Export Education

This doctoral thesis focuses on international master’s programs and develops an analytic typology of normative ideas, planning, and practices for understanding gaps in internationalization. The study sees internationalization as an empty term that acquires meaning in context. As a socially constructed phenomenon, it emerges through a variety of competing perspectives. The macro-planning of internationalization relies on economic and political conditions; it envisions a broad societal impact. This context gives little room for university agency in developing internationalization for academic purposes. Internationalization implementation at the institutional level adds complexity to everyday functioning, rather than offering solutions to new challenges. Critiques of internationalization often use references to the university system of the Middle Ages, where institutional functioning was not tied to the market. Despite the inconsistency of this metaphor, it raises a useful discussion a...

In this paper, we analyse the motivation and experiences of teaching staff participating in a novel exported Finnish degree programme in teacher education for Indonesian students. The data are based on online questionnaires sent to the teachers in March 2017. Huberman’s professional career path and Mezirow’s module for transformative learning are applied to construct the analytical framework. We also use our own experiences from our involvement in this exported programme, as a teacher (Pekka Räihä) and as a PhD candidate (Henna Juusola). In addition, we have taken into account Finnish higher education policy in terms of education export. The findings of this analysis demonstrate that education export projects can extend university teachers’ professional career opportunities and offer a starting point for transformative learning. However, more flexible administrative practices and an adaptive organizational culture at both faculty and institutional levels are required.

In recent higher education research, quality in education export action has been explored from the perspective of traditional education export countries such as the UK and USA. However, less attention is given to novice education export providers that rely on different educational traditions. In this article, we explore quality of education as it is done in one exported Finnish master's degree programme in teacher education in Indonesia. Our theoretical premise is based on the convention theory that relies on pragmatic sociology. The empirical data consist of 16 semi-structured students' and staff members' interviews gathered between the years 2016 and 2017 in Finland and in Indonesia. The results of this study stress the plurality of the quality factors that indicate the expectations by the students and the staff members, but also the priorities of the providers as to what is essential in exported degree-based education. From the perspective of convention theory, these considerations emphasize that the successful implementation of the exported master's degree programme in teacher education is based on the professional-academic convention (as research-based teacher education) that together with the civic-domestic convention (as societal impact, local traditions and Finnish approach to pedagogy) influenced the content of the educational programme through personal interaction.

addition, technological development has strengthened the global accessibility of knowledge, and consequently, HEIs no longer enjoy the same monopoly on knowledge production that they once had (Pietsch, 2016, p. 33). In general, education export is interlinked with the globalisation process, which binds to HEIs that are more engaged in internationalisation (Altbach & Knight, 2007). According to Goldblatt et al. (1999), globalisation process(es) denotes the 'transformation in the spatial organization of social relations and transactionsassessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact-generating transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity, interaction , and the exercise of power' (Goldblatt et al., 1999, p. 16). In the field of higher education, one expression of globalisation is the global education market, in which the key players include the United Kingdom (UK) (Caruana & Montgomery, 2015), Australia (Sá & Sabzalieva, 2018) and the United States (US) (Duderstadt, Taggart, & Weber, 2008). Furthermore, from the perspective of education export and education overall, globalisation can foster connectivity with respect to people (Goldblatt et al., 1999) and knowledge production (Duderstadt et al., 2008, p. 273). At the same time, globalisation can 'shift positionality between societies' as observed by Caruana and Montgomery (Caruana & Montgomery, 2015, p. 7), reinforcing the complexity of the changing interdependency of host and home and provider and receiver as well as the institutions, staff and students that are engaged in education export implementations (Caruana & Montgomery, 2015; Sheppard, 2002) 1. These interdependencies are determined by their relationships with one another (Sheppard, 2006; Sheppard, 2002), and therefore the globalisation process is neither onedimensional (Beerkens, 2003, p. 135) nor linear; rather, it involves supranational tendencies that flow simultaneously (Marginson & Rhoades, 2002) and are interlinked with space and location (Caruana & Montgomery, 2015; Sheppard, 2002), resulting in place-bound diversity (Sheppard, 2006, p. 61) but also promoting wider access to knowledge (Duderstadt et al., 2008, p. 274). Earlier studies have explored education export from a wide range of perspectives, such as the analysis of domestication (

This presentation explores the reasons that export education has come to dominate internationalisation agendas in Anglophone universities and discusses some of the critiques of this business model in the light of the sustainable development goals.  It outlines possible ways that the benefits of internationalisation can be achieved, while mitigating the social bads in terms of climate change, global structural inequality and neocolonialism.  It finishes by reviewing one attempt by an Irish university to build an internationalisation, or global engagement, strategy which puts sustainable development more firmly at the heart of policymaking.

