Skills assessment for research grantees of the Higher Education Improvement Project

Abstract

Building the capacity of academic leaders is central to the success of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) globally in an era of increased internationalization and competition. In this context, capacity building is a fundamental approach to increase knowledge, skills, and competence (OECD 2007). For example, universities in China and European Union continually worked to improve the capacity of faculty staff in response to current challenges (Cai and Hölttä, 2014). China and India have become more competitive due to the effectiveness of capacity building programs within their HEIs, increasing standards of knowledge production and innovation (Scott et al., 2008). Zhao and Minns (2019) describe the need for academics at HEIs to prove the impact of their research activities, resulting in greater levels of accountability and return on investment in universities.