Building a Homegrown university with Global Aspirations in Qatar: Lessons from Asian Universities

Developing a sustainable knowledge-based economy has emerged as a priority to many economies. Education and innovation are seen as the building blocks for creating this knowledge-based economy. As Non-western Universities rapidly make their way to the top of international rankings, there is an underlying interest in studying their success factors. This paper studies the experiences of three world-class Asian universities: the Korean Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and the National University of Singapore (NUS). The paper infers that, although there are commonalities between the three Asian universities, their unique strengths and historical context have significantly contributed to their success. For a university to be successful, it should have a clearly defined sense of purpose, include key stakeholders in its decision-making processes and allow for financial independence by relying on the endowment and fundraising model.