The role of Canadian universities in the international development: A comparative case study of the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia

This research involved a theoretical and practical exploration of Canadian universities' role in international development in relation to Canada's Official Development Assistance policies.;First, it was evident that the development roles of the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and other Canadian institutions have been greatly influenced by the historical legacy of the first three development decades which were driven by on modernization and human capital theories of development.;Secondly, the source of change in the current development roles of Canadian universities can be attributed to three key factors: the shift from industrial to information-based economies in OECD nations; the demand for increased global competitiveness through applied research and development, and a growing demand for fiscal accountability in higher education.;The direction of change in the universities' development role is witnessed in the growing movement among OECD nations to 'internationalize' higher education. Canadian universities have responded by adopting varying models of internationalization such as the corporate, the liberal-democratic and the social transformation models. Based on the findings of this study, it appears that at an institutional level, the international development activities of the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia fall mainly within the parameters of the corporate and liberal-democratic models of internationalization. The implications of this trend are a decline in institutional partnerships in the Third World and a corresponding decline in student enrollment from these countries, followed by an increase in university/business partnerships and rapid growth in applied research and development initiatives. The likely outcome is the increasing commodification of knowledge for profit. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).