Master in Research and Innovation in Higher Education - MARIHE (Erasmus Mundus Masters Course)

Objectives of MARIHE

Objective 1: Promote and enforce the benefits of the current changes in the knowledge triangle (innovation, research and higher education system).
Due to the important role research and innovation play for growth and sustainable development, fundamental transition processes are taking place in the systems of research, innovation and higher education in Europe, as in other regions of the world. These processes can be described as a shift from regulation to deregulation and competition, from steering to market, from administration to management. Institutions involved, such as HE and research institutions are largely affected by these changes, gaining high autonomy for themselves. But all these changes will fail if there are no managers, administrators, policy-makers and researchers who are able to deal with them successfully. A country could only benefit from these changes if there are enough well-educated people on the labour market familiar with the changes and their implications. While the role of universities in national and regional innovation systems has been emphasised by both policy makers and researchers around the world, the interactions between universities and industries increasingly take place beyond national borders. Therefore, this programme embraces the global dimension of innovation systems, research and education and orients the students to understand and study higher education with a special attention to the knowledge triangle and knowledge alliances (business-university partnerships).

Objective 2: Educate innovation, research and higher education experts who are prepared for the future challenges.
Experts are needed who are able to analyse and understand the knowledge triangle, who could link system changes with institutional changes and who are able to develop management skills to deal with the changing environment inside HE and research institutions. In the master course “Research and Innovation in Higher Education” (MARIHE), students will develop a sound understanding of the change processes and how these link to education systems and labour markets in general. The programme prepares future HE managers, policy makers, analysts, researchers and consultants.

Objective 3: Prepare students for the challenges by linking knowledge on systems and tools with a global comparative perspective.
The changes described require an understanding of the features and culture of innovation, research and higher education systems and technical knowledge on management tools. Furthermore, it is of major importance to analyze the changes in their regional and national contexts. The partner structure and curriculum of MARIHE will enable the students to understand European values and models, but will also allow global interpretations (e.g. Asia) as well as stimulate university’s co-operations worldwide.  The international character of MARIHE opens a worldwide labour market to MARIHE graduates.

Objective 4: Improvement of research and innovation of HEIs through professional management.
Management as the support environment for excellence and innovation has a key role in the development of the knowledge triangle and a competitive European environment.

MARIHE programme is jointly conducted by the seven partners

• University for Continuing Education Krems/Austria (coordinating institution) - UWK
• Tampere University/Finland - TAU
• Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück/Germany - UASO
• Eötvös Loránd University/Hungary - ELTE
• University of Aveiro/Portugal - UA
• Beijing Normal University/China - BNU
• Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology/India - TIET

Mobility, Specialisations & Degrees1st and 2nd Semester

1st and 2nd Semester

All students of MARIHE will have the same mobility track in the first two semesters:

• 1st Semester: University for Continuing Education Krems / Austria
• 2nd Semester: Tampere University / Finland

First part of the 3rd Semester: Specialization Asia

In the first part of the 3rd semester, students will attend a specialization in Asia. They will be able to choose between:

• Beijing Normal University (China)
• Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (India)

Internship

For the internship, students will be with an institution related to research and innovation in higher education, e.g. MARIHE associated partners. In addition, there will also be the possibility for students to come up with own ideas for their internship placement.

Second part of the 3rd Semester: Specialization Europe

Students can choose from five different specialisation tracks in Europe. They will be able to choose between:

• Tampere University (Finland)
• Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
• University of Continuing Education Krems (Austria)
• Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary)
• University of Aveiro (Portugal)

4th Semester: Master's Thesis

Students can write their master's thesis at one of the seven partners.

Through the mobility scheme in MARIHE, students have:

• access to a variety of expertise (higher education management, policy analysis and higher education consultancy, strong regional expertise in the field of higher education)
• access to different types of institutions of higher education in Europe and Asia (university of applied sciences, traditional university, university for continuing education), which will serve on its own as perfect contextualization for students
• excellent possibilities for internships linked to the field of research and innovation
• authentic contact with different national and cultural contexts, including China and India
• the possibility to learn a variety of languages (major and small languages)
• developing cultural sensitivity and diversity orientation