Title: Reforming a national university to meet the development needs of a smaller developing country: lessons from the international community

Authors: Stafford A. Griffith

Addresses: Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica

Abstract: The role of a university in national development is considered in this article. The article considers how the University of Guyana, as an institution in a small developing country, can learn from the international community of researchers in higher education and from the experiences of other universities, primarily those in developing countries, as it seeks to strengthen its role in national development. The article highlights a number of specific areas in which action must be taken to transform the University of Guyana to serve the role reasonably expected of it. These actions include: making research and knowledge generation a major focus of the university; emphasising the development and delivery of programmes to meet human capital needs; reimaging the university to raise its profile as a place for an education that is fit for the purpose of personal and national development; and establishing an appropriate governance structure.

Keywords: University of Guyana; reforms; national development; human capital development; developing countries; university governance; university reimaging; environmentally green institution; research university; rebranding.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHES.2017.088018

International Journal of Higher Education and Sustainability, 2017 Vol.1 No.3, pp.256 - 273

Received: 15 Feb 2017
Accepted: 29 May 2017
Published online: 14 Nov 2017 *

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