Towards an Evaluative Framework: International Cooperation Between Innovative Doctoral Programs in Germany and the United States (Graduiertenkollegs and IGERT Programs)

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

A general assumption exists among funding agencies, faculty, and universities that international exchanges or collaborations are valuable and should be encouraged. However, at the doctoral level, nowhere are the reasons for international collaboration made explicit. The educational and pedagogical goals and the anticipated outcomes are not identified in detail. Moreover, international collaboration is costly in terms of time and money. Is it worth the effort? This proposed research seeks to answer that question. In recent years innovative doctoral programs such as the NSF's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program and the German Research Foundation (DFG) Graduiertenkolleg (Research Training Groups, hereafter abbreviated as GK) program have sought to generate a new breed of scientists. However, there are no clearly defined criteria for success of international collaboration in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at the graduate level. A means of evaluation is needed by organizations such as NSF and DFG. The purpose of this study is two fold: (1) to develop an evaluation design that identifies, analyzes, and assesses the international component of innovative doctoral education programs in the US and Germany; and (2) to undertake a formative evaluation of the past and upcoming year of two pairs of doctoral programs that are presently collaborating with each other in these countries. This study is unique because it emphasizes the international collaboration component of novel doctoral programs, rather interdisciplinarity itself. However, its findings will be valuable to the ongoing research on interdisciplinarity. The proposed study seeks funding for the first phase of a five-year research project that involves two US IGERT and two German GK programs. The outcomes of the proposed study (Phase 1) will be: Evaluation model for assessing international component of innovative doctoral programs Evaluation tools (i.e., survey instrument, interview protocols, focus group protocols, etc.) to be used and tested during phases 2 and 3 Assessment of international collaboration activities (i.e., joint international workshops, international research visits, and lectures) Intellectual Merit Funding organizations, administrators, faculty, and students need a means to evaluate the success of international collaborations at the doctoral level. In order to establish valid criteria for success we need to collect data on explicit expectations for these collaborations as well as on the successful collaborative activities and processes. From the collected data and information criteria for success will be extracted in a deductive manner. The intellectual merit of this proposal is the development and testing of these criteria. In addition, this study provides an ongoing evaluation that will enable direct feedback both to doctoral students as they enter scientific work in a world where global thinking and global contacts are increasingly important, and to faculty as they try to develop dynamic international collaborations that aides their research and their teaching. Broader Impacts The need to move doctoral education in the direction of greater international collaboration is generated by increasing globalization. Globalization will continue to have significant impacts on doctoral education as students continue to cross national borders to gain research skills and establish international research agendas for their careers. More and more doctoral programs (beyond the NSF IGERT and German GK programs) will need to evaluate their international programs to determine whether they measure up to the new challenges that come with globalization. They will need a means to measure success.