Branding by Proxy? How hubs market (or not) higher education systems globally: the example of Qatar

This chapter proposes a framework to understand if and how hubs contribute to stronger positioning of higher education system in global competition, and uses the case of Qatar to draw conclusions. Increasingly, governments around the world invest in so-called “education hubs”, which host excellent tertiary providers. Hubs show how, on a global level, new forms of competition between higher education systems are evolving. By being home to top universities, hubs are believed to be both a country’s “branding tool” and a means for developing internal capacity. The analysis suggests that a hub does not necessarily strengthen the national position but may actually reinforce existing inequalities in perceived prestige between systems.