North-South Knowledge Networks

Since the 1990s, internationalisation has become key for
institutions wishing to secure funding for higher education and
research. For the academic community, this strategic shift has had many
consequences. Priorities have changed and been influenced by new ways of
thinking about universities, and of measuring their impact in relation
to each other and to their social goals. Debates are ongoing and hotly
contested. In this collection, a mix of renowned academics and newer
voices reflect on some of the realities of international research
partnerships. They both question and highlight the agency of academics,
donors and research institutions in the geopolitics of knowledge and
power. The contributors offer fresh insights on institutional
transformation, the setting of research agendas, and access to research
funding, while highlighting the dilemmas researchers face when their
institutions are vulnerable to state and donor influence. Offering a
range of perspectives on why academics should collaborate and what for,
this book will be useful to anyone interested in how scholars are
adapting to the realities of international networking and how research
institutions are finding innovative ways to make North–South
partnerships and collaborations increasingly fair, sustainable and
mutually beneficial.