FACILITATING INTERNATIONALISATION IN REAL ESTATE and SURVEYING EDUCATION, THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION

Development of institutional cooperation with international partners is not only in response to demand but in part due to necessity to increase revenue and status of academic institutions. This is particularly true in the new university sector, where teaching subjects relevant to the needs of the professions such as Property Studies, is the priority of the academic staff and the main source of income. Thus the traditional method of raising income,research, is more difficult, whereas offering educational consultancy and teaching services is somewhat easier. This paper examines the emergent approach of cooperation to compete in education and programme delivery. An approach that is still not well understood but fast developing, where the new universities are realising synergies in instruction and programming provision through deliberate cooperation with other institutions, nationally as well as abroad. It is argued that multiple drivers are responsible for international institutional cooperation in a cumulative way, so as to forge inter-institutional collaboration, whereby the different partners may pursue different priorities and motives to their mutual advantage. These drivers are examined together with EU initiatives. Three case studies are part of the analysis. Two have been successfully running for some years and another was recently created. All are very different in type, but are linked to the professional areas of real estate, urban planning, construction and management. It is established that the leitmotif for success, is a high level of cooperation between individuals, between the institutions, plus institutional support. The programmes realise synergies and innovation in instruction and programme provision both within the international programmes and institutional programmes. (eg.International Property Studies) Internationalisation of programmes is extremely attractive to students. It offers them an education in both national and global competencies, making them unique and enabling them to compete for the most lucrative positions in the world market place.