Engaging communities and universities in the public good

The recent wave of tragic deaths in the Mediterranean Sea of Mothers, Fathers, Children and Babies underscores the depth of inequality, which persists, or even increases, in our troubled world.  The fact that some of these people have been headed to the very city, Catania, where we are meeting, means that we must no longer speak of higher education or universities in technical, managerial or abstracted terms. 

Our public universities are seeking new forms of engagement, new ways of contributing to the public good.  The starting point for engagement, however, must be a deeper way of listening to the concerns of ordinary citizens, including migrants, unemployed, homeless or otherwise excluded.  It is safe to say that higher education appears to be serving the top 1% of the wealthy very well.  We have seen their wealth grow at a pace that would have startled even the most ruthless of the 19th Century capitalist barons.  It is time to leave the comfort zone of a world of university practice that has remained unchanged for too long.  If we are to take our responsibilities for contributing to the well-being of everyone in our communities we have some questions to ask ourselves:

1. What structures or practices do we need to create in order to better hear and connect with our physical communities where we are located?
2. How can we move from a university led research environment to one based on ideas of co-construction of knowledge?
3. Can we create governance structures that allow for joint decisions about Higher Education?
4. What does this mean for our teaching?
5. Can we create new higher education forms? 

We welcome all to these discussions.  All ideas and contributions are welcome.

Conference Schedule: 1700, Wednesday 7 October (thematic introduction to Strands)

Speaker profile: Professor Budd Hall