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This chapter explores the idea of Masters-level Initial Teacher Education (ITE), beginning by looking at the wider global context which reflects a drive towards increasing Masters-level ITE, but with limited empirical evidence as to its effectiveness and a variety of claims as to its potential impact. It then goes on to examine aspects of the policy context in Scotland that influence a growing move towards increased Masters-level ITE. This is followed by an overview of current practices, identifying three broad approaches: credits in courses, integrated Masters and full Masters. This chapter concludes by suggesting that while the direction of travel is clear, the underpinning rationale is much less so.

The Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria (UP), with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has, for the past six years, offered a fully funded specialized two-year coursework degree at Masters’ level in Information Technology (M.IT degree). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technological and teaching methodologies as well as the unique advantages and challenges of collaboration between four partner institutions on two continents as well as local industry partners and local and international academic and public libraries, in offering a blended learning program to students from six different countries.

The contribution is based on a pragmatic and reflective analysis of the success of the strategic partnerships formed during the M.IT program. The data-gathering instrument used was a questionnaire containing open-ended questions.

Analysis of the comments shows that it is evident that faculty still prefer face-to-face classes. Furthermore, to experience an effective online blended learning, the technology would have to improve. The complicated levels of partnerships were important to provide the necessary expertise for this broad-based program. Lecturers from industries and libraries brought different perspectives based on their day-to-day work and practical experience and, through this, a level of reality as opposed to the theory that can be learnt from textbooks.

This is a descriptive analysis of the program and feedback of co-workers that has not been reported before.

Discusses the results of a telephone survey of course leaders in taught Masters‐level courses in the LIS sector in the UK, which sought to gather information about the role of the course leader and course leaders’ perceptions of that role. A response rate of 62.5 per cent was achieved. The interviews dealt with the duties of the course leader in relation to admissions, the subject content of the course, respondents’ major administrative duties, their role in managing the course and in course evaluation. Respondents were also asked what they saw as being their major successes and where they felt that improvements could be made in their funtioning. Results show that respondents were keen to participate in the survey and had strongly held views on many of the points raised. Concerns related chiefly to lack of resources and time to perform their role ably and effectively. For a number of respondents successes related primarily to interaction with students, while others were proud of achievements in management or administration of the course. There was evidence that respondents felt closely associated with the course. A significant number emphasised not the weight of this responsibility but that their responsibility was not supported by authority or executive power.

This paper aims to demonstrate how science and engineering graduates can be recruited and trained to Masters level in precision engineering as an aid to reducing the skills shortage of mechanical engineers in UK industry.

The paper describes a partnership between three UK academic institutions and industry, creating an Integrated Knowledge Centre (IKC) in Ultra Precision Structured Surfaces. Within this project sits a Knowledge Transfer activity that seeks to channel graduate scientists and engineers through an MSc in “Ultra Precision Technologies” into the UK engineering industry. The creation and implementation of this pipeline, its systems and its processes, is the subject of this paper and its case study.

In order to retain competitive advantage, the UK precision engineering industry requires a regular supply of technically proficient and organizationally prepared graduates. This paper has explained the approach taken at Cranfield University to increase the size of the pool of postgraduate precision engineers. The approach involves the design of a multi‐level system, which draws on increased connectivity between the University, UK engineering companies, and the student. Academic institutions need to exhibit the appropriate flexibility to meet the demands of industry and the aspirations of the student.

The paper describes only the early stages of implementation, and further work is necessary.

The systems model and case studies provide a framework and detail that is of immediate benefit to manufacturing industries and higher education establishments.

The originality of the approach lies in the level of integration between the sub‐systems that comprise the Open system, within which students and skills are forged together in a programme to produce employable engineering postgraduates.

