Introducing the concept of ‘knowledge alchemy’ as the formulation of global standards through the use of indicators and algorithms, this book explores how knowledge alchemy increasingly informs national and institutional policies and practices on economic performance, higher education, research and innovation.

This book introduces the concept of ‘knowledge alchemy’ to capture the generic process of transforming mundane practices and policies of governance into competitive ones following imagined global gold standards. Using examples from North America, Europe and Asia, it explores how knowledge alchemy increasingly informs national and institutional policies and practices on economic performance, higher education, research and innovation.The book examines how governments around the world have embraced global models of world-class university, human capital and talent competition as essential in ensuring national competitiveness. Through its analysis, the book shows how this strongly future-oriented and anticipatory knowledge governance is steered by a surge of global classifications, rankings and indicators, resulting in numerous comparisons of various domains that today form more constraining global policy scripts.

1. IntroductionPart 1: Indicators, Data, and Models of Global Knowledge Governance2. Global Rankings of Good Governance and Higher Education3. Human Capital and the Rise of the Global Talent CompetitionPart 2: Scripts, Imaginaries, and Policy4. Global Imaginaries of Knowledge Governance5. From the Medieval Scholar to the Global Flows of Academics: Exploring the Emergence, Evolution, and Impact of the “Talent” Imaginary6. Strategies and Policies for the Global Talent Competition7. Conclusion