Plans versus experiences in transitioning transnational education into research and economic development: a case study

Abstract

The process by which universities internationalize their education mission and adopt the ‘third mission’ of economic development in their local region is widely documented. However, little is known about how transnational educational campuses adopt research and economic development functions. This case study draws on interviews, historical documents, and bibliometric and patent analysis to describe the efforts of one of the longest standing US transnational campuses—Georgia Tech Lorraine—to integrate into the Lorraine region of France by adding research and economic development missions. In describing the campus’s evolution, this article highlights key markers indicating the transition to novel competencies. The results indicate that the adoption of new missions is characterized by plans, mixed success, and re-orientation rather than by a directed or designed process. Additionally, the study suggests that efforts to transplant successful programs from the home university to the Lorraine campus were less successful than those involving host region-led partnerships.