The main hypothesis examined in this study is that the success of export recruitment strategies of universities is partly determined by their export readiness, defined as a function of market orientation. This article seeks to fulfil both a research and a practitioner gap in the export of education field. There currently exists a lack of research and discussion concerning the business aspects of export education. Suspicion of the commercial aspects of what is essentially a public good is suggested as a possible reason for this absence of research. With the commercialisation of education growing at the phenomenal rate that it currently is, it is largely time that this research gap be addressed. This study provides an important contribution by examining the export readiness of universities, in particular pre-export market orientation, and its impact on subsequent export recruitment performance.

This article uses a panel data of international student flows to China from 2000–2014 to investigate Confucius Institute (CI)’s effects on China’s educational service exports. We find that CI, as a comprehensive platform for promoting Chinese language and cultural exchange, has a significant positive effect on China’s education exports. The effects of CI on China’s education exports are transmitted through promoting Chinese language, bridging cultural gaps, and reducing psychic distance. We further find that the effects of CI on China’s education exports are heterogeneous, depending on the level of cultural difference and institutional quality in the host country. The effects of CI to boost international student flows to China are more prominent in host countries with smaller cultural difference or lower institutional quality. Furthermore, the effects of cultural difference and institutional quality exhibit distinct patterns, hinging on the types of student flows

This article uses a panel data of international student flows to China from 2000–2014 to investigate Confucius Institute (CI)’s effects on China’s educational service exports. We find that CI, as a comprehensive platform for promoting Chinese language and cultural exchange, has a significant positive effect on China’s education exports. The effects of CI on China’s education exports are transmitted through promoting Chinese language, bridging cultural gaps, and reducing psychic distance. We further find that the effects of CI on China’s education exports are heterogeneous, depending on the level of cultural difference and institutional quality in the host country. The effects of CI to boost international student flows to China are more prominent in host countries with smaller cultural difference or lower institutional quality. Furthermore, the effects of cultural difference and institutional quality exhibit distinct patterns, hinging on the types of student flows. keywords Confucius...

This paper uses a panel data of China's inbound tourist flows from 2005-2015 to investigate Confucius Institute (CI)'s influence on China's tourism. We find that CI, as a comprehensive platform for China's foreign cultural exchange, has a significant positive effect on China's tourist flows. The effects of CI on China's inbound tourism are transmitted through bridging cultural gaps and promoting Chinese language which reduces psychic distance and transaction costs. CI also stimulates China's inbound tourist flows via reducing information asymmetry caused by different levels of institutional quality. Interestingly, we find that the heterogeneous effects of CI on China's inbound tourism depend on institutional quality, and the effects of CI to boost China's tourists are more prominent in departure countries with larger cultural difference.

The United Kingdom is a large European market that offers vast market potential for companies that enter it. Finnish start-up companies are especially drawn to this market by the venture capital opportunities. A presence in the United Kingdom is necessary for companies that want to become truly international. The sponsor of the thesis is Goodwille Ltd., a British company that provides services to foreign companies who want to start or expand their business in the UK. Goodwille's newly set target group is start-up and growth companies. The aim of this thesis is to find out how to approach the target group in Finland while strengthening the company's market position in the country. Therefore, the research is limited to Finnish startup companies and only on companies in the technology industry. The aim is to find out the potential of the target group in Finland and therefore provide a basis for the development of services on this market. The material was gathered by interviewing expert organisations for the theoretical section and target group companies for the research section. In addition to the interviews, key sources include publications of Finnish and British export organizations and various theories on internationalisation and market entry. The research was qualitative in nature and conducted through theme interviews; it was carried out in spring 2014. The results of the research indicate that Finnish technology start-up companies are not only eager to internationalize, but are fundamentally international and "born" global. The United Kingdom is not the main market for all businesses, or always a target market in any case. However, it is still an important market for Finnish technology start-up companies and they need support in order to succeed in it.

