Public University: Extreme Capitalism and Branding. Assembling a Motley Puzzle

The state, faced with the democratisation of access to higher education, is obliged to
finance other activities of the university, or of the universities that depend on it, equitably
and wrongly. In addition, this funding raises the question of the university’s autonomy
from public and political authorities.
The private sector could, insofar as a competitive economic climate is concerned,
contribute by funding higher education, but not without a quid pro quo. Its funding
would therefore be directed mainly towards the work of research laboratories, from which
it would expect tangible and lucrative results.
Between the state and private sectors, the intermediate position is occupied by the
“Economic Public Enterprises” and the “Public Establishments of an Industrial and
Commercial Nature”. This sector, which is supposed to represent a transitional stage
towards the privatisation of public enterprises, and where the enterprises belonging to it
enjoy financial autonomy, could be, albeit temporarily, an effective actor in the process of
branding the university, through actions of sponsorship, funding of research work, and
partnerships in general. Although the integration of ‘EPICs’ and ‘EPEs’ into the branding
process of universities seems feasible, the same cannot be said for internal branding, for
which the adoption of a system of subcontracting in administrative management does
not seem to be imminent for the Algerian public university.