THE ABSENCE OF SOULWARE IN HIGHER EDUCATIONThe book offers an analytical account of higher education in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China with examples of best practices from higher education in the US for guidance.This book is Professor Way Kuo's attempt to address issues that remain to be challenges for universities in the globalized 21 Century, namely academic autonomy and freedom, seamless integration between research and teaching, curricula update, innovative and problem-driven research, and adopting best global practices, based on his reflections about higher education from a global perspective through his personal experience as a senior academic leader in the US and Hong Kong. Borrowing from the languages of computer science, this book not only talks about the hardware and software in higher education, which refer to the infrastructure and the physical entities that provide an environment conducive to good teaching and research, it also highlights the importance of a third category for achieving great success: the presence of a certain mindset, a willingness to embrace due process and follow international standards and procedures or a vision in making the best use of the hardware and software to spearhead innovation in combining teaching and research for the benefit of students and the well-being of society. Such a mindset is called the soulware of higher education. Specifically, this book:* Covers four key areas where a lack of proper soulware or mindset is deterring the advancement of higher education: internationalization; seamless integration of teaching and research; quality and evaluation; and creativity and innovation;* The author's arguments are factual and comments are critical on what is perceived to be less desirable or a failure in higher education;* The book offers useful insights into the future and a global perspective on trends, challenges, and opportunities in higher education.AudienceEducators, policymakers, higher education providers and administrators, global stakeholders of higher education including students and parents, and the general public in both the East and the West who have an interest in global higher education.

Preface ixList of Figures and Tables xxiAcknowledgments xxiiiIntroduction xxviiPart I: Internationalization of Higher Education 11 Internationalization without Soulware 52 Higher Education in the UK 193 On Universities across the Strait 254 Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication 555 Blind Spots and Loss of Scholarship 696 Communicating Rigorously 79Part II: Integration of Teaching and Research 1017 The Essence of University 1038 University Positioning 1139 Pitfalls of Misaligning Whole-Person Education 12310 Strategies for Nurturing Generalists and Specialists 13711 The Successful Evergreen Tree 14912 Students and I 161Part III: Separation of Politics and Education 16913 External Forces that Interfere with Soulware 17514 Stains in Academic Freedom and Campus Autonomy 19315 Mechanism of the Separation of Politics and Education 20516 University: The Seedbed of Social Movements? 21917 Populism: The Stumbling Block of Academic Progress 231Part IV: Quality and Evaluation 25118 Review is the Father of Success 25519 Rankings in the Humanities and Liberal Arts 27320 Tuition, Salary Comparisons of Professors and Graduates 28121 Course Design and Choice of Majors 29322 Accomplished Hermits behind Unprepossessing Gates 303Part V: Creativity and Innovation 31123 Creativity Depends on Asking Questions 31524 How to Promote Innovative Technology? 32325 Where Is the Innovative Talent? 33926 Creativity in Higher Education and Risk-Taking 35127 Setting Policy Direction and Avoiding Nano-Management 365Epilogue: How Does a University Set the Trend? 371References to Tables and Figures 377Appendix: Basic Principle of Academic Governance 385About the Author 387Index 389