The Covid-19 global pandemic has not merely upset the normal operating procedures guiding higher education institutions (HEIs) but has forced us to question their very existence and future relevance. While past decades have witnessed HEIs incrementally reforming in response to developments in information and communication technology (ICT) or global rankings by offering massive open online courses, building international branch campuses, or engaging in novel recruitment practices and other innovations, changes have occurred slowly. According to predictions in a wide range of commentaries since the Covid-19 crisis broke in the United States in March 2020, this pandemic is already bringing about a significant global rethinking of higher education’s purposes, operational structures, stakeholders, and the various paths that lie ahead. Indeed, along with so many other institutions and systems across the globe that have been thrown massively off balance, Covid-19 is confronting tertiary education with questions it will need to grapple with long into the future.
As scholars of international education, we are keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. But rising to the occasion requires us to look beyond our discipline for solutions. Envisioning the future of equitable and relevant higher education obligates us to engage with a wide range of colleagues who can provide insights on higher education, globalization, and development.
This seminar series seeks to combine proven best practices for inter-disciplinary collaboration with innovations that promote access to information and free inquiry, and which have begun to change how people around the world approach idea generation.
Seminar 1 | Re-Thinking Higher Education for a Post-Pandemic World
November 16, 2020