Purpose-This study aims to develop a pedagogy which would help a school become a workplace for learning and professional development. Essentially, this objective addresses the following critical question. How can a school become an attractive workplace where learning and professional development of teachers positively contribute to better teaching and learning for the students? Design/methodology/approach-The research is considered as a case study. The pilot project or experiment has taken place at Mattayom Suwitserianusorn School which is part of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Design Thinking and Finnish practices have been explicitly integrated into peer-learning community (PLC). Design Thinking, through the use of empathy, helps highlight the interrelationships among motivation, emotion and cognition of students. Followup meetings provide insights into teacher's professional development and impacts on student's learning. The verification is based on award and recognition gathered over the past years for students and the school. Findings-PLC helps improve a school as a place for learning and professional development. The significance of integrating Design Thinking is extensively discussed. The project shows how co-teaching can be applied, given a proper selection of a problem. Higher motivation and better behavior among students are 2 noticeable. The pilot project reinforces the importance of PLC in the current pedagogical development as it helps transform a school into workplace learning for both teachers and students. Blending Design Thinking helps strengthen the sustainability of PLC, as a lesson plan should be revised according to the students' background and needs. Research limitations/implications-The study responds to the call by several international studies for better pedagogical development and in-service training for teachers' continuous learning and professional development. More vigorous comparisons with other schools will be needed to help verify the study's findings. This is due to the need to have a longitudinal study of PLC's impacts. Practical implications-For teachers, an understanding of their common interests and the recognition on the need to learn from one another is important. For students, an understanding of their psychology and emotional intelligence through the use of Design Thinking is highlighted. Motivation, emotion and cognition of students are interrelated and can help transform a school into learning space. Originality/value-The study contributes to the transformation of a school as a workplace for learning and professional development which is based on the aforementioned pedagogical development. Also, Design Thinking helps strengthen PLC as an alternative pedagogical practices.

The article brings perspective to teachers' individual feelings and thoughts while a major curriculum reform in Abu Dhabi public schools is taking place. The aim is to identify specific curricular conditions and curriculum delivery models affecting the school community, students' learning, teachers' work satisfaction, and school culture as a whole. In the study, teachers reflect on their adaptations and emotions for the new curriculum and the changes occurring in schools. This ethnographic action study took place in four schools following 12 teachers' reflections during two school trimesters with weekly journals. The results reveal the positive pursuit of teachers to achieve expected results and adapt to the new curriculum. Results indicate that collaborative planning and stronger autonomy in the pacing of outcomes could be the key to an even more plentiful school culture in Abu Dhabi schools.

The project aims at discovering the potentiality of Vietnamese market of a case company from company A in exporting Finnish educational expertise. The research will support decision makers and audience in getting a general view of business market in Vietnam, as well as business culture and business practices. Furthermore, the thesis provides a better understanding of the current situation in the education market particularly. The implementation of the research is conducted in both ways of using primary and secondary data. Primary data is attained from quantitative research by sending online questionnaire via emails and using phone calls to trigger the response rate from targeted customer group in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the secondary data is extracted from scholarly sources and reliable bases that studied the market previously, along with up-to-date newspaper articles and journals. The research has delivered the answers to objectives given by the project. The information should give the company A a clearer picture of the market situation so as to make a decision whether Vietnam is a potential market to enter and when they should enter regarding opportunities and challenges of the market itself. Additionally, the author provides recommendations for further stages and possibilities for the company when decides to enter.

In this paper, we analyse the motivation and experiences of teaching staff participating in a novel exported Finnish degree programme in teacher education for Indonesian students. The data are based on online questionnaires sent to the teachers in March 2017. Huberman’s professional career path and Mezirow’s module for transformative learning are applied to construct the analytical framework. We also use our own experiences from our involvement in this exported programme, as a teacher (Pekka Räihä) and as a PhD candidate (Henna Juusola). In addition, we have taken into account Finnish higher education policy in terms of education export. The findings of this analysis demonstrate that education export projects can extend university teachers’ professional career opportunities and offer a starting point for transformative learning. However, more flexible administrative practices and an adaptive organizational culture at both faculty and institutional levels are required.

The article brings perspective to teachers' individual feelings and thoughts while a major curriculum reform in Abu Dhabi public schools is taking place. The aim is to identify specific curricular conditions and curriculum delivery models affecting the school community, students' learning, teachers' work satisfaction, and school culture as a whole. In the study, teachers reflect on their adaptations and emotions for the new curriculum and the changes occurring in schools. This ethnographic action study took place in four schools following 12 teachers' reflections during two school trimesters with weekly journals. The results reveal the positive pursuit of teachers to achieve expected results and adapt to the new curriculum. Results indicate that collaborative planning and stronger autonomy in the pacing of outcomes could be the key to an even more plentiful school culture in Abu Dhabi schools.

