Résultat d’un accord de coopération intergouvernemental passé entre les ministres de l’enseignement de quatre pays réunis à la Sorbonne en 1998, le processus de Bologne n’est pas resté longtemps sous le contrôle des seuls États. En 2001, les ministres ont créé un groupe de suivi composé des représentants des pays membres du processus et de la Commission européenne, de l’EUA (association des universités européennes), de l’EURASHE (association européenne des établissements d’enseignement supérieur), de l’ESIB (union des associations étudiantes nationales) et du Conseil de l’Europe, ces quatre derniers bénéficiant d’un statut temporaire et de membre consultatif. Depuis 2001, la Commission européenne joue un rôle central dans le processus de Bologne, à côté d’organisations d’acteurs qui se voient forcées de discuter de sujets qui les ont précédemment divisés et qui modifient leurs relations au niveau national. Depuis 2005, la Commission a le droit de voter dans un processus d’européanisation lancé dans un domaine qui reste de compétence nationale. Elle a ainsi pu orienter la réforme des universités, veut définir la bonne institution, la bonne science et le bon enseignement.Cette thèse s’intéresse au mécanisme de prise de décision du processus de Bologne. Elle analyse les réseaux qui constituent le nouvel espace sociopolitique dans l’enseignement supérieur, les tactiques développées par ses acteurs. Elle retrace les actions qui ont été déployées par la Commission européenne pour pouvoir intégrer le processus de Bologne et contrôler les politiques du supérieur. Cette thèse prend ses supports théoriques dans les travaux de Foucault (et ses concepts de dispositif, de gouvernementalité, de rapport pouvoir/savoir, de régime de vérité) et dans la théorie de l’acteur-réseau de Callon et Latour (avec les concepts du processus de traduction). Les supports théoriques secondaires proviennent des travaux de Boltanski et Thévenot, de Kingdon, de l’institutionnalisme.L’argument de cette thèse est qu’en 1998, le ministre français Claude Allègre (initiateur du processus) a activé un "dispositif européen de l’enseignement supérieur", qui a été progressivement orienté par la Commission européenne. Avec les concepts de la sociologie de la traduction, ce travail décrit les différentes étapes qui ont permis à la Commission de devenir le "macroacteur" ou l’"acteur-réseau" du processus de Bologne. / As the result of an intergovernmental agreement of cooperation between the ministers of higher education of four states at the Sorbonne in 1998, the Bologna process was initially steered by the representatives of the states. Its initiator, the French minister Claude Allègre, had explicitly excluded the European Commission from the exclusive club of the initiators of the process. The Bologna process to create a "European Higher Education Area" did not remain for long under the control of the states alone. In 2001, at the summit of Prague, the ministers created a follow-up group composed by the representatives of the states and the European Commission, to which was added the EUA (European University Association), the EURASHE (European Association of Institutions of Higher Education), the ESIB (National Unions of Students in Europe) and the Council of Europe. Since 2001, the European Commission plays a central role in the Bologna process, alongside actor’s organizations who see themselves forced to discuss issues that had previously divided them and to modify their relationships at a national level. Since 2005, the Commission has the right to vote in the follow-up group of the Bologna process, in a Europeanization process in a field of national competence. The Commission has oriented the reform of the university, would like to define the good institution (with European Institute of Technology as model) and the good science (with the European Research Council). The Commission promotes its "knowledge triangle" composed by education, research and innovation.This thesis focuses on the decision making mechanism of the Bologna process. It analyses the networks that constitute the new sociopolitical area in higher education, the strategies and the tactics developed by its actors. Moreover, this thesis analyzes the actions of the European Commission to integrate the Bologna process and to control higher education policies. This thesis takes its theoretical support on Foucault’s work (especially concept of device, governmentality, knowledge/power report, regime of truth) and on the Actor-network theory from Callon and Latour (with some of the concept of translation process). Some second theoretical support comes from the work of Boltanski and Thevenot, Kingdon (with policy entrepreneurs), the institutionalism (with Morpey and Huisman).The argument of this thesis is that Allègre has activated a "European device of higher education" in 1998, a device progressively oriented by the European Commission. With the concept of translation sociology, this work describes the different stage traversed by the European Commission to become the "macroactor" or the "actor-network" of the Bologna process.

