Development of Collaboration Model by Integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Tools in Higher Education Institutions (HEI)

Abstract

Collaboration in Higher Education Institution (HEI) level may occur with purpose to improve academic performance of the institution, to improve network alignment and performance to public needs as well as to share their expertise with other academic institutions. Two types of collaboration can be created at tertiary institutions: collaboration among HEI and collaboration between HEI and industries or businesses. A study showed that collaboration in HEIs remains limited even though collaboration contributes to a great number of advantages. Selecting the right collaborators for collaboration however is time consuming as identifying a set of intangible criteria is a challenging process. The criteria may not be easy to quantify as they involve subjective judgment. Therefore this study investigated the possibility to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems in helping institutions to select the best possible collaborators. This study employed mixed methods approach which begins with online survey to gather the ranking of partner selection criteria, followed by conducting interviews with institutions. As a result, the findings developed produce a collaboration model by integrating ICT tools in the partner selection process.