International academic collaboration: Why it may or may not work?

Abstract

In this paper we try to explore different factors impacting establishment of an academic partnership. We plan to examine the expectations, dynamics, and particulars of academic partnerships and the reality of expectations of universities on both sides of the globe. International collaboration may not just serve as a trend, but it is almost an obligatory practice for some of the private universities in developing countries, in few cases individual research group, in order to seek visibility on the science and technology scene internationally, also have international collaboration at the group level. This paper presents an effort, as a case study, towards academic collaboration among two universities from a developing country and a large private non-profit university in the United States. This study also aims to highlight issues regarding trust and expectation from both sides and lack of reliable technical, communication as well as organizational infrastructure that may contribute to the inability to partner and collaborate. These systemic issues sometimes also create a tension between partners in their approach to collaboration.