Le printemps érable de 2012 et l'hiver chilien (Invierno chileno en espagnol) de 2011 ont commencé comme de « simples » manifestations étudiantes contestant des augmentations de frais de scolarité et le manque d'accessibilité à l'enseignement supérieur. Après des semaines de mobilisation, ils sont devenus des coalitions contestataires qui ont critiqué la marchandisation des droits sociaux et la démocratie restreinte, tout en proposant des solutions de rechange. Basée sur un dialogue entre ces deux cas, cette recherche montre comment, malgré des différences marquées entre les sociétés chilienne et québécoise, les mouvements ont partagé des similitudes dans leurs tactiques et leurs stratégies d'action collective. Dans un cas comme dans l'autre, l'élargissement de ces mouvements n'a pas eu lieu par hasard : les organisations étudiantes ont appris des expériences passées et elles ont préparé le terrain avant que les mouvements ne soient visibles dans la sphère publique, notamment en tissant des liens avec le mouvement syndical et des organisations de la société civile. Un facteur du succès a été l'élaboration soignée des stratégies de communication et des pratiques de cadrage (framing) par les organisations étudiantes. Enfin, le mépris de leurs gouvernements respectifs et la répression policière à laquelle les mouvements ont été confrontés ont renforcé leur détermination et leur positionnement dans l'opinion publique. Ces coalitions larges ont suscité un débat public au Chili et au Québec à propos du droit à l'éducation, des droits sociaux et de la notion même de démocratie. Il y a eu des impacts à court terme concernant les politiques publiques d'éducation et des impacts à long terme sur l'échiquier politique avec l'émergence et la consolidation de nouveaux projets politiques générationnels. Mots-clés : Mouvement étudiant ; Printemps érable ; Hiver chilien ; Chili ; Québec ; coalitions contestataires. / The 2012 Quebec Maple Spring (printemps érable, in French) and the 2011 Chilean Winter (Invierno chileno, in Spanish) began as 'simple' demonstrations of students contesting tuition-fee increases and lack of accessibility to higher education. After weeks of mobilization, they became broad social movement coalitions that criticized the commodification of social rights and a restricted democracy, while proposing alternatives. Based on a dialogue between these two cases, this research illustrates how, despite marked differences between Chilean and Quebec societies, the movements nevertheless shared similarities in their collective action tactics and strategies. In both cases, the explosion of these movements was not happenstance: student organizations learnt from prior experiences and prepared the ground to make visible their movements in the public sphere by forging links with the trade unions and civil society organizations. The careful communications strategies and framing developed by student organizations successfully linked various social actors to the mobilization. Finally, government contempt and police repression faced by the movements proved to strengthen their resolve and their plight in public opinion. These broad social movement coalitions have sparked public debate in Chile and Quebec about the right to education, social rights and the very notion of democracy. There have been short-term impacts on public education policies and long-term impacts on the political spectrum with the emergence and consolidation of new generational political projects. Keywords: Student movement; Maple Spring; Chilean Winter; Quebec; Chile; Social movement coalitions. / La Primavera de Arce (printemps érable, en francés) de Quebec, en 2012 y el Invierno chileno de 2011 comenzaron como "simples" manifestaciones de estudiantes que desafiaban los aumentos de los aranceles universitarios y la falta de acceso a la educación superior. Después de semanas de movilización, se convirtieron en coaliciones amplias de movimientos sociales que criticaron la mercantilización de los derechos sociales y la democracia limitada, al tiempo que proponían alternativas. Esta investigación, basada en un diálogo entre estos dos casos, ilustra cómo, a pesar de las marcadas diferencias entre las sociedades chilena y quebequense, los movimientos compartieron similitudes en sus tácticas y estrategias de acción colectiva. Tanto en un caso como en el otro, la expansión de estos movimientos no sucedió por casualidad: las organizaciones estudiantiles aprendieron de experiencias pasadas y prepararon el terreno para que el movimiento fuera visible en la esfera pública, en particular mediante la creación de vínculos con sindicatos y organizaciones de la sociedad civil. Un factor de éxito de lo anterior, lo constituyó el desarrollo cuidadoso de estrategias de comunicación por parte de las organizaciones