Kehm, B., Schomburg, H. & Teichler, U. (Eds.) Funktionswandel der Universitäten. Differenzierung, Relevanzsteigerung, Internationalisierung. Campus, Frankfurt, 2012. ISBN: 9783593396590. Pages: 558.

The International Centre for Higher Education Studies (INCHER) at the University of Kassel in Germany is one of Europe’s leading institutes in the area of research into higher education. Founded in 1978 on the initiative of Ulrich Teichler, INCHER introduced research into higher education in Germany, in a unique blend of theoretical and methodological soundness and practice-oriented applicability.

INCHER has now published a selection of its research from the first decade of the 21st century. The volume presents the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of INCHER research in this period. The 28 contributions of the volume by altogether 24 authors are just a fraction of INCHER’s output of about 500 books and articles in said decade. The book reads like a guide to the most topical issues of ‘twenty-zeros’. It covers themes such as structural and quantitative trends of higher education systems; the link between higher education and the world of work; and internationalisation, amongst others. The articles cover assessments of the state of play in selected areas; statistical analyses; empirical studies; evaluation studies, and much else.

Like almost all of INCHER’s work, this volume is characterized by precision, depth and a sober no-nonsense analysis of the major developments, pet issues and grand obsessions of the past decade. We highly recommend this book – to those who read German.

INCHER – Kassel