This article examines the process of launching a primary-level international school designed in collaboration with a Finnish education export company and a local partner company following a cross-border model. The school operations adhered to the Finnish education model and Finnish National Core Curriculum in every aspect that was in harmony with localization needs. The aim was to identify the key elements influencing the start-up process from the teachers' perspective. This unique school culture implemented the basics of Finnish school culture and curriculum in the Maldives, in the South-Asian context. The learning was executed in a large group learning environment setting based on full-time team teaching, concluding that the situation was exquisite for both local and Finnish teachers. Teachers reflected on their fortnightly adaptations to the new school culture and curriculum implementation based on the Finnish school model. The Finnish teachers also evaluated their adaptation to a new living environment and culture. A modified typology of school cultures (Stoll, 2000; Stoll & Flink 1996) was used as a reflection structure. The model evaluates the school's current effectiveness-ineffectiveness dimensions and at least partially mirrors these factors against the accreditation conditions of the Finnish school model.

C-BERT, the US research centre that tracks international branch campuses (IBCs), reports slow growth over time, with the number of new IBCs born each year offset by the premature deaths of almost as many.  So, what determines whether an international branch campus survives to maturity or dies in childhood?

This article uses a panel data of international student flows to China from 2000–2014 to investigate Confucius Institute (CI)’s effects on China’s educational service exports. We find that CI, as a comprehensive platform for promoting Chinese language and cultural exchange, has a significant positive effect on China’s education exports. The effects of CI on China’s education exports are transmitted through promoting Chinese language, bridging cultural gaps, and reducing psychic distance. We further find that the effects of CI on China’s education exports are heterogeneous, depending on the level of cultural difference and institutional quality in the host country. The effects of CI to boost international student flows to China are more prominent in host countries with smaller cultural difference or lower institutional quality. Furthermore, the effects of cultural difference and institutional quality exhibit distinct patterns, hinging on the types of student flows

This article uses a panel data of international student flows to China from 2000–2014 to investigate Confucius Institute (CI)’s effects on China’s educational service exports. We find that CI, as a comprehensive platform for promoting Chinese language and cultural exchange, has a significant positive effect on China’s education exports. The effects of CI on China’s education exports are transmitted through promoting Chinese language, bridging cultural gaps, and reducing psychic distance. We further find that the effects of CI on China’s education exports are heterogeneous, depending on the level of cultural difference and institutional quality in the host country. The effects of CI to boost international student flows to China are more prominent in host countries with smaller cultural difference or lower institutional quality. Furthermore, the effects of cultural difference and institutional quality exhibit distinct patterns, hinging on the types of student flows

International Student Populations have risen dramatically in Australian tertiary education, allowing a drop in the amount required to publicly fund education; however, concerns arise that reliance on international student tuition may adversely effect quality, and a focus on education as industry (and it is currently Australia's 3rd largest export) may skew educational priorities.

International Student Populations have risen dramatically in Australian tertiary education, allowing a drop in the amount required to publicly fund education; however, concerns arise that reliance on international student tuition may adversely effect quality, and a focus on education as industry (and it is currently Australia's 3rd largest export) may skew educational priorities.

Building a national education export network for the food chain -(FLEN). In Vanhanen, R. (ed.) Export of education by Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences: reflections on best practices. JAMK University of Applied Sciences, publication number 226, 56-60.

Globalised education has become an emergent trend over the past decade. Recently, Finland has decided to promote and export its education's expertise, experience, and know-how through the sale of educational expertise, products, and services. This study describes a comprehensive case of one Finnish education export project involving the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), and the University of Oulu, City of Oulu, Finland. This description comprises of a record of the main issues and obstacles faced throughout the pilot, the factors identified by respondents concerning the successful conclusion of the projects, and the factors which participants identified as being responsible for overcoming these same obstacles, and issues.

The aim of this thesis was to examine what experiences Finnish SMEs have faced after a few years from setting up a business or opening an office in China. The chosen SMEs were from the clean technology sector. The research problem was to clarify especially the difficulties, obstacles interviewed SMEs have faced that new comers would not do the same mistakes and would know what to expect in China. The used research method, qualitative research, was described in the introduction. The theoretical part of the study deals first with the economical atmosphere of China today, doing business in Asia, typical features of Chinese business life and challenges Finnish companies have had in China. The theoretical section ends with information of presenting soft-landing services and clean tech industry and its potential to an export to China. The fifth chapter in this thesis discussed the carried out research, qualitative method which is mostly used in studies that require explanation and underst...

