General framework vs. local organisation models. The governance and orientation of R&D at Swiss universities of applied sciences

Swiss universities of applied sciences (UAS), which were instituted in the 1990s, are politically compelled to conduct “applied research and development” in all their disciplines. However, both the institutions and the disciplines are very heterogeneous. This paper shows how the UAS have translated the general framework as defined by the Swiss federal legislation on higher education into two types of organisational models: the economic market-oriented model A and the academic and social-problem-oriented model B. Although there is a tension in the relationship between these two types, they also face similar problems.

30.03.2012 | Urs Kiener (Winterthur), Christoph Müller (Uster), Martin Benninghoff & Romain Felli (Lausanne)