following articles by INCHER members & their co-authors:

Bloch, R., Mitterle, A., & Seidenschnur, T. (2024). How do universities compete? Introduction to the special issue. Studies in Higher Education, 49(10), 1701–1709. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2395418

Seidenschnur, T., Götze, N., & Krücken, G. (2024). Multiple roles of the state – federal states and their roles in how universities compete in Germany. Studies in Higher Education, 49(10), 1753–1762. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2392660

Research group "Multiple Competition in Higher Education - Internationalization and International Comparison" (funding phase II: 2024-2027)

The objectives of the first funding phase - a broad empirical investigation of multiple competition, interdisciplinary theory development, relevance of the results for the investigation of multiple competition in other areas of society, relevance for higher education policy and science funding - are also central to the second phase.
In addition, questions relating to the internationalization of the German system and international comparison in connection with the topic of "multiple competition" will come into focus.
With regard to internationalization, there are developments at all relevant stakeholder levels that go beyond the national framework. In terms of multiple competition, all three levels - individuals, organizations and the state - are interlinked and influence each other. The aim is to analyze the developments at these levels and their links in the analysis of the German system.
Firstly, by contrasting similarities and differences with other national systems, international comparisons should enable the specifics of the German case and questions of generalizability to be better understood than before. Secondly, the role of the state in multiple competition is to be analyzed in more detail by means of international comparison. Thirdly, a type formation at the organizational level is aimed at, which allows universities to be compared with each other in their positions and embeddings across national systems.

Structure, projects, participants, 2nd phase