estudiantiles. De este modo, la formulación de los mensajes permitió vincular a diversos actores sociales con la movilización. Finalmente, el desprecio de sus respectivos gobiernos y la represión policial que enfrentaron los movimientos, reforzaron su determinación y su posicionamiento en la opinión pública. Estas coaliciones de movimientos sociales provocaron un debate público en Chile y en Quebec sobre el derecho a la educación, los derechos sociales y la noción misma de democracia. Se produjeron impactos a corto plazo en las políticas de educación pública e impactos a largo plazo en el espectro político con el surgimiento y la consolidación de nuevos proyectos políticos generacionales. Palabras clave: movimiento estudiantil; Printemps Érable; Invierno chileno; Chile; Quebec; coaliciones de movimientos sociales.

Cette thèse étudie le rôle joué par le mythe de l’anglais, langue universelle dans le cadrage du débat sur l’enseignement intensif de l’anglais au Québec, une problématique liée à l’enjeu sociopolitique de la question linguistique au Québec. Les théories du cadrage suggèrent que les différentes catégories d’acteurs (politiques, médiatiques et citoyens) « cadrent » les évènements en privilégiant certaines définitions des enjeux sociaux, influençant ensuite les perceptions qu’ont les individus de ces enjeux. Toutefois, pour être efficaces et mobilisateurs, les cadres doivent parvenir à « toucher une corde sensible ». Ils doivent faire écho à certains mythes ou récits historiques culturellement partagés (Snow et Benford, 1988). Or, du fait de son hégémonie à travers le monde, des chercheurs qualifient de « mythe » le discours qui fait de l’anglais la langue universelle et affirment qu’il joue un rôle stratégique dans le cadrage des enjeux linguistiques à travers le monde. Considérant le contexte sociolinguistique unique du Québec, où le français et l’anglais cohabitent et se concurrencent depuis longtemps, on peut se demander comment ce mythe influe sur la manière de cadrer ces enjeux. Dans certains débats entourant l’enseignement de l’anglais au Québec, on observe une tension entre deux manières de cadrer l’anglais : certains le décrivent comme une « clé d’ouverture sur le monde », promesse de réussite individuelle et de mobilité socioéconomique ; d’autres, au contraire, le voient comme la « langue de Lord Durham », une langue dominatrice dont l’expansion, particulièrement dans le contexte québécois, menace la langue française et le sentiment identitaire. La thèse porte plus précisément sur le cadrage du débat public ayant entouré l’annonce d’une mesure d’enseignement intensif de l’anglais, entre février 2011 et 2015. Elle pose la question du rôle joué par le mythe de l’anglais, langue universelle dans ce débat. Réalisée selon un devis méthodologique mixte en trois phases, la recherche débute par une enquête historique qui trace la généalogie des cadres ayant balisé les débats sur l’enseignement de l’anglais au Québec. Dans un second temps, une analyse qualitative permet de répertorier et de décrire les mécanismes de cadrage et de raisonnement qui composent les différents cadres. Enfin, une analyse quantitative de contenu automatisée permet de valider leur présence sur un plus vaste échantillon de textes et de mesurer l’ampleur de leur mobilisation. Les résultats soulignent, d’une part, la nature centrale et polarisante de l’enjeu de l’enseignement de l’anglais dans l’histoire québécoise et montrent qu’il constitue le terrain d’un affrontement idéologique dont la signification le dépasse. Si l’on constate une faible dominance du métacadre globalisant, on voit que cette perspective instrumentale et universalisante n’est pas le propre des récents débats, mais qu’elle s’exprime tout au long de la trame historique québécoise. La thèse permet également de constater la force et la résilience du métacadre nationalisant, particulièrement chez les acteurs citoyens, cela même si l’on observe les signes d’un déclin du mythe de l’anglais, langue de Lord Durham. Enfin, elle montre que, dans le débat québécois sur l’enseignement de l’anglais, le mythe de l’anglais, langue universelle procure un effet de résonance culturelle aux cadres qui le mobilisent. Il permet aux acteurs d’ancrer leur argumentaire dans un récit historique largement partagé et véhicule un certain éthos communicationnel. Il fournit ainsi une grille d’évaluation morale de l’enjeu qui permet de légitimer la position dominante de l’anglais dans le monde et, par le fait même, de justifier l’adoption de politiques favorisant son enseignement. Enfin, la thèse répond au besoin, soulevé par certains chercheurs, d'études qui prennent en compte les dimensions culturelle, sociopolitique et idéologique du processus de cadrage (Oliver et Johnston, 2000). Elle contribue de plus à une meilleure compréhension du rôle des