A Case Study on Education Networks and Brokerage

Abstract

n the context of the development on the educational market – which is especially influenced by an increasing importance of knowledge in society – universities and professors stand the chance to serve existing customer segments better and to develop new business segments. Experiences made in traditional teaching as well as in the field of eLearning and eTeaching facilitate a target group-specific configuration of educational services and offers with academic contents according to the principle of “assembling on demand”. Educational contents and services can be distributed beyond the physical barriers of the university to globally acting target groups and customer segments. Acquired core competencies and approved marketable educational services can be transformed into profits and economic success. Despite these promising market conditions, the active participation of universities on the global education market is insufficient. This chapter describes in terms of a case study different action alternatives, especially but not exclusively, for the German-speaking area, which can put public universities in the position to be able to transfer their compe-tencies to the further education market, which is globalising and increasing in competition, and thus market their competencies. Starting points for a new positioning and the development of a profile in the educational sector are shown by the example of an e-learning network and brokerage model among universities.