The objectives of this research were 1) to study the current and desirable state of the management for creating professional learning communities (PLCs) of schools under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) 2) to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the management for creating PLCs of schools under the BMA and 3) to develop management strategies for creating PLCs of schools under the BMA. The study was mixed method research. The samples were 209 schools under the BMA. The instruments used in this study were the questionnaire and the strategic evaluation form of feasibility and appropriateness. The data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation, PNI Modified and content analysis. The results showed the following: 1) the current state of the management to create the PLCs of schools under the BMA was overall at a high level (  = 4.10). When considering each attribute, shared leadership and shared decision-making were the highest...

This research identifies the professional development needs of fifty District Directors employed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Bangkok, Thailand, in order to produce an operational strategy for a learning organisation and an improvement in work quality. The population sample consists of the Permanent Secretary, two Deputy Permanent Secretaries, and all fifty District Directors of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The research involves a Proactive Evaluation, in which a needs assessment of a group of fifty District Directors is undertaken. A mixed methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, is applied. The quantitative research component applies a three-round Delphi survey of the fifty District Directors. The Delphi survey identified seven areas from the sixteen originally submitted; as well, a set of five professional development strategies is identified. The seven elements needed to improve their skills and competencies were: leadin...

The paper reviews the recent trends and current developments in the global higher education market with a particular focus on growth of Asian students studying in US and UK. Using pool cross section-time series data over the 1985–2003 period, it is found that different factors affect students from different countries differently. This suggests that the marketing strategies of offshore higher education providers need to be tailored to the specific needs of different markets in order to be successful. The emergence of a number of new players in the higher education export market is also rapidly becoming a major threat to the traditional higher education service exporters.

This research investigated the use of Facebook to enhance the effectiveness of English writing and learning among English language teachers. English language learning through Facebook design was evaluated using the results from data collected from 403 completed copies of a questionnaire. The questionnaire sought responses on the problems, needs, readiness, and suggestions of the respondentsdThai teachers of English in 437 Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) schools. Seventeen BMA teachers who exhibited a keen interest in using Facebook over other social media were selected as test subjects. One facilitator was included. All participants used the English language to interact on Facebook every day for six weeks. A mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed to analyze the collected data. The frequency, percentage, and content analysis were used to analyze the qualitative data consisting of the survey questionnaires , observations on interaction through Facebook sites, in-depth interviews, par-ticipants' reflections, and self-notes. A t-test was used to analyze quantitative pre-and post-test data. The findings of this study indicated that Facebook could significantly help improve writing skills, namely accuracy, meaningfulness, clarity, and relevance. It also effectively enhanced teachers' English learning attributes, namely fluency, confidence, satisfaction, value, and self-efficacy belief.

Suomi on lähtenyt kansainväliseen koulutusvientikilpailuun usean sadan vuoden takamatkalta esimerkiksi brittiläisiin kilpailijoihinsa verrattuna. Siihen nähden Suomi on tehnyt jo nyt huikean matkan. Vuonna 2018 Suomi ylti koulutusviennin volyymissa jo 350 miljoonaan euroon (OKM). Suomalaiselle koulutukselle riittää kysyntää juuri erilaisen lähestymiskulmansa ja arvojensa ansiosta. Esimerkiksi yhdenvertaisuus, oppimisen tuki sekä oppilaslähtöinen pedagogiikka ovat suomalaisen koulutuksen vahvuuksia, joita maailmalla arvostetaan. Toistaiseksi koulutusviennin merkittävimmät avaukset on tehty Aasiassa ja öljy-ja kaasurikkaissa Lähi-idän maissa, joissa on myös suurimmat markkinat. On merkillepantavaa, että suomalainen koulutus ja opetussuunnitelma herättävät usein eniten kiinnostusta paikoissa, joita lännestä käsin syytetään tasa-arvon puutteesta. Maailma ei kehity muureja rakentamalla, vaan dialogilla, koulutuksella ja opetuksella. Suomalaisella koulutuksella on maailmalle paljon annettavaa ja eettisempää vientituotetta on vaikea löytää. Koulutusosaaminen on myös poikkeuksellinen vientituote, sillä se tuottaa toimijalleen usealla rintamalla. Vastikkeellisena toimintana se tuottaa rahaa vientiyritykselleen. Samalla se kasvattaa tekijöidensä osaamispääomaa, joka hyödyttää suoraan kotimaista koulutusjärjestelmää. Voisi kuvitella, että koulutusvientiä rajoittaisi eniten kohdemaiden toisenlainen yhteiskunta, mutta ehkä hieman yllättäen suomalaisen koulutusviennin suurimmat esteet löytyvät kotimaasta. Koulutusvienti muistetaan mainita juhlapuheissa, mutta valitettavasti puheet eivät tahdo siirtyä käytäntöön. Jos koulutusviennin volyymi oikeasti halutaan kasvattaa miljardiin euroon, kuten joskus on väläytelty, tarvitaan myös konkreettisia tekoja. Kentällä koulutusvientiä hankaloittaa muun muassa kotimaan tempoileva koulutuspolitiikka.