mythes dans ce processus et met en lumière les dynamiques de pouvoir qui concourent à l’émergence, à la montée en puissance, puis à la dominance de certains cadres. En outre, la thèse contribue à éclairer la manière dont se construit et s’articule localement le discours sur l’anglais comme langue mondiale. En combinant de façon unique certains concepts et méthodes d’horizons divers, l’approche méthodologique mixte privilégiée permet ainsi de poser un regard multidimensionnel sur un phénomène complexe et difficile à cerner. / This dissertation studies the role played by the Myth of English as the global language in framing the debate on the intensive teaching of English in Quebec; a notion closely related to Quebec's language issue. Framing theories suggest that different actors (political, media and citizens) "frame" events by favoring certain definitions of social issues, which later influence how individuals perceive these issues. However, to be effective and mobilizing, frames must “strike a chord”. They must resonate culturally with shared historical narratives or myths (Snow and Benford, 1988). In this sense, due to its hegemony around the world, some researchers describe the discourse that constructs English as the universal language as a "myth". They also suggest that this myth plays a strategic role in framing linguistic issues around the world. In the unique sociolinguistic context of Quebec, where the French and English languages have coexisted and competed for a long time, we may wonder how this myth influences the framing of linguistic issues. In some debates surrounding the teaching of English in Quebec, we do observe a tension between two ways of framing English: some describe it as a “key to opening up to the world”, a promise of individual success and social mobility; on the other hand, others see it as the "language of Lord Durham", a dominating language whose expansion, particularly in the Quebec context, threatens the French language and the feeling of collective identity. The dissertation focuses on the framing of the public debate surrounding the announcement of a mandatory intensive English program policy, between February 2011 and 2015 in Quebec. It raises the question of the role played by the Myth of English as the global language in this debate. Using a three-phase mixed methods research design, the dissertation begins with a historical survey tracing the genesis of the frames and myths emerging from different public debates on the teaching of English. In a second step, a qualitative analysis allows us to list the different frames and describe framing and reasoning devices that compose them. Finally, a quantitative automated content analysis of documents from sources involved in the debate helps validate and measure the frames’ presence in this public debate. The results underline the central and polarizing nature of the issue of the teaching of English as a second language in Quebec history and show that it represent a terrain for a long-lasting ideological struggle. We observe a weak dominance of the globalizing master frame and we also note that this instrumental and universalizing perspective is not specific to recent debates, but that it is rather expressed throughout Quebec's history. The study also shows the strength and resilience of the nationalizing master frame, particularly among citizens involved in the debate, even though we observe signs of a decline of the myth of English as Lord Durham’s language. Finally, it shows that, in the Quebec debate on the teaching of English, the myth of English as the global language, provides a cultural resonance effect to the frames which mobilizes it. It allows actors to anchor their arguments in a widely shared historical narrative and conveys a certain communication ethos. It thus provides a moral evaluation grid of the issue which makes it possible to legitimize the dominant position of English in the world and, by the same token, to justify the adoption of policies favoring its teaching. The thesis responds to the need, raised by some researchers, for studies that take into account the cultural, socio-political and ideological dimensions of the framing process (Oliver and Johnston, 2000). It also contributes to a better understanding of the role of myths in this process and highlights the power dynamics that contribute to the emergence, the rise in power, and then the dominance of certain frames. In addition, the thesis helps to shed light on the understanding of how discourse on English as the global language is constructed and articulated locally. By uniquely combining certain concepts and methods from various research traditions, the favored mixed methodological approach offers a multidimensional look to the complex phenomenon of framing and helps to better understand its process.

