Co-organized by: the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) at Boston College and the International Association of Universities (IAU)

Date and time: 18 March 2026, 9:30 EDT | 13:30 UTC | 14:30 CET

About the Webinar:

The value of international and cross-sectoral partnerships in higher education is well established. However, the conditions under which universities build, sustain, and leverage collaboration are changing. Rising geopolitical tensions are reshaping global cooperation and international funding, forcing institutions to revisit their longstanding “reciprocal” assumptions underpinning collaboration strategies. This webinar brings together perspectives from across the global higher education landscape to examine what meaningful, equitable, and resilient partnerships look like in this new environment. Discussions will draw on the experiences of institutions in the Global South navigating shifting donor and collaboration dynamics; countries where international partnerships are a cornerstone of the national higher education strategy; and regional university alliances, which are grappling with the tensions between openness and consolidation. We hope this timely conversation will invite discussion about what it takes to build partnerships that hold up under pressure and remain a force for shared progress.

Speakers

• Welcome Words: Hilligje van’t Land, Secretary General, IAU

• Panel Chair: Gerardo Blanco, Academic Director of the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College, USA

• Rahel Argaw, Vice President for Communication and Partnerships, Addis Ababa Unvirsity, Ethiopia (TBC)

• David Julien, Secretary-General, Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE), Canada and IAU Board Member

• Darkhan Bilyalov, Vice President, Kazakhstan National Academy of Sciences, Kazakhstan and Visiting Researcher, CIHE, Boston College, USA