African leaders recognise that development of the continent depends on higher education and research. To that effect, the Africa Union (AU) and New Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) have recommended that 1per cent of GDP by each African state should be spent on Research and Experimental Development (R&D) in order to support peace, stability, better governance and economic growth. However, higher education provision in Africa is mainly for undergraduate students. Postgraduate provision, research and knowledge transfer remain largely under. In the case of Rwanda, Higher Education Policy is very clear that development of the higher education institutions forms the foundation for applying scientific and technology for development. Already in 2010 Rwanda higher education institutions have nearly 1,200 teaching staff with Masters degrees needing PhD training urgently. Training aboard is very costly and just a few can be trained over a long period and contributes to brain drain. Also the enrolment expansion at undergraduate level is imminent requiring massive increases in lecturers with PhD and Masters level qualifications. The National University of Rwanda plans to set‐up large scale PhD programs in 6 disciplines and 3 multidisciplinary themes. The aim is to train in an intensified, diversified and streamlined fashion, future lecturers and researchers who would contribute to filling the skills gaps in Rwanda HE Sector and R&D Institutions. By 2023, it is envisaged that 4,300 Masters, 1,500 PhD and 300 Post Doctoral students will be enrolled at NUR. It is planned that PhD student supervision will be done jointly between NUR staff and the most experienced staff from the external universities. PhD and Post‐doctoral students, local and external supervisors will write joint publications over 60 per cent focusing on solving Rwanda development problems. It is recommended that the government should invest in PhD training and Research from public expenditure and Rwanda Private sector.

This chapter tells the story of the initiation, development (over two decades) and collective contribution of the Copenhagen Forum since its foundation in 1996. This Forum comprises a grouping of teachers and directors of masters-level public administrative programmes (notably the MPA) from different academic institutions across Northern Europe. Each year a workshop is convened where a series of papers are presented by the participants, and from which this volume, and a number of other related publications, have been derived.

The chapter is essentially factual and descriptive in style; summarising the story of the Copenhagen Forum so far; doing so under the following five headings – ‘overview’, ‘origins’, ‘odyssey’, ‘outputs’ and ‘outcomes’.

The chapter is particularly oriented towards teachers of public administration and by focusing on the pedagogical aspects of the public management programmes that they are responsible for delivering, provides insights, guidance and suggestions from experience to help them develop their practice.

The aim is to provide readers with an appreciation of the context from which the inspiration for this volume, and the individual contributions, derive. It is a context that has been all about a shared fascination with, and collective commitment to, the advancement of learning and development among practicing public managers.

The purpose of this paper is to address the research question using qualitative research methods: how and why medically trained managers choose to undertake postgraduate management training?

This research used two qualitative methods to gather data. Both methods used purposeful sampling to select interviewees with appropriate management expertise, qualifications and experience. The first stage utilised convergent interviews and was exploratory. The five interviewees were managers and academics. The second stage used case research methodology and was confirmatory. The fifteen interviewees were medically qualified chief executives and chief medical officers. In total, 20 in-depth interviews were carried. Rigorous content analysis of data collected showed emergent themes.

The first theme that emerged was that doctors move into management positions without first undertaking training. The second theme was that doctors undertake such training in the form of a masters-level degree and/or a specialist fellowship. The third theme was that effective postgraduate management training for doctors requires a combination of theory and practice. The fourth theme was that clinical experience alone does not lead to required management competencies. The fifth theme was that doctors choose to undertake training to gain credibility.

This research was exploratory and descriptive in nature and limited to analytical rather than statistical generalisation.

This research has provided insights into the importance of understanding how and why doctors undertake postgraduate management training, and may assist policy makers and training providers in the development of such training for doctors.

The current study aims to analyze the curriculum of selected knowledge management (KM) programs at universities in the USA, Europe, Australia and Asia within current and historical contexts to understand the scope and nature of the requirements in KM programs. By comparing the results from programs, a baseline understanding of what the overall requirements within these programs has been developed. This may provide benefits for the profession, as this baseline can provide a clearer understanding of the skills and knowledge elements that are present or absent in the current academic programs. In addition to better informing the KM community of what graduates of these programs may know, this information can provide a basis for academic program improvement and, ultimately, better use of KM in professional practice.