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2014

National innovative performance is a key driver for sustainable growth (Pavitt, 1980). National innovative capacity may be improved by fostering industrial Research and Development (R&D), by funding academic research and by effectively supporting university-industry interactions in order to strengthen the linkage between R&D and product development. In a context of growing relevance of external sources of innovation, where the industry, rather than relying on internal R&D, increasingly engages in ‘open innovation’ (Chesbrough, 2006), the role played by universities is crucial. The essays presented in this thesis focus mainly on academic R&D and knowledge transfer mechanisms from the university viewpoint, as opposed to government or industry perspectives. These essays contribute to our understanding of how universities organise themselves to adapt to this changing context. In other words, the thesis looks at the ‘reflexivity’ norm of the system associated with the entrepreneurial university, as established by Etzkowitz (2004); or “a continuing renovation of the internal structure of the university as its relation to industry and government changes, and of industry and government as their relationship to the university is revised”. <p>Universities play a major role in the national innovative capacity of a country as producers and transmitters of new knowledge (see for instance, Adams, 1990; Mansfield, 1991; Klevorick et al. 1995; Zucker et al. 1998; Cohen et al. 2002; Arundel and Geuna, 2004; Guellec and van Pottelsberghe, 2004). While European countries play a leading global role in terms of scientific output, they lag behind in the ability to convert this strength into wealth-generating innovations (this is known as the ‘European paradox’, see for instance Tijssen and van Wijk, 1999; and Dosi et al. 2005). This level of innovation may be improved by different factors; for instance, by fostering an entrepreneurial culture, or by increasing industry’s willingness to develop new products, new processes. One of these factors relies on the notion of an ‘entrepreneurial university’. Universities, in addition to the two traditional missions of research and teaching, foster their third mission of contribution to society, by improving the transfer of knowledge to the industry. New tools and regulations have been established to support universities in this process. Since the early 80’s, academic technology transfer offices (TTOs) have been created, dedicated employees have been trained and hired, incubators for the launch of new academic ventures have been set up, academic or independent pre-seed investment funds have been founded and laws related to the ownerships by university of their invented-patents have been promulgated. <p>But what exactly stands behind the notion of ‘entrepreneurial university’? There exist more different descriptions of a similar concept or of a similar evolution than a general agreed definition. Indeed, "(…) There is high heterogeneity, there is no such thing as a typical university, and there is no typical way to be or become an entrepreneurial university" (Martinelli et al. 2008, p.260). However some similar patterns of what is or should be an entrepreneurial university may be identified.<p>First, there is this notion of a revolution experienced by universities that now have to integrate a third mission of contributing to economic development aside of their traditional academic missions. “(…) But in the most advanced segments of the worldwide university system, a ‘second revolution’ takes off. The entrepreneurial university integrates economic development into the university as an academic function along with teaching and research. It is this ‘capitalisation of knowledge’ that is the heart of a new mission for the university, linking universities to users of knowledge more tightly and establishing the university as an economic actor in its own right” (Etzkowitz, 1998, p.833). <p>This revolution finds its origin in a necessary adaptation of universities to an external changing environment where modern societies put a strong emphasis on knowledge. “The concept of the entrepreneurial university envisions an academic structure and function that is revised through the alignment of economic development with research and teaching as academic missions. The transformation of academia from a ‘secondary’ to a ‘primary’ institution is a heretofore unexpected outcome of the institutional development of modern society (Mills, 1958). In consequence, the knowledge industry in modern societies is no longer a minor affair run by an intellectual elite, an activity that might be considered by pragmatic leaders as expendable; it is a mammoth enterprise on a par with heavy industry, and just as necessary to the country in which it is situated (Graham, 1998, p.129)”, quoted by Etzkowitz et al. (2000, p.329).