Global Comparison of Excellence Initiatives

Since the end of the 1980s, many countries around the world have been committed to building world-class universitiesWorld-class universities to strengthen their competitivenessCompetitiveness in the global higher educationHigher education market. These excellence initiativesExcellence initiative, initiated by China and a few other countries, have contributed significantly to enhance these countries’ higher education capacity. This chapter focuses on the comparison of excellence initiatives and relevant policies among China and other countries, including highlighting data, excellence indicators, best practices, and relevant national policies. Moreover, it analyzes the latest research and shares inspiring stories about China’s experience in developing academic excellenceAcademic excellence. The quantitative measures of Chinese universities funded by the Double World-Class ProjectDouble World-Class Project have increased significantly, but it has taken them a long time to gain the soft power that matches their world rankings. While global excellence initiativesExcellence initiative tend to integrate with national strategies to develop higher educationHigher education and share same global visions, there are differences in terms of implementation measures or plans among countries that will be explored in this chapter. In the future, excellence initiativesExcellence initiative will place more emphasis on international development as well as the will of the state.