A pioneering collection of case studies on the global phenomenon of academic excellence initiatives and how they shape the performance of research universities. Academic excellence initiatives (AEIs)--special government-sponsored programs to improve research universities--have provided billions of dollars to top universities and represent perhaps the most significant effort in the past half-century to jumpstart academic research. The contributors to
Academic Star Wars, superbly edited by Maria Yudkevich, Philip G. Altbach, and Jamil Salmi, analyze AEIs in nine European and Asian countries, including China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Denmark, France, Germany, and Russia, and offer penetrating insights into the successes and problems of these initiatives, as well as into the broader system of higher education itself.
Academic Star Wars provides a comprehensive analysis of AEIs across the globe as it seeks to understand the impact of these programs on national higher ed systems. The contributors explore a host of topics, including how the idea of excellence varies across national systems; the lessons to be drawn from the most successful AEIs; the consequences of AEIs, both intended and unintended, for participating universities; and whether AEIs ensure a significant impact on the global standing of national higher education systems. Finally, the contributors offer policy recommendations for national decision-makers and university leaders, taking into account the variety of initial conditions of national higher education systems and the differences in AEI design, scope, and funding.
一部開創性的案例研究集，探討全球學術卓越倡議的現象及其如何影響研究型大學的表現。
學術卓越倡議（AEIs）是由政府贊助的特殊計畫，旨在改善研究型大學，已為頂尖大學提供了數十億美元，並且可能是過去半世紀以來，啟動學術研究的最重要努力。《Academic Star Wars》一書由Maria Yudkevich、Philip G. Altbach和Jamil Salmi精心編輯，分析了中國、日本、馬來西亞、南韓、台灣、丹麥、法國、德國和俄羅斯等九個歐洲和亞洲國家的AEIs，並深入洞察這些倡議的成功與問題，以及更廣泛的高等教育體系。
《Academic Star Wars》提供了對全球AEIs的全面分析，旨在理解這些計畫對國家高等教育體系的影響。貢獻者探討了多個主題，包括卓越的概念在不同國家體系中的變化；從最成功的AEIs中可以汲取的教訓；AEIs對參與大學的預期和非預期後果；以及AEIs是否能確保對國家高等教育體系的全球地位產生顯著影響。最後，貢獻者為國家決策者和大學領導者提供政策建議，考慮到各國高等教育體系的初始條件多樣性以及AEI設計、範圍和資金的差異。
Maria Yudkevich is Research Fellow in the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. Previously she was Professor and Head of the Center for Institutional Studies at HSE University, Moscow. She is a coauthor of
Higher Education in Russia. Philip G. Altbach is Research Professor and Distinguished Fellow of the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College. He is the author of
Global Perspectives on Higher Education and other books.
Jamil Salmi is a global tertiary education expert; former Higher Education Coordinator, World Bank; Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Policy, Diego Portales University, Chile; and Research Fellow, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College.
瑪麗亞·尤德科維奇（Maria Yudkevich）是波士頓大學國際高等教育中心的研究員。她曾擔任莫斯科高等經濟學院（HSE University）機構研究中心的教授及主任。她是《俄羅斯高等教育》（Higher Education in Russia）的共同作者。
菲利普·G·阿爾特巴赫（Philip G. Altbach）是波士頓大學國際高等教育中心的研究教授及傑出研究員。他是《高等教育的全球視角》（Global Perspectives on Higher Education）及其他書籍的作者。
賈米爾·薩爾米（Jamil Salmi）是一位全球高等教育專家；曾任世界銀行高等教育協調員；智利迭戈·波塔萊斯大學高等教育政策名譽教授；以及波士頓大學國際高等教育中心的研究員。
