Global Comparison of Excellence Initiatives

Abstract

Since the end of the 1980s, many countries around the world have been committed to building world-class universities to strengthen their competitiveness in the global higher education market. These excellence initiatives, initiated by China and a few other countries, have contributed significantly to enhance these countries’ higher education capacity. This chapter focuses on the comparison of excellence initiatives and relevant policies among China and other countries, including high-lighting data, excellence indicators, best practices, and relevant national policies. Moreover, it analyzes the latest research and shares inspiring stories about China’s experience in developing academic excellence. The quantitative measures of Chinese universities funded by the Double World-Class Project have increased significantly, but it has taken them a long time to gain the soft power that matches their world rankings. While global excellence initiatives tend to integrate with national strategies to develop higher education and share same global visions, there are differences in terms of implementation measures or plans among countries that will be explored in this chapter. In the future, excellence initiatives will place more emphasis on international development as well as the will of the state.