Wednesday Onsite Presentation Session 2

Higher Education

Session Chair: Christopher Hill

11:25-11:50

69192

| An Analysis of Content Marketing on Social Media by Five Top Global Universities

Worada Apirat, Mahidol University International College, Mahidol University, Thailand

Phanita Pooteang-on, Mahidol University International College, Mahidol University, Thailand

Social media are used increasingly by higher education institutions (HEIs) to promote brands and connect to stakeholders. The authors analyzed post type and post content on Facebook posted by five selective universities of Top 20 QS World Ranking University 2022: Massachusetts Institute of Technology from USA, University of Oxford from UK, ETH Zurich-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology from Switzerland, National University of Singapore from Singapore, and Tsinghua University from China. This study followed the 12 post types: alumni, announcement, campus, curriculum, events, faculty, image and reputation, industry, others, products, research, and students to segment post types, and expressions such as likes and comments are used to evaluate engagement. The study found that from 2,232 posts by the selective institutions, the top five most frequently posted are research, faculty, students, image and reputation, and events. Compared to engagement, post-engaged students’ life gained the most engagement while research is still in the top five. Beautiful spots on campus also gained high engagement as found in previous papers. Interestingly, the “others” post type which contained content from outsources was also found with high engagement in this study. From findings, the authors suggested HEIs may pay attention to updated content or stories that matter from external sources or promote other topics not related to the university but that have an impact at the national or international level as useful content to make users or followers engaged.

11:50-12:15

67476 | Enhancing Youth Skills Development With University-Industry Collaboration: A Case Study of Ugandan Higher Technical Education

Qingling Kong, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

With the youth population approaching 830 million by 2050, Sub-Sahara Africa is challenged to transform the “youth bulge” to development by fostering employability. Technological advancements also require higher education to respond to skills mismatch with reskilling and upskilling of youth. Supporting skills training and youth empowerment through quality higher education is essential for building prosperous, inclusive and equitable societies. Studies have indicated that equipping youth with high-level skills requires endeavours beyond university campuses. In the context of Uganda, there is a dearth of literature on university-industry collaboration (UIC) for youth higher technical skills development. The research aims to examine evolving policies and practices in skills development in response to technological development and identify gaps in engaging universities and industries to initiate collaborations for youth employability. Specifically, the paper presents a study of Ugandan higher technical education and examines the socio-political environment for UIC with a policy review, analyses the mechanisms of existing trainingfocused university-industry collaborative initiatives through semi-structure interviews, and provides recommendations in leveraging UIC for youth high-level skills development.

12:15-12:40

66572 | International Academic Partnerships: What Are They For and Who Do They Benefit?

Christopher Hill, British University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Does a university exist in isolation, or does it have a responsibility to externalise and connect? With shifting patterns of recruitment and ever changing funding sources, there is a clear need to examine the role of a university within its own environment and in the wider world. Most academic institutions will be members of some form of consortia or international partnership. This paper asks whether these consortia are living up to their full potential, particularly in light of recent developments in higher education and the need for a more inclusive and sustainable approach to activity. In exploring the motivations behind consortia, the paper present a typology that identifies and categorises the different forms of engagement and activity. What becomes evident is that the very nature and design of consortia are often at odds with their actual impact. Does that really matter? Even if the collaboration may be more in name than in practice, is the demonstration of willingness to work together at least one benefit, maybe even that first important step towards true partnership and impact.