Reinventing the teaching-research nexus to foster university education in the twenty-first century

This forum paper first sheds light on the strains on the teaching-research nexus derived from neo-liberal globalisation, neo-nationalism and the impact on higher education (HE). Then, it asserts that the evolving configurations of priority among teaching, research, and transfer activities in HE have resulted in a fragmentation and stratification of roles or identities in academic profession, and essentially rendered the teaching-research nexus to fall apart. One response, the German case of real-world labs, prompts academics to work together with practitioners and engage in problem-based approach to teaching and learning. The China case of initiatives leaning back to reinforcing education and teaching demonstrates an attempt of reverting to the basics in order to reboot universities against the context full of changes and uncertainties. Finally, it attempts to reinvent Clark's 'research-teaching-study nexus' with enriched and upgraded analytical capacity in capturing the complexities and nuances in the new and globalizing contexts.