Heads of British and American Universities to Collaborate on Global Initiatives
New York, NY (22 October) – This week the heads of US and UK universities and other top higher education leaders met in New York for the first in a series of senior policy dialogues led by the British Council, the UK’s international cultural relations and education organization.
The conference explored the strengths of the UK-US higher education relationship – which is worth over $1 billion a year – and indentified current barriers, including visa regulations and difficulty stimulating faculty mobility. Delegates agreed to move beyond traditional bilateral links and committed to working together across the world.
Rick Trainor, Principal and President of King’s College London stated, “The meeting was both unfortunately and magnificently timed: unfortunately because there is acute political and economic uncertainty on both side of the Atlantic, magnificently because the need to develop further academic links between the United States and the United Kingdom has never been greater.”
Delegates also discussed better ways of engaging business and servicing wider public needs. Pfizer and Lockheed Martin addressed the conference and explored ways to identify tomorrow’s global talent pool and engage strategically with universities.
To advance specific ideas explored during the conference, the forty delegates are forming smaller working groups and will collaborate throughout the year on topics ranging from research collaboration and engaging with business. The British Council will work with each group and organize follow up meetings.
The US delegation to Realizing the Potential: UK US Higher Education Policy Dialogue was headed by John Sexton, President of New York University. The UK delegation was led by Steve Smith, President of Universities UK and Vice Chancellor of Exeter University.
NYU President John Sexton said, “In the unfolding ‘knowledge century,’ we will see the emergence of ‘idea capitals’ – cities and regions characterized by their production of key ideas, their ability to attract people of supreme talent, and the presence of great intellectual, cultural, and educational institutions. These idea capitals will not thrive in isolation; it is important to build bridges between them. This conference has strengthened the foundation for one of those bridges – between US and UK institutions of higher learning – very considerably and laid the groundwork for US and UK universities to collaborate on ways to address global issues.
Other participating organizations included Northeastern University, Texas A&M University, Bryn Mawr College, Indiana University, University of St Andrews, King’s College London, University of Birmingham, the Council for Industry and Higher Education, the Association of American Universities, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. David Willets, the UK Minister for Universities and Science, also participated in the conference by video.
Sharon Memis, Director of British Council North America, said, ‘”Both the US and UK are facing difficult economic times but recognize the need to coordinate between the two leading knowledge economies and within the context of a changing world order. Together, we can better confront these challenges and re-energize the strategic transatlantic relationship.”
The two-day conference was held at the Institute of International Education in cooperation with New York University and Universities UK. Next year a follow up event is planned at Windsor Castle in the UK.
###
About the British Council: The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international cultural relations organization. Working in over 100 countries, we build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. In the US, we cultivate long-term links between the UK and US, re-energizing the strategic transatlantic relationship through the arts, education and young leadership networks.
CONTACT: Samantha YaleThe United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland)
Our privacy and copyright statements.
Our commitment to freedom of information. Double-click for pop-up dictionary.
Open the original version of this page.
Usablenet Assistive is a UsableNet product. Usablenet Assistive Main Page.