<p>The notion of an ‘entrepreneurial university’ also exceeds the simple idea of the protection of academic intellectual property by patents owned by universities and their out-licensing as well as the launch of new ventures. It encompasses an overall change of how the university is organised. “In the gruesome and heady world of changing external environments, organizations – including universities – will need to seek opportunities beyond their existing competences (Hamel and Prahalad, 1989, 1994), which suggests the need for an entrepreneurial orientation (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996)”, quoted by Glassman et al. (2003, p.356). This entrepreneurial orientation will only be possible if the overall organisation of the university changes. “An entrepreneurial university, on its own, actively seeks to innovate how it goes about its business. It seeks to work out a substantial shift in organizational character so as to arrive at a more promising posture for the future. Entrepreneurial universities seek to become 'stand-up' universities that are significant actors on their own terms” (Clark, 1998, p.4). <p>The notion of entrepreneurial university also encompasses the concept of academic entrepreneurship in its broad sense. For a university to become entrepreneurial, individual academics also have to adapt and to behave in an entrepreneurial way. This concept is not solely conceived here as the launching of new ventures by academics (a view embraced by Shane, 2004, for instance). It relates more to the view of Stevenson, Roberts and Grousbeck (1989), referenced by Glassman et al. (2003, p.354) or “the process of creating and seizing an opportunity and pursuing it to create something of value regardless of current available resources.”<p>The difficulty facing universities is then to adapt to their external environment while preserving the integrity of their two traditional academic missions. However, some conceive this challenge as precisely an ability that characterise the very intrinsic university’s nature. "The uniqueness of the university,(…) lies in its protean capacity to change its shape and function to suit its temporal and sociopolitical environment while retaining enough continuity to deserve its unchanging name” (Perkin, 1984, p.18). <p>Furthermore, others perceive this challenge as a tension that has always been at the root of the university’s character. “The cherished view of some academics that higher education started out on the Acropolis of scholarship and was desecrated by descent into the Agora of materialistic pursuit led by ungodly commercial interests and scheming public officials and venal academic leaders is just not true for the university systems that have developed at least since 1200 A.D. If anything, higher education started in the Agora, the market place, at the bottom of the hill and ascended to the Acropolis on the top of the hill… Mostly it has lived in tension, at one and the same time at the bottom of the hill, at the top of the hill, and on many paths in between” (Kerr, 1988, p.4; quoted by Glassman, 2003, p.353).<p>Nevertheless, it appears that some institutions, the ones integrating the best their different missions and being the most ‘complete’ in terms of the activities they perform, will be better positioned to overcome this second revolution than other institutions. “Since science-based innovations increasingly have a multidisciplinary character and build on "difficult-to-codify" people-centred interactions, university-based systems of industry science links, which combine basic and applied research with a broader education mission, are seen as enjoying a comparative advantage relative to research institutes” (OECD, 2001 quoted by Debackere and Veugeleers, 2005, p.324). Or as stated by Geuna (1998, p.266), in his analysis of the way the different historical trajectories of European universities are influencing their ability to adapt to the current changing environment, “ (…) the renowned institutions of Cluster IV (pre-war institutions, large in size, with high research output and productivity) are in a strong position both scientifically and politically, and can exercise bargaining power in their relations with government and industry. (…) On the other side, universities in the other two clusters (new postwar universities, characterised by small size, low research output and low research orientation and productivity, whether involved in technological research or in teaching), with very low research grants from government, are pushed to rely more heavily on industrial funding. Being in a weak financial position, they may find themselves in an asymmetric bargaining relationship with industry that they may be unable to manage effectively.”