This is the first cross-national study on the research mission of higher education institutions outside the university sector. The study assesses the challenges and opportunities for these colleges, and provides key information to aid their development.

Even if in most countries non-university higher education institutions did not have originally a research mandate, it is well known that in most cases these institutions have progressively developed research activities and, at least in some countries, the State now has recognized the research role of these institutions and provided support and funding. Moreover, in many countries the role of research in polytechnics, 'fachhochschulen', 'hogescholen', university colleges, etc is on the political agenda. Despite the importance of the issue, there are very few in-depth studies of research in the non-university sector. These studies show that the development of research in these institutions leads to quite complex interactions with universities, both in the sense of convergence (academic drift) and/or of differentiation of a specific research mandate oriented towards the regional economy. Therefore, this book aims to fill this gap by first analysing a number of transversal issues related to the research mission of these institutions. In its second part it gives an overview of the state of the art in eight European countries.

Inhalt
Research in Higher Education Institutions Outside the University Sector.- Thematic Studies.- The Regional Relevance of Research in Universities of Applied Sciences.- The Relevance of Research for the Improvement of Education and Professional Practice.- Funding for Which Mission? Changes and Ambiguities in the Funding of Universities of Applied Sciences and Their Research Activities.- Transforming Academic Practice: Human Resource Challenges.- National Case Studies.- Research in University Colleges in Belgium.- Czech Republic: Research Required but Not Supported.- 'We Are a Training and Development Organisation' Research and Development in Finnish Polytechnics.- The Role of Research in German Universities of Applied Sciences.- Ireland: The Challenges of Building Research in a Binary Higher Education Culture.- Practice-Oriented Research: The Extended Function of Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences.- Norway: Strong State Support of Research in University Colleges.- Striving for Differentiation: Ambiguities of the Applied Research Mandate in Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences.- Conclusion.- Sitting in the Middle: Tensions and Dynamics of Research in UASs.