Arab and African states have seen an unprecedented expansion in tertiary education in recent times, both in terms of number of students and institutions. While this development allows for more equity in access, it goes along with a novel impact, induced by the confrontation with global trends, and the resulting necessity to align or not. The empirical study in the field of higher education research addresses the following question: Which implications does the degree of the Algerian higher education system nationalisation as well as internationalisation orientation have on institutional development as well as individual practices? Findings indicate that Algerian academics are faced with a situation of personal oscillation in engaging in research, as a consequence of the ambivalent environment of national institutions versus the consensual international dimension of research, and employ a variety of coping strategies to deal with this setting. Likewise, the higher education system itself is at crossroads. The outcomes, more broadly, inform on-going and future university reforms and associated higher education policy shifts in African and Arab contexts from the backdrop of transforming societies' transition into knowledge economies.
Leonie Schoelen, PhD is research associate at the University of Johannesburg and higher education expert. With an academic background in international relations, sociology and education sciences, she has worked on a freelance basis with various International cooperation projects, among others, supporting the Pan-African University (PAU) Institute for Water and Energy Sciences (including Climate Change) in Algeria, and the PAU Rectorate in Cameroon, focussing on student affairs, process management, quality assurance and strategic planning. Previously, she held the position of PostDoc fellow at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa, in which framework she analysed internationalisation policies. She currently works for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as senior desk officer in charge of binational universities in North Africa and the Middle East, while continuing to publish and participate actively in academia.
