What do you do if your networking efforts in the Higher Education sector are falling flat?

We tend to forget our own advice to students (especially when working in advising). Higher education sector, much like any other sector, is filled with functional areas, levels, opportunities, and thousands of variations of experiences. We aren't likely to tap into a network wide enough to cover all of them and we are lucky to have a strong network related to 2-3 functions. So, ask yourself, what have you explored so far? What appeals to you? What aligns with your skills, values, and future goals? Much like when advising students in their academics or careers, assess yourself against the common knowledge about various functional areas, because that's how you can thrive much faster.

Most of the time partnerships seem one way, rather than beneficial to both parties. The general instinct for us is to seek alliances with those perceived as best or more superior to us, in the assumption that such connections are more valuable. Besides the unspoken fact that partnerships should be interest driven, and subject specific to higher education, it also means that these collaborations should be started an earlier stage in the partnership journey so it can foster a symbiotic relationship, where mutual growth is not just a possibility but a given. So the value of partnership should not be measured by the perceived superiority of the parties involved but by the potential for mutual growth.

It is important to have a growth mindset related to networking. Often times it is easy to have unrealistic goals surrounding networking. Avoid seeing networking as a chore and see it more as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to practice your story. It’s an opportunity to engage with other entrepreneurs. It’s an opportunity to sharpen your social skills.

There are so many ways to network - attending events, webinars, conferences, professional development, joining groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. I recently presented to students and asked them to write down a list of folks in their network. I then asked them to find 3 folks outside of their network. You can do a LinkedIn search and write a tailored message introducing yourself, doing informational interviews, and think about what YOU can offer others and what you're looking to get from them.

You are spot on Dr. Fernandes. Institutions in India should provide release time to faculty and provide resources for them to engage in fruitful research, which will help to build international research network.

Partnerships can flourish with subject and interest driven objectives, and for this to work we need to inspect if networking is being promoted at a faculty level, rather than at an institutional level. Traditional digital methods like emails or newsletters may not always work, and new-age social media led platforms which allow for faculty and researcher to to showcase one's work and sparking conversations that can lead to meaningful collaborations. Social media platforms like LinkedIn and special interest groups offer opportunities to connect with fellow educators, researchers, and industry experts worldwide.

If you are attending an Industry event, try to research and connect with the speakers that are aligned with the objective you have for this event. Follow the event hashtag of the organizer. Attendees might share with their excitement joining the event. Again, should they align with your objectives, reach out to them before the event to build an effective meeting agenda surrounding the conference. Interested in certain sponsors? Find contacts on their company page that might be attending. In case they are not, they certainly will know somebody who will. Good luck!

It’s all about giving. Networking to me is giving your time. It can be as simple as commenting on posts of those you want to connect with. That’s how you build a relationship, collaboration, etc. It also should be authentic.

Genuine engagement can happen when there is common interest, where all parties benefited and when there is value created. Partners need to approach each collaboration with a genuine interest in the other person’s work, aspirations, challenges etc. We cannot see partnerships as pure transactions. We must see it as an opportunity to build lasting relationships grounded in mutual interest.

In networking, the key is to articulate what can you add to the other person’s business and not just ask for business. When everybody is interested in finding contacts and using them for business outcomes, how do you do something different? Just imagine if you offer opportunities for business and add to ten businesses (which is only like a reference), you may get at least two in return.

This is particularly common, where collaborations are always focused on "with the best", with no mutual interest in "what value and opportunities it provides to both parties". Institutional leaders look at metrics such as rankings, but fail to go beyond into subject level expertise of the other party, and fail to create a symbiotic relationship. Expansion of horizon involves looking beyond traditional regions of the global north, and seeking how you can add value to those that want to partner with you, for common interest in the global south.

In-person interaction and meetings cannot be downplayed in the effort to creating effective partnerships in higher education. In-person interaction can be supplemented with virtual check-in's during the course of the partnership, but a regular 6-months meeting at either of the partner locations, or at common interest conferences and seminars, special research groups etc can add immense value and showcase to both parties that they are eager to take this forward. Focus should be on quality rather than quantity of partnerships and should be at a subject level interest area.

In conclusion, Partnerships should be beneficial to all - and there should be less effort on having more partnerships, and more effort on increasing value from partnerships that work. Leaders need to be forward thinking and allow for greater involvement of departments to make the partnerships effective. International offices should not be tasked with just signing MoU's which remain in cabinets, but rather effective subject level, interest led partnerships with like minded partners.