Leaders of different university associations discuss the role of higher education associations in the prevailing context and the future roles these associations would play. They reflect on the local and global role of university associations, how they collaborate and complement each other (or at times compete) and how they influence higher education and society.
This session forms part of a series reflecting on The Future of Higher education, and the outcomes are to inform the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (May 2022).
Speakers:
Hilligje Van't Lan, Secretary General, IAU
Pam Fredman, President, IAU
Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General, Association of African Universities (AAU)
Ted Mitchell, President, American Council of Education (ACE)
Renée Barata Zicman, Executive Director, Brazilian Association for International Education (FAUBAI)
Marcello Scalisi, Director, Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED)
Background
The world is more connected today yet also more complex than ever. Higher education is tasked with making sense of this complexity and called upon to propose solutions to the challenges we face. For this, universities must come together with a shared sense of purpose to learn, challenge, and collaborate as they advance on their collective demands and, at times, competing interests and agendas.
University associations serve to channel, communicate, and represent such collective interests and agendas while also articulating and supporting the challenges faced by the higher education sector to fulfil their mandate. Moreover, associations liaise with the many stakeholders in society, create opportunities for their constituents and advocate higher education’s inherent values.
The local and global role of university associations is thus one of carefully considering the course of higher education, bringing about coherence and synergies, monitoring its outputs, and intelligently amplifying its significance to enhance and unleash HE’s potential to bring about positive change in the world.
Watch the recording here on the IAU Youtube page.