Institutions share challenges at World Education Summit

MANCHESTER, UK—Spread over three days, the World Education Summit drew world leaders from far and wide to discuss the challenges of higher education in a changing world.

Event, done Times Higher Education (Within Higher EdThe parent company), has invested more than 40 times in a wide range of issues including business challenges, international relations and research innovation. Based on insights from various panel sessions and interviews with academic leaders, CEOs and students, it is clear that despite geographical differences, institutions around the world face similar challenges.

Strong Business Models

While many US institutions are struggling with financial challenges due to declining enrollment, a panel Tuesday with leaders from Canada, England and Japan noted that pressures on university business models are widespread and often caused by factors beyond their control.

Bill Flanagan, the president of the University of Alberta, said shortly after he took office in 2020, his institution was hit by major cuts in funding from the provincial government. Flanagan had to pursue an estimated $84 million (in US dollars) in cost savings.

The university has been forced to reorganize, he said, making a two-year reduction in the program that emphasizes the retention of faculty and academic staff. But given the depth of the challenge, “there is no service in the university that is untouched,” he said.

He also mentioned the impact of the loss of foreign students, as Canada has now limited the number of people allowed to enter the country. Flanagan suggested that “Ottawa [the capital] “He’s doing everything he can to expel” such students, the issue adds to the political debate over immigration and the housing shortage in Canada. Those painful conversations, he said, will ultimately hurt higher ed’s bottom line.

While raising tuition is one way to solve the financial crisis (and the lever the University of Alberta pulled), it comes with its own challenges.

At the University of Tokyo, the roughly $654-a-year funding for graduate programs was met with student protests and media scrutiny when it was announced this fall, said executive director and vice president Kunihiro Ohta.

The Growing Influence of the Global South

Is the future of international cooperation in the Global South? Duncan Ivison, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester, who hosted the conference, believes that.

In a main stage discussion on Monday, Ivison said the next wave of entrepreneurs and scientists is likely to come from Africa and Southeast Asia, noting that they are tackling global challenges with “a fraction of the resources” the West has to respond to the problems. .

Because of this innovation and strength, Ivison said, he is looking forward to working together in Africa and the Middle East.

“My opinion is that we will learn more by connecting with global universities in the South, frankly, than we will … by signing another agreement with Harvard or MIT,” he said.

Ivison also expressed concern that governments might take what he described as openness to cooperative relationships with institutions in historically adversarial or competitive countries, arguing that universities need to take a “long-term view.”

In a panel discussion on Tuesday, European research leaders discussed the future of the bloc’s influence as a research superpower. Evelyn Welch, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Bristol, mentioned the institution’s collaboration with the University of South Africa to coordinate the African Charter, a coalition of signatories across the continent and in Europe, North and South America aimed at creating equitable research. relations with institutions in the Global South.

Imposing a medical model on a university “is a problem in new or emerging areas of higher education,” Welch said. “We must be open to the challenge of finding new ways of doing research and teaching. That everyone should live in the same place as Paris in the 14th century is wrong.

Campus Disagreement Knows No Boundaries

Campuses around the world have been hit by Palestinian protests, and Manchester’s was no different. The first sessions had not even started on Monday when protesters blocked the entrance to the registration of the event, holding a banner. which read, “1 year of the Gaza Genocide” and “Israel is out of lessons.” They also disrupted a major discussion with the UK Department of Education’s skills minister Jacqui Smith and showed up outside tables and other gatherings of conference attendees.

The first day of the conference, Monday, October 7, was the one year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

With dozens of universities from more than 30 countries present, pro-Palestinian protesters saw an opportunity to speak to many institutions, one student said. Within Higher Ed.

The police fell to the ground when they clashed with the protesters on the first day, but the incident ended without anyone being arrested. In one incident, students were allowed about 10 minutes to speak before being removed by campus security.

Others who attended the event told Within Higher Ed tolerating the protests was the work of British academics, with protesters given time to make their points before being removed.

Josh Moody/Inside Higher Ed

Some who attended the event seemed frustrated, while others expressed their support for the protesters.

“What is happening in Gaza is terrible,” said Tyrone Pretorious, director and vice-chancellor of the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. Within Higher Ed as he saw the protest.

Many speakers also referred to protests during lectures and panels, often highlighting the importance of engaging in difficult discussions as a foundation for education.

“It’s a very difficult day in our community for a lot of people,” Ivison, Manchester’s vice-chancellor, said at one point. “The intensification of conflict in the Middle East has affected thousands of people, not only in the Middle East, but in our city and our country. So I just wanted to acknowledge that the pain and suffering felt by all kinds of members of our community is real. All of us, I think, hope for peace.”

Ivison added that the protest is an outlet for those who are struggling on a painful anniversary.

“I appreciate your patience, but today is a day that many people suffer and suffer,” Ivison said on Monday.