Bristol/WUN GHEAR Conference Globalising Geographies of Higher Education and Research

Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 February 2012The Great Hall, Wills Memorial BuildingUniversity of Bristol

Welcome

• Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol and the President of Universities UK

• Wendy Larner, Research Director, Faculty of Social Sciences and Law, University of Bristol

Where are we now?

• Most universities have well developed internationalisation strategies

• Active membership of international consortium (WUN, Universitas 21, APRU, LERU...)

• Privilege international activities in reward structures

• Encourage PhD and early career researchers to build international networks

The Institutional Challenges

• Often surprisingly difficult to deliver on so-called ‘Global Challenges’

• Variable research models across disciplinary fields and national cultures

• Sometimes difficult to get past extravagant claims and skilful publicity

• ‘Herding Cats’

The Political Challenges

• Are we entrenching international research hierarchies?

• Are the new globalising research geographies underpinned by resourcing worries?

• Are universities competing with multi-national corporations, consultants and think-tanks?

• Is the globalisation of higher education itself becoming a globalising phenomenon?

Globalising Geographies

• Reject the ‘bulldozer model’ of inexorable processes ‘out there’ that do things to us ‘in here’.

• ‘Globalising’ rather than ‘globalisation’• Important studies of bio-technology, professional

services and architecture amongst others• Don’t know much about the globalising

knowledge networks of academic research itself

The Issues

• What are the views of the academics themselves? (Workshop A)

• How do we build infrastructure to better support globalising intellectual and institutional ambitions? (Workshop B)

• What are the implications for learning and pedagogy? (Workshop C)

• How is the wider institutional terrain shifting? (Workshop D)

The Format

• Each session will open with four ‘provocations’• The ‘rapporteur’ will identify cross-cutting issues

and key themes• Roundtable discussions to tease out ideas and

concrete proposals• Open discussion to present these ideas and

proposals to the group as a whole

Housekeeping

• Mutual respect• ‘Chatham House’ rules• All filming, tweeting and subsequent reports will

report only what is said, not who said it.• Relax, eat and enjoy!

Workshop A: Globalising Academics

Chair: Wendy Larner

Provocateurs: Matt Sparke

Sue Parnell

Paul Valdes

Richard Le Heron/Nick Lewis

Rapporteur: Nan Yeld

What are the views of the academics themselves?

Workshop B: Globalising Infrastructure

Chair: David Langley

Provocateurs: Rowan Douglas

John Kirkland

Glenn Swafford

Frans Swanepoel

Rapporteur: John Rogers

How do we build infrastructure to better support globalising intellectual and institutional ambitions?

Workshop C: Globalising Learning

Chair: Ian Wei

Provocateurs: Hugh Lauder

Simon Marginson

Susan Robertson

Amy Stambach

Rapporteur: Ka Ho Mok

What are the implications for learning and pedagogy?

Workshop D: Globalising Institutions

Chair: Guy Orpen

Provocateurs: Martin Bean

Peter Gist

Joanna Newman

Rapporteur: Nigel Thrift

How is the wider institutional terrain shifting?