Theme 3.1

The development and regulation of post-secondary institutions

Our objective is to analyze the development of post-secondary institutions, especially universities, from an organizational and institutional perspective. In this respect, it is essential to analyze the connections between various public policies – specifically those geared towards science, innovation, education and workforce management – and the governance of institutions of higher education. Specifically, we would like to focus our attention on the medium and long-term changes which affect these institutions in terms of research, curriculum and policy.

Theme 3.2

The path of students and the conditions which govern work and study in higher education

In recent years, many social concerns have lead to a greater focus on the quality of teaching in post-secondary institutions, as well as on the training of skilled and highly-specialized labour. The debates surrounding students' success rates, labour shortages in various fields and the importance of innovation as a source of economic growth attest to this fact. These questions have one particular element in common: post-secondary education. Specifically, in order to understand what is at stake, one must analyze the students' scholarly paths, define – both theoretically and empirically – these trajectories, understand the processes in play in their professional and educational orientations and grasp the impact of the students' working conditions throughout. We would also like to focus our attention on the skills acquired by students in terms of the connections between education, employment and work.