The basic approach in this study is a comparative analysis of curriculum in master-level programs in English that are focused on KM. In the current study, historical references to programs in KM were identified through prior research in the topic area. Current programs were identified through standard reference sources. The course titles and program descriptions for current programs are further analyzed using text analytics tools to understand the relationship of topics within and between programs.

The concept of KM as a distinct program of study appears to be stable but the number of programs is declining. The number of new master degree programs in KM has not significantly increased in the past 15 years, whereas many programs have been discontinued or have been reduced to the certificate/diploma level. Of the programs that exist today, we see that a greater variety in home locations of these programs which tend to imply coverage of the field is becoming increasingly diverse in its approach. Overall, it appears that the KM programs are moving toward transformation or integration with allied fields.

There has been very limited study of the curriculum within KM programs. Most of the research performed dates from 2010 or earlier. The current study adds a unique contribution to the literature by looking at earlier iterations of KM programs and compares those to the current state of the curriculum in KM programs and their successor programs in an attempt to understand how the field may be developing and changing.

In the UK, Masters level discipline-specific courses in sustainability integrate modules on the social, economic, and environmental issues of sustainable development. The postgraduate faculty teaching on these courses and the student cohorts enrolling in such courses bring varying attitudes, experiences, and beliefs to the ecological and anthropological discourses and practices about sustainable development. Existing studies of education for sustainable development (ESD) have identified strengths and weaknesses in the knowledge and attitudes of students and faculty although few studies have focused on postgraduate cohorts and fewer still have attempted to compare and contrast students and lecturers. This mixed method case study analyses findings from data collected (2016–2017) from student surveys (n = 121) and semi-structured interviews with faculty (n = 21) recruited from multiple university departments, centers, and programs (n = 12) to identify prevailing anthropocentric and eco-centric ideas and rationales about sustainable development and ESD. Findings suggest a strong orientation to mainstream sustainable development in both groups but analysis identifies reasons for resisting a focus on extremes of “deep green” or “green wash” approaches. In addition, prevailing belief in academic neutrality, institutional and disciplinary factors, student pragmatism, and other drivers are highlighted. The study concludes by identifying potential paths from prevailing (experiential) education in sustainable development to more transformational approaches.

Uniquely among the built-environment professions in the country, professional valuers in South Africa until recently did not require to have a university degree. The vast majority of professional valuers therefore, especially at senior levels, hold the national diploma as the highest academic qualification. There is evidence to suggest that many regard this state of affairs as unsatisfactory. Given the foregoing, the purpose of this paper is to answer two interrelated questions, first, whether South African trained and educated valuers were “competent” and met industry standards, and, second, whether the South African valuation curriculum met international norms.

Empirical data for the study were obtained by way of a survey of valuers registered on the South African Council of the Property Valuers Profession (SACPVP) database and a case study of the University of Cape Town’s valuation curriculum. The survey involved the mailing of an online questionnaire, using the “Survey Monkey platform”, to 2,062 individuals, representing the total population of valuers registered with the SACPVP, across all registration categories. A total of 324 individuals, or 15.7 per cent of the target population, responded to the survey.

Results from the study on the first question showed that it was professional status and length of experience, rather than academic qualifications, which correlated with competence. In addition, the results suggest that there are grounds for concern regarding proficiency in at least some of the valuation methods across the board. Further, the study revealed significant levels of dissatisfaction amongst employers with the general competence of valuers under their supervision. On the second question, the study concludes that the South African valuation curriculum did not meet international norms in terms of certain criteria.

The paper recommends a review of the South African valuation curriculum; to allow for a differentiation between the different academic levels, to facilitate a more conceptual approach at the higher levels, and to close the identified gaps in knowledge and skill-sets arising from both a deficient curriculum and a changing industry landscape.

At a time when attempts are being made to improve standards in the South African valuation profession, the study makes a critical contribution, by identifying areas where the national curriculum is deficient, both in terms of industry requirements and relative to international norms.