U21 Presidents at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit

U21 was very pleased to be invited to host a key session during the recent the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit to underline the importance of international university networks.  The session ‘Thriving post-Covid: Re-imagining global university collaboration’ examined the role international networks will play in the recovery plan of world-class universities and was the most watched session on the Alliance Stage at the THE event.

In a time of growing anti-globalisation sentiment, the U21 Presidents Professor Shearer West, University of Nottingham, Professor David Garza, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Professor Eng Chye Tan, National University of Singapore, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, University of Glasgow and Professor Luc Sels, KU Leuven, all underlined the increasing importance of international collaboration in the global higher education sector,  which has helped them to survive and thrive in these uncertain times and into the future.

President Garza spoke of how experiences of partners in the pandemic helped Tecnológico de Monterrey to be better prepared for coping with the crisis; Rector Sels outlined the strength of the network to create more opportunities for students and researchers and President West underlined the importance of internationalisation in the face of ‘anti-global’ sentiment. 

She concluded, ‘Being in the U21 network is a great asset for us as we know each other well and have built the relationships, which we will maintain and grow whilst we can’t see each other live.  That will put us in a very strong place when we come through the COVID crisis.’

Professor Bairbre Redmond, Provost of U21 said, ‘We are very grateful to our five U21 Presidents who contributed to this session, speaking so positively about the importance of international higher education collaboration, emphasizing that such links have proved even more valuable than ever during the pandemic. 

Enhancing global collaboration in higher education has always been at the heart of the U21 network. The Presidents’ validation of university networks, and of U21 in particular, during this very well-attended event, highlighted the continuing worth of U21’s founding principle of achieving more by working together in a global community.’

Watch the U21 Times Higher Summit session here.