Academic Collaborations in Asia

No country enjoys a monopoly on the production and transaction of knowledge. Academic collaborations among countries and between institutions have increased in recent decades. The reason seems to be that papers co-authored with international academics are not only cited more often but also have higher impact than single author publications. This article shows that although the Asian countries have a tendency to look westward, academic collaborations among higher education institutions in these countries are on the increase. These have evolved in three distinct but related stages: a) collaborations for national capacity development; b) collaborations as part of the globalisation process; and c) collaborations to enhance academic credibility and national institutions’ global ranking. The article also discusses the emergence of new institutional structures to promote regional collaborations and the role of diaspora in promoting research collaborations in the region.