Access, Inclusion, and Global South-North Relations Are the Focus of 2023 Reinventing Higher Education Conference

Co-hosted by IE University and the University of Cape Town (UCT), the 13th edition of the Reinventing Higher Education (RHE) conference brings experts from around world to the UCT campus in Cape Town, South Africa to discuss the most pressing trends in higher education today. The overarching theme of the event this year is “New Humans, New Society, New Higher Education” and the two day event (5-7 March 2023) includes panels focused future-ready graduates and their vision for higher education, international mobility, south–north partnerships, decolonial methodologies and embracing an Ubuntu vision for global higher education.

“As UCT we are proud to be the co-hosting this year’s RHE Conference, which is a platform where key players in higher education on the African continent and globally will discuss major challenges facing higher education. This will also be a space where the future and a way forward in terms of the trajectory that research, teaching and learning, governance and management in universities should take. Overall, the focus of the conference will highlight on how we create more open, inclusive, equitable and collaborative higher education systems,” said Sue Harrison, Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Cape Town.

“Higher education is experiencing a fascinating yet challenging Copernican revolution. At the core of this transformation are the new developments of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, along with the multipolar configuration of the world.”
Santiago Iñiguez, IE University President

“This year’s edition of Reinventing Higher Education focuses on alternative ways to foster the cross-border mobility of students, faculty and knowledge, which is at risk given current geopolitics. Also, we will be exploring ways to enhance the learning process – benefiting, of course, from the contributions of technology,” said IE University President Santiago Iñiguez in his opening remarks. “On behalf of all participants – the rectors, vice-chancellors, and presidents of leading international universities – I would like to express our gratitude to the University of Cape Town for hosting this conference.”

Vice-chancellors, university presidents, leaders in both higher education and the business world, journalists, and student representatives from five continents are taking part this year.  In addition to traditional panels, this year’s conference also includes design thinking workshops and an un-conference format intended to bring inclusivity and disruption to the thinking of the participants and focused on enabling all the attendees – regardless of their level of seniority – to have a voice and to feel that their voice matters.

The event is co-chaired by Sue Harrison, Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Cape Town, and Santiago Iñiguez, President at IE University. Leadership of participating universities and institutions include: American University of Beirut, Lebanon; Arizona State University, United States; Ashesi University, Ghana; Australian National University; University of Bristol, United Kingdom; University of Cape Town South Africa; Covenant University Nigeria; University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Firstrand Group, South Africa; University of Ghana; University of Ibadan, Nigeria; IE University, Spain; Imperial College London, United Kingdom; King’s College London, United Kingdom; Luiss University, Italy; Mahidol University, Thailand; University of Miami, United States; Minerva Project, United States; Université de Montreal, Canada; Northwestern University, United States; University of Pretoria, South Africa; Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Germany; University of Rwanda; Singapore Management University; and Tec de Monterrey, Mexico.

Since its launch in 2010, the RHE conference has provided a platform for educational leaders, student representatives and corporate players to discuss the status of higher education and to collaboratively shape its future. Last year, more than 35 international experts, distinguished guests and student representatives from 25 countries attended the event, “Global Engagement: Towards Responsive and Innovative Universities,” which was co-hosted by IE University and Luiss University in Rome and focused on the challenges set to impact academia, government and the private sector.

“Since its inception, the RHE conference has served as a yearly point of reflection that allows the various stakeholders of the academic community to discuss the current status and future evolution of higher education and debate the direction research, learning, governance and management of universities should now take,” commented Geoffroy Gerard, Director of the Conference and General Director of the IE Foundation at IE University.

Speakers and moderators will tackle important questions for the future of universities such as:

• What does it mean to be a global university in the 21st century? Does knowledge generation depend on access to resources or a common vision for a new social contract for the public good? Or both?
• In today’s complex and rapidly changing world, diversity of talent matters more than ever to address complex environmental and societal challenges, and to ensure that the changes brought about by new technology benefit all, not just the few. So, what needs to shift to make it possible for us to co-create, co-imagine and collaborate to build a more inclusive future for students across the globe?
• Ubuntu has ancient roots in African humanist philosophy, meaning 'humanity to others', literally: ‘a person is a person through other people’. How do we create relationships within our universities and between institutions that builds communities instead of individuals?
• Our shared future demands efforts to advance equity in global science, and to advance an international research endeavor that is sufficiently rich to address the world’s most pressing challenges. Great strides have been made in moving towards – and often achieving – equity in north–south partnerships. Does this model of equitable partnerships go far enough?
• The number of undergraduate students travelling for part or all of their degrees has increased dramatically in the last ten years (the pandemic notwithstanding). But they come at a cost – both environmentally and financially – meaning only the well-off (students, institutions and countries) can afford them. Using what we learnt from the global shift to emergency online teaching and learning during the pandemic, and the continuous development of new technologies, can we envisage a more sustainable, equitable model?