Since the recent global paradigm shift in the governance of higher education toward business and marketing, internationally competitive education is increasingly considered as an asset for governments. Consequently, governments started to invest in education branding and marketing their educational systems. In Finland, national interest in education branding rose especially since the country's success in the programme for international student assessment studies created a positive reputation of its basic education. In this article, the authors investigate how this reputation is transformed into a general Finnish education brand, based upon Finland's official Country Brand Report (2010). The governmental discourse on Finnish education reveals a fusion of education and national branding, which is why the authors suggest to discuss the Finnish education brand as Finnish education®. The article provides an analysis of the elements constituting the brand and opens up a critical discussion on the ethics of branding education through cultural and national characteristics.

Since the recent global paradigm shift in the governance of higher education toward business and marketing, internationally competitive education is increasingly considered as an asset for governments. Consequently, governments started to invest in education branding and marketing their educational systems. In Finland, national interest in education branding rose especially since the country's success in the programme for international student assessment studies created a positive reputation of its basic education. In this article, the authors investigate how this reputation is transformed into a general Finnish education brand, based upon Finland's official Country Brand Report (2010). The governmental discourse on Finnish education reveals a fusion of education and national branding, which is why the authors suggest to discuss the Finnish education brand as Finnish education®. The article provides an analysis of the elements constituting the brand and opens up a critical discussion on the ethics of branding education through cultural and national characteristics.

For many universities around the world, internationalisation means the recruitment of fee-paying international students (so-called " export education ") for primarily commercial reasons. For UK universities, international (non-European Union) students account for approximately 13% of their annual revenues, making them highly dependent on international student recruitment. This paper discusses the attempt by one UK university to change direction and develop a new approach to internationalisation which puts an international learning experience for all students at the heart of its new strategic plan. It discusses the obstacles to changing direction in this way and shares some of the lessons learned about how to roll out an alternative university-wide internationalisation strategy.

Since the recent global paradigm shift in the governance of higher
education  toward  business  and  marketing,  internationally
competitive education is increasingly considered as an asset for
governments. Consequently, governments started to invest in
education branding and marketing their educational systems. In
Finland, national interest in education branding rose especially
since the country
’
s success in the programme for international
student assessment studies created a positive reputation of its
basic education. In this article, the authors investigate how this
reputation is transformed into a general Finnish education brand,
based upon Finland
’
sof
fi
cial Country Brand Report (2010). The
governmental discourse on Finnish education reveals a fusion of
education and national branding, which is why the authors
suggest  to  discuss  the  Finnish  education  brand  as  Finnish
education®. The article provides an analysis of the elements
constituting the brand and opens up a critical discussion on the
ethics  of  branding  education  through  cultural  and  national
characteristics.

The motivation for this thesis is based on my experiences during the summer of 2014, during which I had the opportunity to participate in an educational export pilot project that took place between Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Extension School of Oulu University (TOPIK) concerning in-service training for BMA teachers and administrators.

In addition to providing an insight into the background to the projects from the perspectives of BMA and TOPIK, and introducing the main players involved, the main aims of this qualitative study are: to work in collaboration with the stakeholders in identifying the main issues and
misunderstandings that were encountered throughout the projects from their perspectives, in addition to identifying and recording the main factors identified by respondents as being responsible for overcoming these and other obstacles and issues. In order to achieve these aims an action research methodology was adopted. Qualitative data used
in this research was collected via face to face interviews with the main actors, with additional data obtained from the researchers own participation in the projects, in addition to observations and
field notes based on numerous conversations with participants, and relevant documentation.

