Mergers and Higher Education Cooperation

Hedda (Higher Education Development Association) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a one-day conference on 4th of November, 2011. The conference is themed “Mergers and Higher Education Cooperation”, and takes place at the University of Oslo, the coordinating institution of Hedda.
The conference includes presentations from leading international and Nordic researchers and experts, bringing together the expertise of researchers and the insights and experiences from top executives in merger processes.
The main target groups for the conference includes both researchers and administrators, as well as policymakers who work with issues related to higher education.
Registration deadline – 15th of October. The conference is free of charge, however, there is a limited number of places available.
The aim of the conference is to bring together research and practice, featuring keynotes from top international researchers in the field and providing the practical insights from people who have held top executive positions in a merger process. We have already confirmed three keynote speakers, including Dr. Leo Goedegebuure (LH Martin Institute, Australia), Dr. Sissel Østberg (former rector of Oslo University College) and Dr. Yuzhuo Cai (University of Tampere). Please note that additional keynote speakers will be added and updated information on the keynote speakers and the conference programme will be available on the conference website.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Leo Goedegebuure has extensive experience in researching institutional mergers in various contexts, and he has published over 100 articles and approximately 15 books on topics linked to governance and management, system dynamics including large scale restructuring policies, university-industry relationships, and institutional mergers. Currently he is an associate professor and the Deputy Director of LH Martin Institute at University of Melbourne (Australia). Based on his extensive experience, he can provide up to date research based knowledge on institutional mergers.
Dr. Sissel Østberg has first hand knowledge of being involved in a merger process as a top executive. She was the rector for the Oslo University College (HiO) in Norway, during the time when the college was merged with Akershus University College, a process finished in 2011. She will be sharing some of her insights of this experience, adding to a further understanding of how these processes take place in practice.
Dr. Yuzhuo Cai is an assistant professor  at the Higher Education Group at the University of Tampere in Finland. He has been involved in a number of projects and authored  publications focusing on Finnish and Chinese higher education, both of these countries have experience with institutional mergers.