Research Universities in Developing Countries: Centers or Peripheries?

Abstract

The research university is a central institution of the 2ist century essential to the creation and dissemination of knowledge. As one of the key elements in the globalization of science, the research university is at the center of science, scholarship, and the new knowledge economies. The research university educates the new generation of personnel needed for technological and intellectual leadership, develops new knowledge so necessary for modern science and scholarship, and, just as importantly, serves as an element of worldwide communication and collaboration. All but a few research universities are located in the developed economies of the industrialized world. Any of the recent world rankings of top universities show that the main research-oriented universities are found in a few countries. This paper, however, looks at the realities and prospects for research universities in developing and middleincome countries—a small but growing subset of research universities worldwide. If knowledge production and dissemination are not to remain a monopoly of the rich countries, research universities must become successful outside the main cosmopolitan centers. In establishing and fostering research universities, developing countries face problems that are to some extent unique.

Key words: Research, Knowledge Creation, Universities, Centers and Peripheries.