<p>To summarize, one could attempt to define the broad notion of an ‘entrepreneurial university’ as follows. An entrepreneurial university is a university that adapts to the current changing environment that puts a stronger emphasis on knowledge, by properly integrating the third mission or the capitalisation of knowledge aside of its two traditional missions. This adaptation requires a radical change in the way the university is organised. It will require important strategic reorientation from the top but also, and mainly, it will require from the individual academics to better seize new opportunities to generate value (not only financial but also scientific or academic) given scarcer resources. Renowned and complete universities (with teaching, basic and applied research) have an edge over other institutions to overcome this second revolution.<p>This notion of ‘entrepreneurial university’ has drawn criticisms. For example, academics’ interactions with industry could impact negatively on research activities by reorienting fundamental research towards more applied research projects (Cohen and Randazzese, 1996; David, 2000), by restricting academic freedom (Cohen et al. 1994; Blumenthal et al. 1996; Blumenthal et al. 1997), or by potentially reducing scientific productivity (see for instance van Zeebroeck et al. 2008 for a review on this issue). The present work does not address the issue of the impact of increased interactions with the business sector on traditional academic missions nor the question of whether universities should become entrepreneurial or not. Instead, the essays start from the idea that the ‘entrepreneurial university’ notion is part of the intrinsic nature of modern universities, or at least, is a part of its evolution. Industry-university relationships are not a new phenomenon; it can be traced at least to the mid- to late-1800s in Europe and to at least the industrial revolution in the USA (Hall et al. 2001). What is evolving is the nature of such relationships that become more formal. The present analysis starts then from the general observation that some universities (and researchers) are more entrepreneurially-oriented and better accept this mission than others. From that stems the primary research question addressed in this thesis: are there characteristics or conditions leading to a smooth coexistence of traditional and new academic missions inside an entrepreneurial university? And if so, what are they?<p>Existing work on the entrepreneurial university is a nascent but already well developed field of research. The aimed contribution of this thesis is to analyse the topic under three specific but complementary angles. These three perspectives are explored into the four main chapters of this work, structured as follows. Chapter 1 is titled “Turning science into business: A case study of a traditional European research university”. It introduces the topic by investigating the dynamics at play that may explain the propensity of a traditional, research-oriented university to start generate entrepreneurial outputs, while being not full-fledge entrepreneurially organised. Exploring the importance of “new” entrepreneurial outputs, as defined as patents and spin-off companies, compared to other ways of transferring new knowledge to the industry, Chapter 2 reviews the literature on the variety of knowledge transfer mechanisms (KTMs) used in university-industry interactions. It is titled “University-Industry interactions and knowledge transfer mechanisms: a critical survey”. Given scarcer structural funds for academic research and increasing pressure on academics to diversify their activities in terms of being involved in patenting or spin-off launching, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 investigate the role played by individual characteristics of researchers in attracting competitive, external funding. Chapter 3 presents stylised facts related to external fundraising at ULB and characteristics of researchers who attracted these funds over the period 1998-2008. The empirical analysis on associations between individual characteristics of researchers (intrinsic, scientific and entrepreneurial) and the extent of funds attracted from different sources (national, regional and business) is presented in Chapter 4, titled “The determinants of academic fundraising.” Chapter 5 concludes and suggests ideas for future investigation on this topic. Chapter 6, in appendix of the present work, titled “A note on the drivers of R&D intensity”, is not directly linked to the issue of the entrepreneurial university. It has been included to complement the studied topic and to put in perspective the present work. Academic research and university-industry interactions constitute important drivers of a national R&D and innovation system. Other factors are at play as well. Looking at this issue at the macroeconomic level, Chapter 6 investigates to what extent the industrial structure of a country influences the observed R&D intensity, and hence would bias the well-known country rankings based on aggregate R&D intensity.