Category Archives: the book

February 23, 2012 · 00:57

From 320 students to 1001 books

by Alexandra den Heijer

While the snow not only covered Finnish campuses – but also our Delft campus – huge groups of students filled up (and warmed up) our lecture halls and design studios. Being responsible for their 30 ECTS curriculum this semester made me focus on something else than research, lectures abroad and simple things like replying all those (voice)mail messages.

Spring semester started with 320 students

The most challenging part of the semester – 320 student playing a management game – ended today. This means I have a little more time to enjoy and distribute the second edition of the book (1000 more copies + 1, see photo), starting with sending 130 copies to the UK – for attendants of AUDE conference where I will be speaking – and 120 to universities in the Netherlands.

our TU Delft library after the first day of snow (February 3)

In the meantime I also included more ‘tour dates’ to my schedule (see TOUR). I still can’t believe how international this research has become in less than one year… I never thought I would bring the book all the way to South Korea, and in the next year I will do that… twice. However overwhelming, I am also struggling with an overload of (international) opportunities and limited time. My mailbox is exploding and I feel bad about not being able to respond to everyone personally.

Alexandra den Heijer with the second edition of her book (+1000 copies)

the second edition of the book arrived last month (+1000 copies)

Nonetheless, the busy schedule still allows time to publish. Deadlines still work for me, apparently. I will soon add a separate PUBLICATIONS menu to this blog, to split the written publications like articles in journals and magazines from the other DOWNLOADS like hand-outs of presentations. This month there will be two new publications: a book chapter in “Creative Knowledge Cities” (release February 2012, Edward Elgar Publishing – http://www.e-elgar.co.uk) and an article in CELE Exchange (OECD Centre for Educational Learning Environments). I will upload the latter as soon as it is released.

1 Comment

Filed under education, the book

Tagged as publications, students

December 11, 2011 · 14:34

Second edition is available for pre-order

by Alexandra den Heijer

Last week I got a ‘go’ for the second edition of the book after about 700 copies of the first edition were distributed worldwide. The second edition (December 2011) can be considered a reprint, even though I corrected small things (not effecting the content) that were already changed in the eBook since it was released in March 2011. The physical book (2nd edition) is now available for pre-order by clicking on the book cover on the right, which will link to the publisher’s website. A free preview (or the complete eBook) can be retrieved from the iBookstore (see photo below).

iPad screen print of my eBook in the iBookstore

Back from North America: “if you think higher education is expensive, try ignorance” (quote Derek Bok, edited)

by Alexandra den Heijer

Having recovered from a jetlag (of 9 hours) I look back on a very inspiring visit to both the United States and Canada. My lecture (and presence) at the SCUP conference in the US introduced me to a new network of campus experts, and reunited me with some old North American friends. My publisher Eburon could tell that I visited North America by the increased number of overseas book orders.

the SCUP-46 venue at National Harbor, MD - accommodation more than 1,400 people who attended the conference

my book at the SCUP-46 conference bookstore (when there were still some copies left...) among 80 other books on higher education or related topics

What I learned is that higher education in North America and Europe is very vulnerable to more budget cuts: we are already struggling with large groups of students, less time and resources per student – resources that include the physical campus.

Reputations of higher education institutions and their alumni are at stake. Joining forces and sharing space with other stakeholders (other universities, private parties, public authorities) is one of the solutions which I presented at the conference and I elaborate upon in my book. This requires a culture change on campus.

Nonetheless, more political attention for higher education as one of the most important foundations for the economy is vital. This is the same reason why my book “Managing the university campus” starts with the quote (Derek Bok, former Harvard University president): “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”… I added that the same goes for the campus…

[for the Preface of “Managing the university campus”, see ABOUT THE BOOK ].

P.S. Our visit to Canada was not business but pleasure this time, even though we happened to visit the campus of University of British Columbia (UBC) and will definitely visit Simon Fraser University (and UniverCity, see “SFU” on Wikipedia.org) our next visit to Vancouver and West Canada.

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Filed under international network, the book

Tagged as academic workplace, campus & city, SCUP, United States

July 8, 2011 · 01:15

The book has reached 15 European countries…

by Alexandra den Heijer

In the past month – after the visits to Scotland and Germany – I have exchanged knowledge and ideas about campus management with delegates from many European countries. On June 15 a Swiss delegation visited TU Delft, from ETH Zurich and – a week later – on June 22 I presented a paper at an academic conference (MISBE), which I will upload as soon as possible – see photo below.

giving a lecture at Amsterdam's Beurs van Berlage for the academic conference MISBE 2011

Last week I paid a fruitful visit to the European University Association in Brussels to talk about the relation between the campus and the financial sustainability of European universities. Again, it was confirmed that both the opportunities and threats of the campus are internationally recognized. In the meantime I also got enthusiastic messages (about the book) from Austria, Italy, Ireland and England. The most recent lecture (yesterday) was for a group of French delegates, representing universities that are about to become owners of their campuses – like in the Netherlands. Their visit was organized by Utrecht University in collaboration with the French Ministry of Education and Ecole des Ponts / ParisTech. Very interesting meetings… again… I feel blessed with my work.

PS The book has reached campus managers, policy makers and/or academics in 15 European countries (concluded from the messages I received and from data that the publisher sent me): Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain and Germany. And I know there are copies in Dubai, Colombia, Australia and the USA. I am very proud…

On tour…

Starting this week I will (continue to) give lectures about my book and research (3 in the next 4 days). You can also follow me on Twitter (alexandra_dh) and I will upload some of the presentations. Below you can find a tag cloud that reflects the content of the book “Managing the university campus”.