During the thesis process, the author also had the opportunity to spend several weeks in Bangkok during which time additional data and observations were acquired, through interviews, meetings, and a
variety of visits.

Theories of intercultural communication establish that when dealing with cultures as far removed from each other as the Finnish and Thai cultures, there are always going to be a number of issues which would need to be addressed during these types of educational export pilot projects. While
there were a host of minor obstacles and issues that needed to be dealt with on a continuous basis, the major issues identified by participants throughout the project process were: date and format
changes, practical and ethical issues concerning ‘deliverables,’ goodwill, communication issues, issues related to payments, in addition to issues concerning contracts and documentation.

The main factors identified by participants as being the overriding factors in overcoming these, and indeed other issues and obstacles, can be summarised as being related to authority, local knowledge and
trust.

Tekes is the main public funding organisation for research and development (R&D) in Finland. Tekes funds industrial projects as well as projects in research organisations, and especially promotes innovative, risk-intensive projects. Tekes offers partners from abroad a gateway to the key technology players in Finland.

For many universities around the world, internationalization means the recruitment of fee-paying international students (so-called “export education”) for primarily commercial reasons.  For many UK and Australian universities, the market leaders in export education, international students account for over 25% of their annual revenues, making them highly dependent on international student recruitment.  This presentation sets out an attempt by one UK university, Nottingham Trent University, to change direction and develop a new approach to internationalization which puts an international learning experience for all students at the heart of its new strategic plan.  It discusses the obstacles to changing direction in this way and shares some of the lessons learned about how and how not to roll out a radically new university-wide internationalization strategy.

As a result of the networks which developed from a previous successful conference organised by Dr. Kent Löfgren at Umeå University, this initial exchange visit from the 7th-10th October 2007, was organised by Dr. Terence Karran (Docent Professor in the Education Faculty at the University of Oulu) and Juha Pohjonen (the Director of the Open University at the University) for Dr. Kent Löfgren.

The Finnish education system has received considerable media attention due to its results in the OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) examinations. Many countries are considering ways to learn from the Finnish experience. This showcase examines Tampere University of Applied Sciences attempt to meet the demand for Finnish education by developing and implementing a fully online teacher development program, available globally. The first cohort of the program graduated in early 2013 in the United Arab Emirates. This showcase
describes how the principles of authentic e-learning (Herrington, et al 2010) were used to design the program and how these were harnessed to enable change in the professional practice of
participants. The showcase will end by looking at future plans for the program and how it can be enhanced and developed.

Plagiarism is increasingly evident in business and academia. While links between demographic, personality, and situational factors have been found, previous research has not used actual plagiarism behavior as a criterion variable. Previous research on academic dishonesty has consistently used to self-report measures to establish prevalence of dishonest behavior. In this chapter the author covers the results of four studies that used plagiarism behavior to establish its prevalence, as well as relationships between plagiarism behavior and: 1. Integrity-related personal selection measures 2. Workplace deviance 3. Ethnicity 4. Acculturation 5. Individualism 6. Collectivism 7. Religiosity 8. Spirituality.

This criterion study examined the impact of the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism on actual plagiarism in working business students. Given globalization of business and recent business scandals, furthering our understanding of international ethics remains critical. Business students are the potential employees, managers and leaders of organizations in the future. In this study we focus on one form of unethical conduct by business students, i.e. actual plagiarism, and seek to determine the link between this behavior and cultural values of individualism/collectivism and associated stereotypes of Asian/Caucasian students. Our findings suggest that individualists plagiarize more than collectivists, and that no significant differences in plagiarism exist between Asian and Caucasian students, contrary to popular beliefs. The implications of these findings for scholars and managers are discussed.

Ethics have received increased attention from the media and academia in recent years. Most reports suggest that one form of unethical conduct – plagiarism – is on the rise in the business schools. Stereotypes of Asian students as being more prone to plagiarize are frequently found in the literature, though not concretely substantiated. This study used a behavioral criterion to examine the relationships among ethnicity, acculturation, and plagiarism in a sample of 158 undergraduate and graduate students. Significant differences in plagiarism behavior were found based on level of student acculturation, but not ethnicity. Considerations and implications for training and managing international students and workers are discussed.