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Tout au long de ce texte, nous inclurons systématiquement le genre féminin lorsque nous parlerons des étudiants ou des diplômés universitaires gabonais afin de nous faciliter la lecture et la rédaction de cette thèse de doctorat. Ceci étant précisé, les études menées par plusieurs chercheurs concourent à dire que le monde de l'éducation est en perpétuel changement. À cause de cela, les gouvernements qui sont propriétaires de politiques publiques, ainsi que les gestionnaires de celles-ci se doivent constamment d'évaluer les différents aspects de leurs politiques pour s'assurer qu'elles répondent toujours efficacement aux besoins de leurs bénéficiaires. Ce souci a justement constitué le soubassement de la présente étude qui se veut être un miroir des limites qui animent la plupart des politiques d'éducation en Afrique au sud du Sahara, à l'exemple de la gestion de la politique d'attribution des bourses d'études du Gabon. Néanmoins, il faut spécifier que malgré les carences des politiques d'éducation des pays africains, il ressort que le Gabon, pays d'Afrique centrale, se distingue fort bien des autres pays du continent africain à travers la mise en œuvre de sa politique de financement des études supérieures. Les aspects de celle-ci font même l'envie de plusieurs pays occidentaux. C'est donc ajuste titre qu'aujourd'hui on peut dire que la politique d'attribution des bourses d'études du gouvernement gabonais constitue en soi une particularité puisque bon nombre de pays, en Afrique tout comme en Europe, ont dû abolir leur politique d'attribution des bourses d'études à cause de leurs contraintes budgétaires. En effet, l'accumulation de nombreux déficits budgétaires ont forcé la plupart des pays à travers le monde à mettre en place un système de prêts de capitaux à l'intention des étudiants qui désirent poursuivre leurs études universitaires, et ce, en supprimant leur système d'attribution des bourses d'études. Bien que tous les étudiants bénéficiaires de la politique d'attribution des bourses d'études du gouvernement gabonais reconnaissent que celle-ci présente de nombreux avantages, il semble que ces derniers formulent de plus en plus des critiques à son endroit. En effet, les diplômés universitaires et anciens bénéficiaires de la dite politique se plaignent de l'inefficacité de cette politique et du mandat actuel de gestion de la Direction générale des Bourses et Stages (D.G.B.S.) qui ne facilitent pas leurs démarches d'insertion socioprofessionnelle. Cette étude a donc consisté à confronter les différentes perceptions des bénéficiaires, des propriétaires et des gestionnaires de la politique d'attribution des bourses d'études afin de circonscrire, dans une perspective globale, les limites qui existent dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre de la dite politique en ce qui concerne la gestion des boursiers du gouvernement gabonais poursuivant leurs études à l'étranger. Ainsi, un intérêt s'est fait ressentir pour examiner d'abord l'origine de ces limites, les causes et, ensuite, les solutions à envisager en vue d'améliorer significativement et de manière durable la politique d'attribution des bourses d'études du Gabon afin de permettre aux boursiers de mieux s'insérer sur le marché du travail gabonais au terme de leurs études à l'étranger. Ceci fait en sorte qu'il faut voir cette présente étude comme une recherche-action. En effet, l'évaluation concernant la mise en œuvre de la politique d'attribution des bourses d'études du gouvernement gabonais a conduit à l'identification d'un certain nombre de recommandations destinées à l'intention des propriétaires et des gestionnaires de la dite politique. Ces recommandations ont été faites afin que ces derniers puissent non seulement prendre conscience des problèmes qui subsistent dans leur politique, mais en plus afin qu'ils puissent amorcer des changements importants de manière éclairée dans le but de faciliter le processus d'insertion socioprofessionnelle des diplômés qui sont formés chaque année à l'étranger. La présente étude doit, par conséquent, être vue comme étant une recherche qui se situe entre la recherche de vérification d'hypothèses au sens sociologique et la recherche de développement au sens de la créativité avec pour élément central, la recherche de solutions possibles par rapport à un phénomène holistique qui est ressenti comme un problème.

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished